Everyone has a different approach to holiday baking. Some love to gather with others and do one big afternoon of baking multiple recipes together. In our house, we take a different approach. We slowly bake our favorites from Thanksgiving onward, so we always have festive cookies available. I feel as though this ends up being more fun for me, as well, as the pressure is off to make everything Christmas week. That being said, though, here we are at Christmas week, and you still have plenty of time to bake any one of these six recipes!
Through the years, we’ve developed our favorites. We’ve tried a bunch of recipes and cookies outside of these, of course, (bourbon balls, butter tarts, buckeyes, fudge) but, as a family, these are the ones that we come back to every year and look forward to.
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Shortbread
We’re Scottish, so traditional shortbread is a requirement for our family. We make this not only at Christmas, but basically, anytime we need some comfort and love during the year. Served best with a cup of hot tea.
TIP: If you aren’t using rice flour it isn’t traditional shortbread! Also, be sure to get high-quality butter.
Try this recipe from Taste of Home for a true traditional shortbread.
Oreo “Truffles”
My kids adore these and beg for them as soon as the holiday hits. They aren’t hard to make but do require refrigerated storage.
TIP: we refrigerate ours after first rolling them into balls, then coat them in melted dark chocolate once they are cold, dusting them with red and green sprinkles. I highly recommend dark chocolate over white!
This recipe from snackworks for easy Oreo truffles is the closest to what we successfully do at our house every year.
Looking for more Christmas posts and inspirations? Try these:
Ways to Celebrate Christmas as a Family (with a free printable!)
Candy Cane Cookies
I made this one year (eons ago) for a preschool holiday party and am kind of kicking myself as they are now considered a “tradition” in our house. The separation of the dough and the rolling is kind of a pain, to be honest. But they turn out cute and my kids, now a teen and a tween, still ask for them.
TIP: we do NOT coat ours in peppermint candies at the end. We find that the peppermint extract imparts enough flavor. Also, be sure to use a recipe that has some vanilla extract in it or the peppermint is unbalanced.
This recipe for candy cane cookies from Simply Recipes is a great one to start with – although our candy canes never look that neat and perfect when we roll and twist!
Swedish or Russian or Mexican Tea Cakes
These powdery little snowballs go by many different names, but the pecans combined with the shortbread-like quality of the cookies mean that we make them every holiday season.
TIP: we use the recipe in The Joy of Cooking every year and have found it is important to fully allow the nuts to cool after toasting. Be sure not to overbake these!
This recipe for Russian Tea Cakes from Natasha’s Kitchen is the best one I can find on the Internet as Natasha walks cooks through successfully toasting the nuts.
Sugar Cookies, topped with white frosting and decorated
These just have to be made!
Take your pick of any sugar cookie recipe out there, roll out the dough, cut some shapes with fun cookie cutters, bake, cool, and then have fun decorating! We don’t treat ours very seriously. Our snowmen and angels usually look like a cross between Halloween spectaculars and glittery Christmas sprinkles. But they are hysterical and bring us good memories every year.
TIP: just use white frosting from the grocery store, pre-made! The consistency will be just what you need, the stickiness just right, and the color is so spot on that it will allow you to have true white or dye the frosting. Also, be sure to chill the dough before rolling it out and cutting.
Ginger Spice Cookies
This recipe has become Mr. Family Trip’s favorite. It was given to me by a friend a few years ago, but we’re not sure where it originated. As a Christmas gift to you, please enjoy our favorite Ginger Spice Cookie recipe…
| Prep Time | 30 minutes |
| Cook Time | 12-15 minutes |
| Passive Time | 2 hours |
| Servings |
5-inch cookies
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- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 heaping TBLS ground ginger
- 1/2 heaping tsp ground white pepper
- 1 c + 2 TBLS unsalted butter, softeneed
- 1/2 c packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 c granulated sugar
- 6 TBL unsulfured molasses
- 1 egg
- 1/2 c sanding sugar
Ingredients
|
|
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, allspice, and white pepper. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine butter with light brown sugar and granulated sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in molasses and egg, and mix well.
- Add the reserved dry ingredients, and beat until just combined. Form the dough into a ball and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Remove dough from refrigerator. Shape dough into 2-inch diameter balls.
- Pour sanding sugar into a large bowl, and roll balls in sanding sugar, coating well.
- Place cookies on baking sheets (if nonstick, no need to line; if not using nonstick, place cookies on parchment paper). Space cookies 4 inches apart. For flatter, crispier cookies, press down on cookies slightly.
- Transfer to oven, and bake until brown, 12-15 minutes. Remove from oven, and transfer to a wire rack to cool.
- I've been using Grandma's Molasses brand and we really like the flavor.
- White pepper can be found in select grocery stores, such as Whole Foods, and really makes the recipe!
- My friend I believe that high-quality butter makes a difference in how these turn out, so go for the good stuff. Â