THIS IS NOT A FLUFF PIECE.
There is nothing fluffy about the amazing goodness and share-ability of Christmas cookies! Be they brownies or blondies, sugar or thumbprint, frosted or sprinkled (or both!), peanut butter with frosting or kisses, gingersnaps or ginger bars, pumpkin or chocolate chip.... and don't forget our ethnic classics! Pfeffernusse, lebkuchen, macarons and macaroons! :)
I don't take cookies seriously.
I take cookies HAPPILY! So I asked some of my buddies about their favorite cookies.
Not a scientific poll, mind you... just a question.
What's your favorite Christmas cookie? We want to know! And if you want to put the recipe in the comments, well, we'll try it out! #mustlovecookies
Debby Giusti likes cookies well enough, but when we posed the question of cookies to the Seekers, here was Debby's response:
My favorite Christmas treats aren't homemade, but they bring to mind so many wonderful memories of the three years we lived in Germany. Our favorite Christmas goodies were--and still are--Stollen and Nurnberger Gingerbread cookies. Here in the States, I buy them at our local Fresh Market grocery. Another December favorite is Panettone, which comes from Italy and stems from my husband's side of the family. When my granddaughter was young, she said it was the biggest muffin she had ever seen. We eat Panettone for breakfast with our morning coffee and enjoy the German treats at night after dinner. Exploring other cultures is always fun and can lead to new holiday discoveries that turn into family traditions.
My all-time favorite are Christmas Monster Cookies. I have a secret family recipe that people are always trying to get from me, but I’ve been sworn to protect it with my life. 😉 They really are the most delicious cookie I’ve ever eaten and the recipe is just a little different from any other I’ve seen. I remember my mom making them when I was little and they always meant a fun family event was just around the corner!
Ruthy here, and I loved this idea and I'd never made Monster Cookies so I grabbed a few recipes online... with great reviews... and came up with my own. I noticed that more flour, less oats gives a chewier cookie and more oats gives a crisper version with a chewy center. I think the beauty of this recipe is the splash of butterscotch chips to make it like an elevated-on-a-pedestal "Oatmeal Scotchie", remember those?
Here's the recipe I used:
1 cup butter
2 cups peanut butter
5 eggs
2 1/2 cups brown sugar (I use dark because I like a background molasses accent)
2 cups sugar
3 tsp. vanilla
CREAM ALL OF THAT TOGETHER. BEAT THOROUGHLY TO MAKE A NICE CREAMY, DELICIOUS MIX!
ADD IN:
4 1/2 cups Quick Oats
2 cups flour (I use bread flour, but all purpose works fine)
4 tsp baking soda
Mix in thoroughly with dough hook.... Then stir in 1 cup butterscotch chips, 2 cups dark chocolate chips (Ghirardelli or Nestle Dark), 1 cup chopped peanuts, 1 1/2 cups M&Ms. Some folks add raisins. Now I like raisins well enough but my family would literally take up arms so to avoid a Christmas meltdown, I didn't include raisins.
I pretend these are healthy. Like SO MANY EGGS!!! And OATS!!! :)
Drop by tablespoons onto parchment-lined cookie sheets and bake at 350 for 12 to 14 minutes.
Cool.
And the lovely bestselling author Linda Goodnight shared that her favorite Christmas cookie recipe is really a "bar".... The Magic Cookie Bars from Eagle Condensed milk! Note to all, folks noted in the comments that the original recipe has you pouring the can of condensed milk over the top after all the layers are in place... not just over the graham crumbs.
Okay, that's some ideas from us.
And commercial plug: Waterfall Press has put the Kindle versions of Welcome to Wishing Bridge and At Home in Wishing Bridge on sale at .99... You can get all four Wishing Bridge stories right now, Kindle editions, for under $10.
Now that's a sweet holiday deal! Well done, Amazon!
WELCOME TO WISHING BRIDGE LINK
Multi-published, bestselling inspirational author Ruthy Logan Herne loves God like to an exponential of 10, loves her family, her country, dogs, chocolate (chocolate is a given) and coffee. She also loves to hear from readers and writers. With over 60 novels and novellas, she knows a lot and talks a lot. Friend her on Facebook, Email her at loganherne@gmail.com or swing by her website ruthloganherne.com
Ruthy, what a nice post. I love to eat cookies and to bake them. Don't have a "favorite," especially at the holidays, different cookies go with different moods. Molasses crinkles with a tall glass of milk, frosted sugar cookies with a bracing cup of tea, you get the drift. (The drift of powdered sugar...) In New England we often eat molasses crinkles with a chunk of cheddar cheese.
ReplyDeleteI'm home all day and all week because my husband and I were diagnosed with you-know-what. I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. We were SOOOO careful...
I like the Magic Cookie Bars! Way to go Linda!
I can't bake for other people till I'm cleared of the COVID. That is kind of frustrating, but if that's the worst that happens...
I may be back later with a recipe or two.
