What's Your Favorite Christmas Cookie?

14 years ago

I'm taking a poll, looking for ideas. I want to bake cookies as gifts to friends and relatives. We already agreed no store bought gifts. No need to post the recipes. My own favorite is Chocolate rum Balls.

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Comments (33)

Kathsgrdn
14 years ago
Scandinavian almond bars. Yum! They're a buttery cookie drizzled in almond icing with sliced almonds pressed on top of them.
ritamay91710
14 years ago
Mine is actually more of a Jewish tradition, I think, lol. but I make a yummy rugalah. (sp?)
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Here you go! Date Pinwheels -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Baker's Catalogue editor P.J. Hamel reports that this is her all-time favorite Christmas cookie. She writes: "My own memories include the soft brown dough, the dates bubbling on the stove, the tricky process of rolling the filling inside the dough, and the magical way the refrigerator would make the sticky mass solid and sliceable. And the taste! Waiting till just the right moment, the cookies hot out of the oven but the filling cool enough not to burn, my sister and I would greedily eat date pinwheels till Mom made us stop. No, date pinwheels aren't beautiful; in fact, they're usually kind of plain-looking, the spiral of dates often a bit out of whack. But these homely little gems strike just the right note on my Christmas cookie spread. "Remember to share this recipe with a younger friend; it's up to all of us to pass along this type of old and trusted recipe to the next generation of bakers." Dough 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks, 6 ounces) unsalted butter 2 cups (15 1/2 ounces) light brown sugar, packed 3 large eggs 4 cups (17 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1/2 teaspoon baking soda Filling* 1 3/4 cups (9 1/4 ounces) chopped dates 3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces) granulated sugar 3/4 cup (6 ounces) water 1/8 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 cups (about 6 ounces) finely diced pecans or walnuts *Though this filling is easy enough to make, if you want to use purchased date (or fig) filling, go ahead. You'll need about 2 cups (24 ounces) of filling. Dough: In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the flour, salt, and baking soda. Chill the dough till it's firm enough to roll out, at least 1 hour. Filling: While the dough is chilling, make the filling. In a small saucepan set over medium-high heat, combine the dates, sugar, water, and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and boil the dates gently for 10 to 15 minutes, or until thickened to about the consistency of very soft jam. Stir in the finely diced nuts, and set aside. Assembly: Divide the dough in half; each half will weigh about 21 ounces. Working with one half at a time, roll the dough into a 9" x 12", 1/4"-thick rectangle. Spread half the filling (about 11 ounces) over the entire surface of the dough; the filling is sticky and stiff, but if you keep wetting your fingers, you can push and spread it around without too much trouble. Roll the dough up, lengthwise, to make a log. It's somewhat delicate, but a baker's bench knife or spatula helps the job along. Wrap each log in waxed paper or plastic wrap and chill for several hours, or overnight. If you have a double baguette pan, slip the wrapped dough into the wells to help preserve their round shape. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly grease two baking sheets. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, and if it's flattened out at all roll it till it's round again; the log may lengthen a bit, and that's OK. Cut the log into 1/3" slices, and place the slices 1 1/2" apart on lightly greased baking sheets. Baking: Bake the cookies for 10 to 11 minutes, or until they're a very light brown, reversing the baking sheets (top to bottom, and front to back) midway through the baking time. Remove the cookies from the oven, and transfer them to a rack to cool. Yield: about 8 dozen pinwheels. ©2007 The King Arthur Flour Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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Grainlady, do you taste the banana or coconut oil in your cookies? I haven't been able to put a banana in my mouth for years, don't even like the smell. And detest the smell and taste of coconut. I do use a tiny bit of coconut oil for DH's eggs sometimes, but even that can be too much if I am not careful. Mom used to make the chocolate Pixies at Christmas every year! Loved them. My kids didn't like them, so I quit making them years ago. Linda, thank you for your recipe. My favorite cookie depends on the time of year. Any time of year would be soft chewy chocolate chip, or oatmeal cinnamon chip or oatmeal chocolate chip. At Christmas, my aunt's ginger cookies, grandma's BonBons (not a candy), candy cane (without the peppermint). Used to be the Mexican Tea Cakes, very similar to Marilyn's cookie, until I made myself sick on them the first year we were married. DH likes them, but didn't eat any for some reason that year, and I ate the whole batch! Not all at once of course, but still too many. Now I can't eat the nuts. I love the Kiffles, or as DH's mom called them, Kolachkies, also. I didn't have much luck making those, tho. The Mexican Tea Cakes and the candy cane cookies, and the pixies, were the only ones Mom only made at Christmas. Grandma kept the Bon Bons made year round and in the freezer. Every time we came, she would get a box out of the freezer for us to eat. I turned them into Christmas cookies because I would eat them all, all the time!
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For Christmas, I usually make biscotti, and I make the hard kind, with no butter or shortening, and so they have to be dipped in a beverage before eating. They are best with coffee, but I eat them with tea. I also make chocolate crinkle cookies: and Danish butter cookies. I do a variation of the oatmeal raisin cookie in that I substitute granola (that has almonds and coconut) for the oatmeal and reduce the amount of sugar. I also always add chocolate chips to oatmeal raisin cookies. The granola version comes out very crunchy, which I like, but I also like chewy oatmeal cookies. I haven't bought oatmeal in a long time because I make steel cut oats instead, but we do have granola. The Danish butter cookies can be made with a cookie press, but that's the only recipe I have like that, and so I do not have my own cookie press. I suppose shortbread could use a cookie press also, but I haven't made that recently. I haven't made gingersnaps in a while because we buy them at Trader Joe's.
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glenda_al
14 years ago
Noel's
wanda_va
14 years ago
I love Black Walnut cookies (which are incredibly easy to make) and Pecan Puffs.
dees_1
14 years ago
Anything on a plate in front of me that doesn't have coconut. They are all sooooo good!!!

