12 Holiday Cookies to Gift, Exchange & Serve

Cookies seem to be the one thing that is a must when it comes to holiday baking. Whether you're giving them to friends or serving them to your family, a plate full of delicious cookies is the perfect way to spread holiday cheer. This year I've put together a little collection of 10 of my favorite cookies that are not only easy to make but are downright delicious! Enjoy and happy baking!

Meyer Lemon Curd Thumbprints

 I shared this recipe over at Lil' Luna a few weeks ago and I think it's one you're really going to love! One of my favorite family recipes is my Grandma Carol's lemon bars. They're perfect in every way and everyone loves them! The only problem is that they take quite a bit of time to make and they tend to get a bit messy when you're trying to plate them up. So I thought that I'd skip the mess and make a Grandma Carol inspired treat for you! These thumbprints were just what I was hoping for- buttery, flakey and full of zesty lemon flavor. I dusted them with powdered sugar and filled them with a dollop of chilled curd. These little cookies taste just like lemon bars- so delicious! Since Meyer lemons are always abundant around Christmas I used them, but if you can't seem to find any, you can always use regular lemons (the curd will be slightly more tart). To cut down on the prep time I decided to make the curd in the microwave instead of on the stovetop. Trust me, there's nothing worse then spending half an hour whisking curd over a hot stove- so to save yourself some time and give the microwave method a try, I think you're gonna like it! 

Buttery Lemon Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
2½ c. + 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
½ c. sugar
14 tbsp. (1¾ sticks) butter, room temperature
2 egg yolks
Zest of 1 Meyer lemon
2 tsp. Meyer lemon juice
¼ tsp. salt
½ tsp. vanilla extract

Microwave Meyer Lemon Curd
Ingredients
⅔ c. sugar
4 tbsp. butter, melted
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
½ c. Meyer lemon juice
Zest of 1 Meyer lemon
¹⁄₈ tsp Madagascar vanilla bean paste

⅓ c. powdered sugar, for dusting

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside.
2. To make the lemon curd, in a large microwaveable bowl, combine sugar, butter, lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla bean paste. Whisk in egg, then egg yolk. Place in the mixture into the microwave and cook for 1 minute at a time, whisking after each minute. You will need to do a total of 4-6 minutes or until the curd coats the back of a spatula (it will look jelly-like). The time will depend on the strength of your microwave.
3. Pour the hot curd through a mesh sieve to remove any "eggy" parts. Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator until cookies have completely cooled.
4. To make the cookies, in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together butter, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl if necessary. Add egg yolks one at a time and mix just until incorporated. Add salt, then with mixing speed on low, gradually add flour a ½ cup at a time. Mix until incorporated.
5. Roll dough into 1" balls, place on prepared baking sheets. Lightly pat down to flatten (just a little bit), then using your thumb press little wells into each. Place into the oven and bake for 13-15 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown in color. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cookies have cooled (30 minutes or so) using a mesh sieve, gently dust powdered sugar over each cookie. Place a dollop of chilled lemon curd in the center of each, then place in refrigerator to set up. Serve & enjoy!
Adapted from redbookmag.com, Lemon Thumbprint Cookies | Makes approximately 30 cookies

Simple Dropped Sugar Cookies

Rolled sugar cookies are always such a lengthy and time consuming process. I love them, but they're a little too much work for me right now. So that left me with only one option- dropped cookies. I did a little research and came across a recipe that I thought would work... the only problem was that people were getting mixed results (check out the pictures here, it's really strange). Some cookies turned out flat and cracked (which was what I was looking for) and others turned out puffy and thick. I decided to add a little water to my cookie dough to help coax in into flattening and I also increased the vanilla and added lemon zest just to give them more flavor. I think the alterations paid off, because these came out looking beautiful and tasting amazing too! We've definitely found ourselves a really great substitute for traditional rolled & frosted cookies! Happy baking!

Simple Dropped Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
2½ c. all-purpose flour
1¼ c. sugar
16 tbsp. (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
3 egg yolks

1 tbsp. water, lukewarm

¼ tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. cream of tartar

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

Zest of 1 lemon

½ c. sprinkles or coarse sugar for rolling

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper, set aside.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together butter and sugar until creamy. Add 1 egg yolk at a time, mixing after each addition. Add vanilla extract, water, and lemon zest, mix until just combined.

3. In a medium size mixing bowl, whisk to together flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. With mixing speed on low, gradually add the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined.

