Best Holiday Cookies Recipes

GREEK HOLIDAY COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Add 2 eggs; beat well. Beat in orange juice and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and baking soda; gradually add to creamed mixture. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle., Roll dough into 1-1/4-in. balls. Shape each into a 6-in. rope; fold in half and twist twice. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. , In a small bowl, beat the remaining 2 eggs; brush over dough. Bake at 350° for 7-12 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Remove to wire racks.

VIENNESE CRESCENT HOLIDAY COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, butter, nuts, 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, salt, and vanilla. Hand mix until thoroughly blended. Shape dough into a ball. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, place sugar in a bowl or small container. With sharp chef's knife, split vanilla bean lengthwise. Scrape out seeds, and mix them into the sugar. Cut pod into 2 inch pieces and mix into sugar.
• Remove dough from refrigerator and form into 1 inch balls. Roll each ball into a small roll, 3 inches long. Place rolls 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet, and bend each one to make a crescent shape.
• Bake 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, or until set but not brown.
• Let stand 1 minute, then remove from cookie sheets. Place hot cookies on a large sheet of aluminum foil. Sprinkle with prepared sugar mixture. Turn gently to coat on both sides. Cool completely and store in an airtight container at room temperature. Just before serving, coat with more vanilla flavored sugar.

NEAPOLITAN HOLIDAY COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat 3 quarter-sheet pans (or three 13-by-9-by-2-inch jelly roll pans) with cooking spray. Line each pan with parchment paper and coat the paper with cooking spray as well.
• Place the almond paste in the bowl of a stand mixer. Break it up into small pieces with a fork. Fit the mixer with the paddle attachment and add the butter and sugar to the bowl. Beat the mixture on high speed until light and fluffy, about 7 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium, add the egg yolks, and beat until incorporated. Turn the mixer off and stir in the flour with a wooden spoon until well combined. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl.
• Clean the mixer bowl thoroughly and fit the mixer with the whisk attachment. Beat the egg whites on high speed until stiff peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the batter until thoroughly blended.
• Transfer 1 1/2 cups of the batter to a medium bowl, then transfer another 1 1/2 cups of the batter to a second medium bowl. Add the red food coloring to one of the bowls and stir until the batter is tinted throughout. Add the green food coloring to the second bowl and stir until the batter is tinted throughout. Scrape each of the three batters into one of the prepared pans, using the spatula to spread the batter to the edges. Bake, rotating and switching the positions of the pans halfway through, until the edges are golden, 12 to 14 minutes. Let cool in the pans for about 5 minutes, then invert onto cooling racks and allow to cool completely.
• To assemble, place the green layer on a large cutting board or a large inverted baking sheet lined with wax paper. Spread the raspberry jam evenly over the top. Place the yellow layer on top and spread with the apricot preserves. If there are large chunks of apricots, remove and chop them up to make them more spreadable. Top with the red layer. Cover with plastic wrap and place a heavy cutting board on top to weight it down. Refrigerate overnight.
• Place the chocolate chips in a microwaveable bowl and melt in the microwave on low power about 2 minutes. Spread the chocolate on top of the cooled cake and let dry slightly. Trim the rim of the cake with a serrated knife to make clean edges. Cut the cake crosswise into twelve 1-inch-wide strips, then cut lengthwise into 1 1/4-inch strips. The cookies will keep, covered, up to 1 week.

ELAINE'S HOLIDAY CUT OUT SUGAR COOKIES - CHRISTMAS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375.
• Cream butter and sugar.
• Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well.
• Add flour, baking powder and salt. Mix well.
• Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, to chill dough before rolling.
• Roll dough thickly. (about 1/4"). If you roll them too thin, they are hard to work with.
• Cut shapes, and put on an ungreased baking sheet.
• Bake 10-12 minutes.
• Cool on rack.
• Frost with your favorite frosting, icing, or glaze.