I made some chocolate truffle cookies that are pretty tasty.
sheilajoyce_gw
14 years ago
Sugar cookies, cut out with Christmas cookie cutters, and iced. Don't even have the recipe myself.

My kids love Christmas Wreaths (like Rice Krispie treats made with cornflakes and green food coloring).
matti5
14 years ago
Gingerbread cookies
Rugelach (apricot)
suzieque
14 years ago
I'd love it if some could post their recipes. I've got several cookie swaps coming up and not sure what to make.
mboston_gw
14 years ago
Pfeffernusse - they are a spicy cookie covered in powdered sugar. I haven't made any from scratch but I love Archway's.

My own favorite cookie recipe is a chocolate cookie made with Andes mints. Yum, yum. Haven't made cookies in a few years but I think I will this year, along with the sugar cookie recipe I got on the Cooking Forum. They are made with cream cheese. Wonderful!
phyllis__mn
14 years ago
Love them all too well, I fear, but I guess my favorite is fruit-filled spritz.
cynic
14 years ago
Those Scandinavian almond bars sure sound good. I guess my favorite are several. One is the iced sugar cookies. Got a sleazeball cousin who does make great sugar cookies. They're so soft & tender and the icing just breaks away with it but they can be stacked high and not mess each other up. I thought I had the recipe at one time but can't find it and won't ask her for it. They're very similar to the store ones that are so common now. One of the names for them is "Lofthouse" cookies. I also like Spritz cookies and what I grew up knowing as "Snowballs" but some call them Mexican Wedding Cookies. Much like a Spritz I guess. They crumble & fall apart and are coated with powdered sugar. And if you don't pop the whole thing in your mouth your chest is covered with powdered sugar. Not sure if that's a bad thing or not! Holy cow, speaking of which, how could I forget Rosettes? Haven't had them in years decades!
caroline94535
14 years ago
My favorite cookie is any cookie that someone else bakes!

Cynic...how do you strike through a word like you did "years."
linda_6
14 years ago
My favorite is from my mother's old recipe. She called them kiffles. They're little nut rolls made with cream cheese. You spread a filling made from crush walnuts, evaporated milk and brown sugar.
Georgysmom
14 years ago
Pfeffernusse, but Archway's are just okay.