4. Form cookies by using a medium size scoop. Roll the tops (or the mounded side) in sprinkles or sugar (keeping the flat side or bottom free of any sugar). Place balls onto prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Do not flatten the cookies, they will do so on their own. 

5. Place in oven and bake for 14-16 minutes or until the the edges begin to brown and the cookies are cracked. Remove from oven and allow cookies to remain on the cookie sheet for 3-4 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Adapted from All Recipes, Cracked Sugar Cookies | Makes approximately 24 cookies

Mint Chocolate Double Delights

Yesterday I shared this recipe over at This Heart of Mine, so today I thought I'd share it with you! Above is a picture of some of my family's favorite Christmas cookies. Growing up, my mom would bake hundreds of cookies each December to give away to friends and family. As kids we were in charge of helping her to cut out the sugar cookies and decorate them, roll the ginger cookies in sugar, and fill the mint and peanut butter ones. When all of the cookies were done, we'd plate them and wrap them in festive cellophane. She'd finish them off with beautiful big bows made out of curling ribbon and then we'd all hop in the car and spend the rest of the afternoon/evening driving around and dropping them off. Needless to say, everyone was really happy to see us :) Now that us kids have grown and moved away, my mom makes all of the cookies by herself. She still gets requests for all of her cookies, but especially her mint chocolate double delights. They are addictive little cookies! Mint lovers beware, you may have to double or quadruple this recipe- yes, my mom would quadruple it! Enjoy and happy baking!!!

Mint Chocolate Double Delights

Ingredients

3 c. all-purpose flour

½ c. brown sugar

¾ c. unsalted butter

2 eggs

2 tbsp. water

1 (12 oz) bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips

1¼ tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

¼ tsp. vanilla extract

For the filling:

3 c. powdered sugar

⅓ c. butter, room temperature

2-3 tbsp. whole milk

¼ tsp. peppermint extract (or more depending on how strong you like it)

pinch of salt

2-3 drops of green (or red) food coloring

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a medium size mixing bowl whisk together flour, salt and baking soda. Set aside.

2. In a large saucepan over low heat, melt butter. Add brown sugar and stir with a heatproof spatula. Remove mixture from heat. Add in water, then chocolate chips, stir until chips have melted.

3. Beat in eggs one at a time, then add vanilla. Gradually fold in dry ingredients. Mix until just combined.

4. Roll dough into 1½" balls and place on a baking sheet. Place into oven and bake for 8-11 minutes at 350˚. Remove from oven and allow to cool on baking sheet for 3-4 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. 

5. While cookies are cooling, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat together butter for 30 seconds on high. Turn mixing speed to low, gradually add the powdered sugar on cup at a time. Once the mixture has incorporated, add milk, salt, peppermint extract and food coloring. Gradually turn speed up and continue beating for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy. 

6. Place filling into a bag and pipe onto one side of a cooled cookie. Place a "top" on it (you will want to try to match up similar size/shape ones). Allow cookies to sit for 30 minutes before eating.

Stephen + Natalie Family Recipe | Makes approximately 12 sandwich cookies

Chewy Ginger Cookies

It's December! My Christmas shopping is done and the house is decorated, now it's time for me to relax and bake. I broke out my recipe binder the other day and started thumbing through family recipes. My mom makes these really yummy ginger cookies that I've always loved, so I thought I'd start there. I decided to add some crystalized ginger bits just to give them a little texture and to enhance the spicy ginger flavor that I love so much. They turned out exactly like mom's, something I'm always happy about! Do you ever make family recipes that don't turn out? Yeah, that's always incredibly frustrating! Anyway, these were perfect, so perfectly delicious that I snacked on a few, and then a few more... they're that good!

Chewy Ginger Cookies
Ingredients
2 c. all-purpose flour, sifted
1 c. sugar
¼ c. molasses
¾ c. butter flavored shortening
1 egg
2 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 tbsp. ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
3 tbsp. diced crystalized ginger bits

½ c. sugar, for rolling

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together shortening, sugar and molasses. Add egg and mix until just combined.
3. In a medium size mixing bowl, whisk together sifted flour, baking soda, salt, ginger and cinnamon. With mixing speed on low, gradually add to the wet ingredients.
4. Remove bowl from stand and gently fold in crystalized ginger bits. Form into 1½" balls, roll in sugar. Place in oven and bake for 12 minutes. Cookies will look cracked, this is normal. Remove from oven and allow to cool on sheets for 3-4 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Stephen+ Natalie Family Recipe | Makes approximately 2 dozen cookies     [photo inspired by: bhg's ginger cookies]