Holiday Cookie Recipes

Christmas cookies are a great annual indulgence and add to the celebrations of the holiday season. Regrettably many families are to busy make cookies from a recipe so.they purchase premade. Both boughten cookies and frozen cookie dough are very expensive. If you really want to enjoy christmas cookies I highly recommend you bake your own christmas cookies from a good family recipe or any good recipe you can find. Baking christmas cookies from scratch is a good deal more cost effective than store-bought cookies or buying frozen cookie dough. The great thing about homemade cookies from a recipe they are so yummy and even more fun when shared with friends and family.

Baking cookies is as much a part of the christmas custom for the kids and most
grownups as a visit by the old whiskered gentleman himself. The cookies are often made in hopes of his pending arrival by kids which can be as excited as they can presumably be with all sorts of nice visions dancing around in their heads. Baking cookies for the holiday can be a great time for bonding with the little ones. Christmas cookies are ideal to satisfy their desire to make and eat sweet things. This is one thing that you want your children or grandchildren to look back on at christmas time and remember doing with you, and you need to be able to look back at christmas and remember doing that with them.

Below are some great recipes for you to try. I hope you enjoy them.

Mary Christmas.


Cranberry Orange Cookies

1 Cup Butter, Softened
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
2 Cups Cranberries, Chopped
1 1/2 Teaspoon Orange Zest, Divided
1 Egg
2 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour
1 1/2 Cups Confectioners Sugar
1 Cup White Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
5 Tablespoons Orange Juice Divided
1/2 Cup Chopped Walnuts,

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F
In a large bowl, cream together the butter, white sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg until well blended. Mix in 1 teaspoon orange zest and 2 tablespoons orange juice. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the orange mixture. Mix in cranberries and walnuts, stir until evenly distributed. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Cookies should be spaced at least 2 inches apart.
Bake for 12 to 14 minutes in the preheated oven, until the edges are golden. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks.
In a small bowl, mix together 1/2 teaspoon orange zest, 3 tablespoons orange juice and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Spread over the tops of cooled cookies. Let stand until set.


Molasses Sugar Cookies

1 Teaspoon Salt
2 Teaspoons Cinnamon
2 Eggs
4 Cups Flour - All Purpose
2 Cups Sugar - White
4 Teaspoons Baking Soda
1 1/2 Cups Shortening
1 Teaspoon Ginger
1 Teaspoon Ground Cloves
1/2 Cup Molasses

Melt the shortening in a large pan on the stove, and cool.
Add sugar, eggs, and molasses, beat well.
In a separate bowl, sift dry ingredients together and add to the pan. Mix well and chill 3 hours or overnight.
Form into walnut-size balls. Roll in granulated sugar. Place on greased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.
Bake at 375 degrees F for 8-10 minutes.


Soft Gingersnaps

1 1/2 Cups Butter
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
2 Teaspoons Cinnamon
2 Eggs
4 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour
2 Cups White Sugar
3 Teaspoons Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Nutmeg
1 Teaspoon Ground Ginger
1 Teaspoon Ground Cloves
1/2 Cup Molasses

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in molasses. Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, salt and nutmeg; gradually add to creamed mixture. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until dough is easy to handle.
Roll into 1-in. balls; roll in sugar. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees F for 8-12 minutes or until puffy and lightly browned. Cool for 1 minute before removing to wire racks.


Buckeye Bars

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup crunchy peanut butter
3/4 cup crushed Vanilla Wafers (about 22)
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 of 8-oz. tub COOL WHIP Whipped Topping (Do not thaw.)
3 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate

LINE 8-inch square pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides. Beat butter and peanut butter with mixer until blended. Add wafer crumbs; mix well. Gradually beat in sugar. Press onto bottom of pan.

MICROWAVE COOL WHIP and chocolate in microwaveable bowl on HIGH 1 min.; stir. Microwave 15 to 30 sec. or until chocolate is melted; stir until well blended. Spread over peanut butter layer.

REFRIGERATE 2 hours. Use foil handles to lift dessert from pan before cutting to serve.

Serving Suggestion
Serve in holiday-colored foil candy cups.

Make Ahead
Store in airtight container in freezer up to 1 month. Thaw in refrigerator before serving.


Swedish Christmas Cookies

1 cup of butter
2 egg yolks
Dash salt
1 egg white, slightly beaten
4 tablespoons of chopped almonds
3/4 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon of almond extract
2 1/2 to 2 3/4 cups of flour
2 tablespoons of sugar

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolks and almond extract.
Add salt. Sift in flour and mix well. Make it pliable dough and chill 30 minutes. To
shape, divide dough into 6 equal portions. Rol out each portion to make a rope, about
24" long. Divide each into 2" strips. Place on cookie sheets. Brush with egg whites
and sprinkle with sugar and almonds. Bake at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes or
until cookies feel firm and are lightly browned around the edges. Let cool on cookie
sheet a few minutes then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.


Christmas Nuggets

2 cups of flour
1 teaspoon of salt.
1/2 cup of shortening
1/2 cup of butter
1/2 cup of powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped nuts
green and red candied cherries or ( pecans optional)


Mix flour and salt. Cream together shortening, butter and powdered sugar. Blend in
vanilla and chopped nuts. Add to the flour mixture. Shape into small balls. Top with candied red and green cherries or a half pecan. Bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes. After cooled sprinkle with powdered sugar.