MBoston, have you tried Stella Doro's? They're much, much better than Archways. Taste almost home made and I've made them several times. But recently I've discovered the best pfeffernusse and wish I hadn't.....Trader Joe's. Oh my, they are wonderful.

Cynic, too bad you don't live closer. I'm making rosettes the week after next for my Wine and Dine group.
jannie
Original Author
14 years ago
THanks for all the help!
jeaninwa
14 years ago
I have an old sugar cookie recipe that has a touch of honey in it. OMY...

My go to cookies every year are scottish shortbread cut out with a a scottie dog cookie cutter with a red or green icing bow. And, chocolate covered pretzels. Always. Last year I made chocolate covered marshmallows. They turned out beautiful. I'd seen them in the bakery dept of Safeway where they were priced at a dollar each, and I said to myself, "self, you could do that!" and I did, and they were every bit as nice as the store ones, and people were quite impressed.
smilin54
14 years ago
I don't necessarily have a favourite cookie other than my mother's shortbread. She's been gone 10 yrs now & didn't make them for the last 10 yrs of her life. I make about 4 batches every Christmas, only at Christmas. I make a pile of cookies and everyone has their own favourite:
Shortbread
Ginger-Molasses cookies
Peanut Butter Balls
Strawberries
Coconut Peaks
Mud Pies
Haystacks
Yule Log
White Chocolate-Macadamia Nut Cookies

I make lots of squares too:
Butter Tart Squares as well as Butter Tarts
Cherry Squares
Stained Glass
Date Squares
Rice Krispie Squares
Nanaimo Bars
Skor Bars
Special K Squares

Oh, and the candy/treats:
Carmel Corn
Butterscotch Patties
Peanut Brittle
Poor Man's Turtles
Chocolate Peanut Clusters
White Chocolate Candy with gum drops - got the recipe here last year!

And my son loves Black Forest Trifle so I usually make one of those every year.

Oh my, I go through a lot of sweetened condensed milk in these recipes so if the budget is getting squeezed, I have a recipe that I use to make it as well. It's not quite perfect but it's very close & works well in the recipes.

I'll be watching this thread for more ideas, as if I don't make enough stuff now!
Linda
paula_pa
14 years ago
I bake cookies every year and this year my plan is to make:

Welsh cookies (a pan-fried cookie popular in the area I grew up)
Spritz trees
snickerdoodles
chocolate chip brownies
South Seas cookies (coconut macaroons with caramel and chocolate)
Gingerbread Men (a less-traditional recipe that uses butterscotch pudding)
Sugar cookies
Milk Chocolate florentines
Chocolate Rum Balls (basically brownies mashed up and mixed with rum and them rolled in colored sugar)
Polish honey cookies (the only new recipe I'm considering since my Dad has mentioned his mother making honey cookies in the past)
caramel and chocolate covered Lorna Doones
caramel and chocolate covered pretzels
(I make homemade caramel and originally I would just cut it and covered the caramels with chocolate but now I prefer using it with the Lorna Doones and small round pretzels)
rice krispie truffles

Things might change. I hardly every end up making exactly what I planned - things get added and deleted to the list as I go. I'm limited in that I don't use nuts or peanuts. Over the years I've started to lean towards more basic flavors that have mass appeal and since these are Christmas cookies I try to add as much festiveness to the trays as I can - I add color and sprinkles to whatever I can.
elisabeth_rose
14 years ago
Fattigmann!!!

Elisabeth
sue_va
14 years ago
I used to make many different kinds, but the favorites were Spritz and Rosettes. Now I don't do any of the baking that requires me to have to stand for long periods of times. Thankfully my DGD makes me some each year.

One that I ran across several years ago and made were the Christmas Mouse. Don't do those any more either.