SUPER SHOOTER SPRITZ HOLIDAY COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Cream sugar and butter.
• Mix in remaining ingredients.
• Place dough in cookie press.
• Press cookikes out onto a COOL cookie sheet.
• Sprinkle with jimmies or colored sugar or place a"red hot" candy or a "mini-M&M" candy in the center of each cookie.
• Watch them closely while baking and don't let them brown.
• Bake about 6-9 minutes, remember, do NOT brown.

HOW TO DECORATE SHORTBREAD HOLIDAY CUT-OUT COOKIES WITH ROYAL ICING RECIPE BY TASTY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350˚F (180˚C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix with a fork.
• In a separate large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar with an electric hand mixer for 3-5 minutes, until the butter and sugar are fully combined, but before the mixture becomes fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat to incorporate.
• Add the flour mixture and mix until just combined, but crumbly. Finish mixing with your hands until the dough comes together in a ball.
• Transfer the dough to a floured surface. Lightly flour the top of the dough and roll out to about ¼-inch thick. Use cookie cutters of your choice to punch out cookies. Place the cookie cut-outs on the prepared baking sheets.
• Bake for 8-10 minutes, until lightly browned around the edges. Let cool completely.
• To make the royal icing: In a medium bowl, add the meringue powder to the powdered sugar. Whisk to combine. Add the vanilla and 4-6 tablespoons of water (depending on how runny or thick you'd like your icing.) Whisk until completely combined.
• Divide the icing into smaller bowls and add any desired gel food colors. Immediately transfer to piping bags, or cover with plastic wrap. Do not leave the icing uncovered, as it will develop a film. If this happens, add a small amount of water and whisk to incorporate.
• Decorate the cookies with royal icing as desired and let dry completely, at least 3-4 hours or overnight.
• Enjoy!

HOLIDAY CORNFLAKE COOKIES

Steps:

• In a 6-qt. stockpot, melt butter over medium heat. Add marshmallows; cook and stir until melted. Remove from heat., Fold in cornflakes. Working quickly, fill 16 greased muffin cups two-thirds full. Using the end of a wooden spoon, make holes in centers to resemble wreaths. Decorate immediately with Red Hots and sprinkles.

HOLIDAY CUTOUT COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter, shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, milk and extracts. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into creamed mixture. Divide dough into four portions. Shape each into a disk; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate, covered, overnight or until firm enough to roll., Preheat oven to 400°. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion of dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with floured 3-in. holiday cookie cutters. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets., Bake until edges are lightly brown, 5-7 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely., In a large bowl, beat confectioners' sugar, vanilla and enough cream to reach a spreading consistency. If desired, beat in food coloring. Frost and decorate cookies as desired.

SPICED HOLIDAY SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• 1. Mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in medium bowl. Set aside. Beat granulated sugar and butter in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; mix well. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until well mixed. Refrigerate dough 2 hours or overnight until firm.
• 2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface* to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut into shapes with favorite cookie cutters. Place on greased baking sheets.
• 3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets 1 minute. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.
• 4. For the Icing, mix all ingredients except food colors. (Stir in additional milk to thin icing or more confectioners' sugar to thicken, if needed). Place small amount of icing into small shallow bowls, using one bowl for each color desired. Stir drops of food color into icing until desired shade is reached.
• 5. To ice cookies, hold cookie by its edge and dip top of cookie into icing. (Or spoon the icing onto cookie using a teaspoon.) Place iced cookies on wire rack set over foil-covered baking sheet to dry. (The foil-covered baking sheet will catch drips.) To add decorative details to cookies, spoon tinted icing into resealable plastic bag. Snip off a tiny piece of the corner. Squeeze icing through hole in plastic bag to decorate cookies. If desired, Colored Sugar may be sprinkled onto freshly iced cookies.
• For the variations below, omit the cinnamon and the nutmeg. Use the following extract in place of the vanilla extract in the cookies:
• Almond Holiday Sugar Cookies: Use 1 teaspoon McCormick® Pure Almond Extract.
• Orange Holiday Sugar Cookies: Use 1 teaspoon McCormick® Pure Orange Extract.
• Lemon Holiday Sugar Cookies: Use 1 teaspoon McCormick® Pure Lemon Extract.

