Christmas Cookie Roundup
Last week I spent a few hours each day baking a whole lot of Christmas cookies for a church Christmas party. They were cookies to go with a hot chocolate bar, and I knew I couldn't spend hours decorating that many individual cookies, so I started to compile a list of the kinds of cookies I wanted to include. I love this kind of project because I love to read recipes, I know that probably sounds bizarre, but I really do enjoy it. I usually get a good idea about how well a recipe will work after reading through a few recipes for the same kind of cookie. Maybe this is a weird party trick that I just now discovered I have.
After my hours of research and scouring for recipes (oh, how I would have loved to use all my own, that was just not realistic), this is what I ended up making. In my opinion, it was the perfect mix with peppermint, traditional, chocolate, and Christmas spirit.
I am a person that has a hard time sticking to a recipe, and it isn't because I don't trust the recipes of others. I always seem to go a little rogue. For that, I included the changes I made to the recipes if you are interested, but honestly, the original recipes are *chefs kiss*.
Christmas Funfetti Cookies
I just posted the recipe for these cookies here:
www.sleepingmakesmehungry.com/blog/christmas-funfetti-cookies
Vanilla Bean Spritz Cookies from the New York Times
I love this recipe because it was so easy to put together. This recipe also helped me discover my love for a cookie press! Who knew they were so easy to use and a game-changer for making cookies in bulk.
Changes I made: I added 1 ½ teaspoon of chai spice, reduced the amount of flour I used to 1 cup, and added ¼ cup of tapioca starch.
Peppermint Mocha Cookies
Peppermint and chocolate go together and seem to go hand in hand with Christmas too.
These were quick to mix up, and then I ran some errands and cooked them all when I had the time. It worked well.
Changes I made: I didn't use espresso powder and instead used a coffee alternative (hello, Dandy Blend). I also used about 1 ½ cups of chocolate chips and used a mix of semi-sweet, milk, and white chocolate.
Linzer Cookies
I am a massive fan of all the recipes from Sara Lynn. And this one was also a winner. Traditional Linzer cookies are made with nuts, but I was trying to avoid them as I was unsure about allergies, so this recipe was perfect.
Changes I made: I didn't change anything.
Shortbread Cookies
I neglected to take a photo of the ones, which is funny becauseI love all the food photography and styling that Kate does. And I also love her recipes!
Changes I made: I removed gluten and dairy from this shortbread recipe with gluten-free flour and dairy-free butter. They tasted great (the texture was exactly what I wanted), but they didn't slice great. If I were to make them again, I would roll them into balls and press with a glass into rounds before chilling and then baking.
Vanilla Biscotti
If you didn't already know, I am one of those who love magazines—like, sitting to read a physical copy of a magazine is one of my favorite ways to give myself some relaxation. I found this recipe in the SIFT magazine but googled it, and it was on the website. A biscotti dipped in hot chocolate just felt like it was needed.
Changes I made: It said you could add in many things, and I added in some cinnamon chips. It was an excellent idea.
Caramels
I used this recipe of mine here, and made some with normal butter and cream, and some without. Both delicious!
Peppermint Meringues
I used this recipe of mine here, and made some with normal butter and cream, and some without. Both delicious!
Peppermint Meringues
This was super easy, and I have plans to post the recipe soon (but it's Christmas time, and I can't make any promises. Use your favorite meringue recipe, add in some peppermint extract ( ½ tsp goes a long way), and pipe into cute little drops. I added some food coloring to the sides of my piping bag to get a little color when I piped them out.
Vegan Coconut Macaroons
This one was also super easy and ended up being dairy and gluten-free. I'll try to post a recipe soon, but if you find a recipe that uses flour and sweetened condensed milk, you can use gluten-free flour and coconut sweetened condensed milk.
Brown Butter Gingersnap
This recipe is also coming soon!