{{!gwi}}

Sue
cynic
14 years ago
Caroline, nothing to it. I assume you know how to use html for the italics, & bold? Just instead of the i or b tag, you use strike and /strike so it'd look like this:
years and the result would be years

Georgysmom, thanks. Wish I did! LOL But I bought a rosette iron a couple years ago. One of these days I'm going to take a shot at making some. I remember my mother and the neighbor would get together & make rosettes. Oh what a treat! That was holiday time. And one of the best holiday memories. Strange, I don't remember things like gifts and stuff, I remember the things like the turkey (or ham) in the roaster, the dinner rolls hot out of the oven and me with a jar of peanut butter waiting for them! The rosettes. Food... oh well, guess you know my priorities!
carla35
14 years ago
I like to give biscotti as gifts. They hold up well/longer in case the receiver is inundated with cookies. Here's a Carnberry Pistachio Biscotti recipe I like. (They turn out red and green for Christmas)!

Here is a link that might be useful: Biscotti
Marilyn Sue
14 years ago
I don't think I have a favorite Christmas cookie, I just like oatmeal cookies with raisins year round, homemade of course.

Sue
linda_in_iowa
14 years ago
Pfeffernusse. I miss the Christmas cookie exchange we had in an office where I worked. Everyone who signed up brought 5 doz. cookies. Each got to take 4 doz. home with them. It was such a nice mixture of homemade cookies. That was 20 years ago and they still do the cookie exchange.
User
14 years ago
Almond horns, made with almond paste. They are sooo delicious, I only make them once a year because we always manage to eat them up within a day or two.

1 box Almond Paste, grated (I use Odense, I think it's 7 ounces)
3/4 cup confectionary sugar
1 large egg (room temperature), separated
1 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 cup thinly sliced almonds, slightly crushed
4 oz bittersweet chocolate

DIRECTIONS

Line cookie sheet with parchment or foil.
In a food processor or with a mixer combine Almond Paste and sugar. Mix until the texture of fine crumbs. Add egg white and flour, reserving yolk. Mix until dough becomes a smooth paste, it will be slightly sticky.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. With floured hands roll dough into a 12 inch log. Divide into 12 equal pieces and roll into balls. Roll balls between palms into 3 inch logs, slightly tapered at ends.
Spread almonds on a plate. Beat reserved egg yolk with 2 tablespoons of water. Dampen log with beaten yolk. Roll each log in almonds until coated, bending into crescents. Place crescents 2 inches apart on cookie sheet and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 F.
Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until light golden in color. Cool sheet on wire rack for 5 minutes, and loosen crescents with a spatula. Slide parchment off of sheet and back onto wire rack to finish cooling cookies.
Melt chocolate in a double boiler or microwave. Dip cookie ends into melted chocolate. Place back on parchment until chocolate is dry. Layer 'Almond Horns' between sheets of wax paper in an airtight container.
carol_in_california
14 years ago
Pumpkin oatmeal with chocolate chips.....yummy!
kacram
14 years ago
all of them. they are all so good!

SPRITZ YUMMY!

MEXICAN WEDDING CAKES... YUMMY
minnie_tx
14 years ago
Not sure if that's a bad thing or not! Holy cow, speaking of which, how could I forget Rosettes? Haven't had them in years decades!

I made them years ago and still have the irons. When in 3rd or 4th grade someone's mother would make them for our school class.
susanjf_gw
14 years ago
mother made a sugar cookie which had cream of tartar...had a wonderful flavor...mine is date nut rocks in the joy of cooking...
lazypup
14 years ago
I like nearly all cookies but my favorite is my own concoction....Oatmeal cookies with raisins and pineapple in them....I drain a can of crushed pineapple and toss it into the batter...gives a nice flavor and helps keep the cookies soft and moist for those of us who are dentally challenged....LOL
Tabby_cat
14 years ago
Italian Knots, To-Toes, Sicilian Twisted Cookies
OklaMoni
14 years ago
I am a sucker for German Gingerbread (Lebkuchen) from Nuernberg. Bought my BIG tin of it for this year already, and it is less than half full by now.

Moni

Here is a link that might be useful: Lebkuchen
OklaMoni
14 years ago
My Gingerbread tin for this year is shown at the link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: my gingerbread tin

What's Your Favorite Christmas Cookie?

Comments (33)

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What's Your Favorite Christmas Cookie?

Comments (33)

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jannieOriginal Author

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