HOLIDAY OATMEAL COOKIES WITH DRIED FRUIT AND NUTS

Steps:

• Set oven to 350 degrees F.
• Grease a large cookie sheet/s.
• In a large bowl combine oil with eggs, both sugars and extract; beat well using an electric mixer on medium speed.
• In a small bowl combine whole wheat flour with baking soda, salt and cinnamon (if using) add to the oil mixture and mix just until combined.
• In a bowl combine the rolled oats with coconut, cranberries, cherries, almonds and chocolate chips (if using) add to the batter and mix until combined.
• Roll into about 1-inch balls then place onto greased baking sheet.
• Flatten slightly with a fork.
• Bake about 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.
• Cool 2 minutes then remove to a rack to cool completely.

HOLIDAY GUMDROP COOKIES

Steps:

• Cut gumdrops into small pieces; place in a bowl. Add walnuts, raisins and 1/4 cup flour and toss to coat. , In a large bowl, beat shortening and brown sugar until blended. Beat in egg, then buttermilk. In another bowl, whisk remaining flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into shortening mixture. Stir in gumdrop mixture. Refrigerate, covered, 1 hour. , Preheat oven to 400°. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on pans 2 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool.

DOUBLE-DUTCH CHOCOLATE HOLIDAY COOKIES

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. In a 1-qt. glass jar, layer the flour mixture, cocoa, sugar, brown sugar, M&M's and baking chips. Cover and store in a cool, dry place for up to 1 month. Yield: 1 batch (about 4 cups total)., To prepare cookies: In a large bowl, beat the butter, eggs and vanilla until well blended. Add contents of jar and beat just until combined. , Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets; flatten slightly with a glass. Bake at 350° for 9-11 minutes or until set. Remove to wire racks to cool. Store in an airtight container.

HOLIDAY BUTTER COOKIES

Steps:

• Cream the butter until light. Gradually add in the sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and almond extract.
• Gradually stir in the flour. Cover and chill dough until firm.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degree C).
• Roll dough out on a floured surface to 1/4 or 1/8 inch thick and cut with cookie cutters or stamps.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 8 to 12 minutes.

HOLIDAY SPRITZ COOKIES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Stir flour, salt and baking powder in medium bowl until well blended. Beat shortening, butter and powdered sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, almond extract and food color. Beat in flour mixture gradually until blended.
• Fit cookie press with Christmas tree or wreath plate according to manufacturer's instructions. Fill cookie press according to instructions. Press dough onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake 6 to 7 minutes or until set, but not brown. Cool 1 minute on baking sheet. Remove to wire rack to cool completely.
• Place frosting in large heavy-duty resealable plastic bag. Microwave on HIGH 20 to 30 seconds to soften. Knead. Cut very small bottom corner off bag. Drizzle over cookies in a decorative pattern. Place candy bits from frosting in medium bowl. Hold cookie over bowl and sprinkle with candy bits. Let stand 15 minutes or until frosting is set.

HOLIDAY ICEBOX COOKIES

Steps:

