Santa will be here SO soon! And if you have little ones who just can’t contain their excitement leading up to Christmas Eve, a family baking session is the perfect distraction! Scroll down to check out our four favorite cookie recipes this Christmas!
The Night Before Christmas Cookie Sandwiches
From Katie, the mom and recipe creator behind Witten Kitchen
INGREDIENTS:
Serves 30
- Cookies: 3 cups AP flour + more for dusting
- ⅔ cup unsweetened cocoa
- ¾ tsp. kosher salt
- ½ tsp. baking powder
- 1 ½ stick of unsalted butter (12 Tbsp.)
- ⅔ cup semi sweet chocolate, melted over water bath
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- To Make Sandwich: Frosting of your choice or Marshmallow Fluff
- To Top Cookies: White Sparkling Crystals (purchased at many craft and baking stores)
- Special Equipment: Dessert Cake Pop Sticks (purchased at Michael’s, Target, or speciality baking section of your grocer).
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Whisk together the flour, cocoa, salt, and baking powder together in a bowl.
- In a small bowl over a hot water bath, melt the semisweet chocolate. Set aside and cool.
- In an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Scrape down the bowl. Add in the chocolate and vanilla extract, mix again. Add the two eggs, one by one, scraping down the sides of the bowl to ensure it is completely mixed together.
- Add in the dry ingredients, bit by bit, until completely mixed together. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour or over night.
- When ready to bake, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- On a floured counter, roll out the dough until about ¼-inch thick. Cut into desired shapes. You may have to put more flour on top of the dough as you roll out. This will bake off.
- Put onto the lined cook sheet and bake for 10 minutes, until firm around the edges and puffed in the middle. Transfer to a wire rack, sprinkle with the sparkling sugar, and allow to cool.
- Take the frosting of your choice, we like marshmallow fluff or simple vanilla, and spread between two cookies.
- Keep refrigerated until 1 hour before serving.
Italian Ricotta Cookies
Click here for the recipe my family loves year after year from Cooking Classy!
Santa’s Favorite Cookies
Click here for the recipe my kids are loving from Crazy for Crust!
Linzer Cookies
Rachael Mahoney, the mom and personal chef behind Kinney Lane shared this recipe!
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup almond flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 large egg
Zest of 1 lemon or orange
Powdered sugar, for dusting
Raspberry jam (you can choose any flavor you’d like)
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Combine the dry ingredients: Almond flour, all-purpose flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking powder. Mix until combined.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy- about 2 minutes. Beat the egg and the vanilla, almond extract, zest and beat until combined- about 30 seconds. Stir the dry ingredients into the butter mixture in batches until just combined. Halve the dough, form into 2 disks, wrap in plastic and chill until very firm, at least 2 hours. This can be done overnight (and is recommended).
- Pre-heat the oven to 350°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment or a silpat.
- Transfer the dough to a floured surface and roll it out until it is about 1/4-inch thick. We find using a marble rolling pin is best for these types of cookies. You can chill marble roller in refrigerator before rolling for best results.
- Quickly cut your shapes: Cut out your desired shapes with your cookie cutters. Cut a window out of one of the larger shapes with a smaller cutter of the same shape. If dough seems to be getting warm, please tray in fridge for a few minutes to avoid breaking or melting. We recommend working fast during this part of the recipe since dough can get soft quickly. We used heart, Christmas tree, gingerbread man, star and circle shaped cutters for these cookies.
- Bake the cookies for about 9-13 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly golden around the edges.
- Cool cookies: Remove and let cool until you are ready to handle them again.
- Assemble: Dust tops of the cut-out “windowed” cookies with powdered sugar using a fine mesh strainer. Spread a dollop of jam on the remaining bottom flat part of cookie. Arrange sugared top on jellied bottom. Repeat until all cookies are completed and enjoy! Box and gift any remaining cookies.