The holiday season has only officially started once I have made a complete mess of the kitchen while making an obscene amount of Christmas cookies and significantly depleting the national sprinkle supply. Whether you are making treats to munch on while watching a classic Christmas movie or to share with friends and family, there are a variety of cookies that can be made quickly and easily to quench the Christmas cookie craving.
A fan-favorite at my house during the holidays are my mother’s peanut butter chocolate bars, which are essentially Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups in bar form …but better. When I was in elementary school, my mom would make them once a year for teachers and bus drivers, a tradition that her mother started with her years ago. These treats can be made in just a few minutes, and only require five simple ingredients with no baking involved!
Every holiday season, my neighbor brings her Christmas greetings with a tub of her famous chocolate chip meringue cookies with my name on it. Last year’s batch came with a copy of the recipe, so now her cookies are less of a holiday cookie and more of a monthly occurrence in my home, but I will include them nonetheless! These delicious treats look unique and sophisticated while being only composed of five ingredients: egg white, sugar, salt, cream of tartar, and chocolate chips!
Straying from classic Christmas cookies, simple treats that can be made to feed many or simply to satisfy a midnight craving are chocolate-dipped orange slices. Easy enough to make and easier still to eat, all you need to do is melt down some chocolate, add some coconut oil to help with consistency (optional), dip your slices, and leave them to dry (also optional). If you would like to spruce the slices up a little, feel free to do a second dip into colorful sprinkles, coconut shavings, or another topping of your choice!
A staple cookie in my house during the holiday season is the classic cornflake wreath cookie. Made quickly without any baking, these treats are perfect to make with little ones or anyone looking to turn their teeth and fingers green. Topped with red-hots that I always end up picking off, this is a sure win in the festive cookie category.
Last but not least, the classic sugar cookie is sure to satisfy any sugar craving this holiday season. At my house, my family uses a set of ninja shapes to create an army of gingerbread cookies, but the dough can be cut into any shape to create a varied cookie platter with minimal effort. Over the years, I’ve learned a few tips and tricks to guarantee a perfect cookie. Be sure to not overwork the dough, as kneading the dough for too long will give you a tough cookie, and do not skimp on the time the dough needs to chill in the fridge- skimping on chilling time could not only makes the dough less sticky, but also helps the cookies hold their shape in the oven. If you have any extra dough, you can keep a ball of it in the fridge or freezer to have the means to make cookies in just a few minutes available to you all season long. I have found that royal icing works best for sugar cookies, but if you add enough food coloring, you can not go wrong! These cookies pair perfectly with milk and are the perfect midnight snack for Santa to munch on.
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