• Using the electric mixer, mix the butter and the sugar until creamy. Add the eggs and the salt, and mix well. Beat in milk and vanilla. Add flour a little at a time, mixing it in until all of it has been incorporated.
• Divide the dough into balls, one for each color. For chocolate dough, add cocoa (1/4 cup is enough to flavor half a batch). Mix well with electric mixer. For colored dough, start with 1/4 teaspoon food coloring, and mix well. Add more in tiny amounts for darker colors. Gel-paste coloring can be intense, so add it gradually.
• Wrap each ball of dough in its own sheet of plastic wrap; pat flat into a rectangle. Refrigerate at least one hour or until ready to use.
• Parchment or waxed paper makes a good work surface. Sprinkle generously with flour, then roll out each piece of dough 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick to make the swirls; you can use thicker layers for the bull's-eyes.
• The bench scraper is a good tool for trimming dough's edges to make them even. The egg white, brushed on with a pastry brush, will act as a glue, making the layers stick together.
• For center, with your hands, roll chocolate dough into a 1/2- to 1 1/2- inch-thick rod; chill 20 minutes. Place rod on edge of rolled-out dough that's been brushed with egg white.
• Roll rod inside sheet of dough. Cut the dough where it meets up. Seal by pinching and pressing gently. Chill 20 minutes, then repeat to add other layers. To decorate, go to step 7, or jump to step 8 for plain.
• For spirals, measure and trim two or more colors of dough to same size. Brush on egg white, then stack layers. Brush top with egg white. Starting at one end, roll up the dough.
• Smooth and straighten the layers as you roll them so there are no gaps, then gently pinch and press the edge of the roll to seal it. Now the dough is ready to decorate. If you want plain cookies, skip to step 18.
• Add your favorite toppings (try coconut, colored sanding sugar, chopped nuts, or chocolate sprinkles): Spread topping in baking sheet, brush dough with egg white, and roll the log in topping.
• Roll each log in parchment or waxed paper; twist the ends of the paper closed. To help the logs keep their round shape, set each in a cardboard paper-towel roll that you have sliced open lengthwise.
• To remember what colors you have already used, with crayons, draw the designs onto key tags; tie the tags onto the paper covering the logs. Chill logs until they are solid, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Cut 15 inches of dental floss (or double thickness of thread). Let log soften for about 10 minutes. Remove parchment. Wrap floss around log and pull through. Make the slices thin: 1/4 inch or less.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place slices on an ungreased baking sheet (lined with parchment paper). A grown-up should bake the cookies 12 to 15 minutes, until firm but not browned. Let cool on baking sheet for several minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.

HOLIDAY LACE COOKIES

Steps:

• In a bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in corn syrup. Gradually beat in flour and mix well. Fold in pecans and cranberries. Shape dough into two 6-in. logs; wrap each and chill until firm, at least 2 hours. , Unwrap and cut into 1/4-in. slices. Place 3 in. apart on ungreased foil-lined baking sheets. Bake at 350° until center and edges are browned and lacy, 11-12 minutes. Allow cookies to cool completely before carefully removing from foil.

HOLIDAY SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• In a food processor, combine butter, confectioners' sugar, and salt; process until smooth. Add flour and pulse just until combined. Form dough into an 8-inch-long round or square log; wrap tightly in plastic and freeze until firm, 30 minutes (or up to 1 month).
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Cut dough into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Dip edges in sugar if desired and transfer to two parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until cookies are golden brown around edges, 15 to 18 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Let cookies cool 5 minutes on sheets. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

HOLIDAY BUTTER MINT COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°. In a large bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in water and extract. Gradually beat flour into creamed mixture. Stir in 1/4 cup crushed mints., Shape into 1-in. balls. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets; flatten slightly. Bake until bottoms are lightly browned, 12-15 minutes., Coat warm cookies with remaining crushed mints. Cool on wire racks.

HOLIDAY SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in lemon peel and vanilla. Combine flour and baking soda; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Shape into three 10-in. rolls; wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 4 hours or until firm., Unwrap and cut into 1/4-in. slices. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 10-15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove to wire racks., In a large bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, butter, milk and food coloring until smooth; transfer to a resealable plastic bag; drizzle over cookies in the shape of a Christmas tree. Place one Red Hot at the top of each tree.

HOLIDAY REINDEER COOKIES

Steps:

• In a microwave, melt candy coating; stir until smooth. Dip one cookie in chocolate; allow excess to drip off. Place on waxed paper., Attach two marshmallow halves onto cookie for eyes; add decorating icing for pupils and a mouth. Add an M&M or Red Hot for nose. Attach pretzels or pretzel pieces for antlers. Repeat. Let stand until set.