Lifestyle / Recipes For Holiday Cookies

Recipes For Holiday Cookies

Lifestyle Dec 25, 2013

by Anokhi Admin

Don't feel like hitting the stores this Boxing Day? Carry on the family fun at home by getting busy in the kitchen with some great holiday cookie recipes. There better than your grandma’s cookies, but just don’t tell her that.

Bring the family together by baking one or all of these delicious recipes over the holidays. Not only does it add that homemade touch to the festive season, it'll get the clan spending time with each other doing something that you can all have fun. The results are sure to be fantastic, though we can’t make any promises for the state of your kitchen.

Melting Snowmen Cookies

Asking if climate change is real is like asking, are sugar cookies delicious? Well, not everyone gets to have a white winter, but instead of mourning the lack of snow, celebrate the weather with these tasty melting snowmen.

SUGAR COOKIES

INGREDIENTS
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
seeds from 1/2 of a vanilla bean (optional)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup cream cheese, softened to room temperature

DIRECTIONS
·       In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
·       Cream together the sugar and butter with an electric mixer.
·       Add eggs and continue blending.
·       Add the vanilla extract, seeds from vanilla bean, sour cream and cream cheese and blend thoroughly.
·       In 1/2 cup increments, add the dry ingredients into the wet and mix until a soft dough forms.
·       The dough should be sticky, but slightly firm.
·       Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
·       Once the dough has chilled, preheat oven to 425 degrees F and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment. Set aside.
·       Generously flour a work surface, unwrap your dough and place onto the floured surface. Dust the top of the dough with more flour.
·       Roll out with a rolling pin until 1/3 inch thick and cut with a glass or with a cookie cutter into flat round discs.
·       Lay these out on the baking sheets, evenly spaced and bake at 425 degrees F for 6-7 minutes until cookies become golden around the edges and feel slightly firm to the touch.
·       Set aside to cool.

* Tip* Add your favorite extract flavoring to your cookie dough mix for your very own homemade touch.

ICING

INGREDIENTS
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons milk
2 teaspoons light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon almond extract or your favorite
assorted food coloring

DIRECTIONS
. In a small bowl, stir together confectioners' sugar and milk until smooth.
·       Beat in corn syrup and flavored extract until icing is smooth and glossy.
·       If icing is too thick, add more corn syrup.
·       The right consistency should drip slightly off of cookies, but for decorating it should be stiffer which means add more powdered sugar.

DECORATING MELTING SNOWMEN

INGREDIENTS
Marshmallows
Cake frosting (colored tubes)

DIRECTIONS
·       Once the cookies are cool, paint them with icing with the back of a spoon. Let some dribble over the edge for a "puddle" look.
·       Spray a microwave safe plate with cooking spray and place marshmallows on the plate. Set the microwave for 30 seconds, but stop the microwave as soon as the marshmallows start to get puffy, but do not let them double in size.
·       Spray your fingers with cooking spray and carefully pull the marshmallows off by the base, and set them on top of the frosted cookies, pushing them gently into the still-wet frosting.
·       At this point either set the cookies aside for the frosting to set, before decorating, or just go ahead and decorate as you'd like with the frosting tubes, or your own homemade frosting!

Red Velvet Peppermint Thumbprint Kiss Cookies

Like the title, these cookies are a delicious mouthful! Easy to make too, enjoy spreading the love this holiday by pressing kisses into red velvet cookie dough and onto the cheeks of those you love.

INGREDIENTS
1-1/2 cups unbleached flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 large egg
1 tablespoon liquid red food coloring
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon white vinegar
Candy Cane Hershey's Kisses

DIRECTIONS

·       Preheat your oven to 325º
·       Line cookie sheets in preparation with parchment paper
·       In a small bowl, whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
·       Combine oil, brown sugar and white sugar and blend until smooth.
·       Add eggs and blend until creamy.
·       Mix in red food coloring, vanilla and vinegar.
·       Add flour mixture and blend until completely combined.
·       Scoop dough into about 1" balls and place on cookie sheet, leaving even space between each one.
·       Bake for about 12 minutes in preheated oven, or until edges are set.
·       Remove from oven and press Hershey's Kiss candy into the middle of each cookie.
·       Let rest for one minute and then gently tap the cookie sheet on counter to make the Kiss drop into a thumbprint. Alternately, if you want the Kiss intact, don't tap the cookie sheet.
·       Let cool, harden and then enjoy.

Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies

A perfect marriage of salty and sweet, this dream-team is the holiday present you’ve been waiting for.

INGREDIENTS

3/4 cup (1 & 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1/4 cup bacon fat
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 & 1/4 cup flour
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
8-10 ounces of bacon (or more, if you like)

DIRECTIONS

·       Fry bacon until crispy over stovetop, medium heat and set aside.
·       Save the bacon grease in a glass container and allow to cool until solid.
·       Preheat oven to 375 F.
·       In a large mixing bowl, combine butter, bacon fat, sugars and vanilla. Blend until fluffy.
·       Add eggs and baking soda and mix until thoroughly blended.
·       Add flour and mix until thoroughly blended and then set aside.
·       Crumble as much of the fried bacon as you would like sprinkled in your cookies.
·       Stir in bacon and chocolate chips to dough.
·       Drop rounded scoops, evenly spaced onto a parchment lined baking sheet.
·       Bake in the oven at 375 F for about 8 minutes until slightly risen and golden brown
·       Enjoy your sweet and salty treat (and then hit the gym)!

Try these cookies and add them to your baking repertoire for a winter holiday tradition everyone will love. Don't forget to tweet us your favourite creations.

_{·       Courtesy of foodfunlife.blogspot.com

Baconchococookie.jpeg http://foodfunlife.blogspot.com/

·       Courtesy of Angela Gray; justapinch.com

Melting snowman.jpeg http://www.justapinch.com

·       Courtesy of yummyhealthyeasy.com

redvelvetcookies.jpeg http://www.yummyhealthyeasy.com}

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