Do you smell that delicious smell wafting in from the kitchen? Yes, it’s officially the holiday season. That means jolly parties, spending time with family and friends, and creating your favorite concoctions of desserts and cookies in the kitchen – our favorite part of the holidays. With so many delicious and delightful dessert recipes to choose from, it’s difficult to find that “perfect” recipe that is so meticulously perfected with measurements, baking times, and of course, mouth-watering flavors.
So, we’ve taken the hard part out of your time-consuming search. From simple classic holiday sugar cookies to the crowd-favorites buckeye cookies, there’s a recipe that will please everyone in the bunch, even those picky “non-dessert” lovers.
The Best Rolled Sugar Cookies
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 8 minutes
Ready in: 3 hours
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
Directions
- In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
- Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely and enjoy!
Recipe found here
Linzer Tarts
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Ready in: 2 hours
Ingredients
1 1/4 cups unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup white sugar
2 cups sifted all purpose flour, divided
1 3/4 cups ground almonds
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
5 tablespoons raspberry jam
1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar for decoration
Directions
- Beat butter and sugar together until the mixture is light and fluffy. Stir in 1/2 cup flour, the ground almonds, and cinnamon. Mix in remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time until the mixture becomes a slightly stiff dough.
- Shape the dough into a ball; divide it in half. Wrap both halves in wax paper or plastic wrap, and refrigerate for about one hour.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll half of the dough into a sheet 1/8 inch thick. With a 2 1/2-inch cookie cutter, cut as many circles from the sheet as you can. Knead the leftover scraps of dough into a ball and roll it out again into a 1/8 inch sheet. Cut out more circles. You should now have about 12 circles.
- Arrange cookies on prepared baking sheet, leaving about 1 inch of space between them.
- Refrigerate while working with remaining dough.
- Repeat the rolling and cutting process with the other half of the dough, but after placing the second batch on the baking sheet, cut out the center of each circle with a 1/2 inch cookie cutter.
- Bake cookies in preheated oven until light brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Cool on wire rack for 20 minutes.
- Spread a thin coating of jam on each of the cookie rounds. Set a cutout cookie on top of each, pressing the two together so they make a sandwich. Spoon a dab of jam into the opening of each tart and sprinkle the tops with confectioners’ sugar before serving.
Recipe found here
Buckeye Cookies
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Ready in: 35 minutes
Ingredients
FOR THE FILLING
1 c. creamy peanut butter
1/2 c. powdered sugar
FOR THE COOKIES
1/2 c. (1 stick) Butter, softened
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. sugar, plus more for rolling
1 large egg
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. milk, if necessary
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350° and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Make filling: In a medium bowl, combine peanut butter and powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Scoop into small balls (about 1 1/2″) and freeze until ready to use.
- In a large bowl, combine butter, brown sugar, and sugar and beat until light and fluffy, then add egg and vanilla and mix until evenly combined. Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt and mix until evenly combined. If the dough seems dry, gradually add the milk.
- Scoop a heaping tablespoon of the cookie dough and flatten into a pancake-like circle on the baking sheet. Place a frozen peanut butter ball on top. Bring the edges of the dough around the peanut butter ball and pinch the edges together to seal, adding more dough if necessary to cover the frozen peanut butter completely.
- Roll stuffed cookie dough ball in sugar and place back on baking sheet. Repeat until all dough is used, spacing the cookies about 2” apart.
- Bake until the cookies are golden on the bottom,12 to 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Recipe found here
Chocolate Crinkles
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 12 minutes
Ready in: 5 hours
Ingredients
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
Directions
- In a medium bowl, mix together cocoa, white sugar, and vegetable oil. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into the cocoa mixture. Cover dough, and chill for at least 4 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Roll dough into one inch balls. I like to use a number 50 size scoop. Coat each ball in confectioners’ sugar before placing onto prepared cookie sheets.
- Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes. Let stand on the cookie sheet for a minute before transferring to wire racks to cool.
Recipe found here
Eileen’s Spicy Gingerbread Men
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Ready in: 30 minutes
Ingredients
1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg yolk
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Directions
- In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and sugar until smooth. Stir in molasses and egg yolk. Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg; blend into the molasses mixture until smooth. Cover, and chill for at least one hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place cookies 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until firm. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks. Frost or decorate when cool.
Recipe found here