Kathy Bailey
Your Kaybee
Trying to wrap her mind around it in New Hampshire
Oh, Kathy, what a bummer. Hope you both get to feeling better soon!
DeleteHow are you feeling, KB? I'm praying for you and your husband.
DeleteK.B., gosh... about now it's not "if" it's "when" we get Covid.... I'm so sorry, sweet thing!
DeleteLove these recipes! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI am having so much fun because you know how much I love baking!!!!!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMy favorites for the holidays are Pfeffernuesse and Spritz cookies. Last year my new-fangled battery-powered cookie press died in the middle of my baking frenzy, but my grandmother saved the day--from the Beyond! I still had her old metal cookie press from the '50s and it worked better than any plastic ones I've ever bought. They don't make things like they used to :)
ReplyDeleteAnd I think I posted this last year, but here's my family's Pfeffernuesse recipe. My research tells me it's more like a Dutch cookie than the German kind, but whatever it is, it's my favorite. Happy baking, everyone!
http://glynisbecker.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Pfeffernuesse-Recipe.pdf
Thanks, Glynis. I love Pfeffernuesse!
DeleteGlynis, thank you!!!!!! That's so cool! And I loved my grandmother's cookie press, too... although it disappeared a while back. But I loved it!
DeleteMy favorite is actually my mom’s white fruit cake recipe but my favorite cookie is peppermint candy canes. I also enjoy Panettone with a cup of coffee. Merry Christmas blessings.
ReplyDeleteAnother Panettone lover! :)
DeleteWhite fruit cake??? Lucy! I'm intrigued!
DeleteGabriele, your bars look yummy!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun post! I love seeing what everyone else likes! I feel like such a plain Jane, but my favorite is actually good old fashioned peanut butter cookies. I have a simple recipe that uses all shortening (no butter) and crunchy peanut butter. When I bite into them, they melt in my mouth and cause that same eye-rolling pleasure as does easing a chilled body into a hot bath or getting hubby to give me a good back rub. My husband, however, is not fond of them, so I must conclude that the response is due to my own personal proclivity for this particular cookie and not so much the amazingness of the recipe.
ReplyDeleteI love this, Terri! Isn't it funny how some things just absolutely click with us???? Thank you for sharing this.
DeleteFun post, Ruthy. I am responsible for making the fudge for our family for Christmas. I always joke that I would not be allowed in the door at Christmas time without the fudge--especially as far as the nieces and nephews are concerned. It is nothing special--just the Kraft Fantasy Fudge recipe. The cookie we always make is quadruple chocolate. It is a chocolate cookie with chocolate chips, chocolate frosting, and chocolate sprinkles. (Can you tell we like chocolate?!) We also make some without the frosting and sprinkles for the family members for whom that is a bit much. Although we are mostly a chocolate-loving family, we actually have some members who aren't thrilled with it.
ReplyDeleteAs you know, Ruthy, I already won the Wishing Bridge book. Thanks!
Oh my word, that quadruple chocolate is an addiction, for certain. SO AMAZING. I might need that recipe, Sandy! And I just made out an envelope with your name on it!
DeleteI like sugar cookies, but the kind that uses powdered sugar in them and not granulated sugar. However, instead of using vanilla extract or almond extract to flavor them, I use anise flavoring. It is clear in color, so it doesn't color the whiteness of the cookie. Yet, it gives a slight black licorice flavor. I usually use twice the amount that the cookbook calls for. Then I cut them with a cookie cutter that is shaped like a Christmas stocking. I make a white frosting, use instead the anise flavoring. I call them Santa's stinky socks. If you smell them, they don't smell like traditional sugar cookies. They don't stink really if you like the smell of black licorice.
ReplyDeleteYou know, when I was little our recipe advised using either almond, vanilla or anise... and my dad liked the anise (like you!) but that was the granulated sugar recipe.... then I found the powdered sugar version a few years later. In the Betty Crocker cookbook, they called them "Mary's Sugar Cookies" or "Deluxe Sugar Cookies" and the difference in texture is amazing. I use all butter and the powdered sugar and they're a huge hit. Thank you for coming by! It's so good to meet you!
DeleteI use the Betty Crocker cookbook recipe too. I have never seen a recipe that shows using anise. I just like the anise flavoring like your Dad.
DeleteOh, I do love a good cookie! My favorites are an old recipe my mom made for years called Christmas Surprise Cookies. My mom used to love to bake them and give to friends and family. She did give me the recipe but all I can say it contains a lot of goodies. They are nice and chewy. She also made a gum drop fruitcake which is awesome as well...no citrus fruit.
ReplyDeleteGumdrop fruitcake!!!! I could get behind that, big time!
DeleteI take cookies happily, too. We've already gone through a batch of gingerbread. And my husband is talking about doing chocolate peppermint swirls this weekend. My go-to, though, is a warm chocolate chip cookie straight from the pan.
ReplyDeleteAmy, I love that warm chocolate chip cookie!!!!! And gingerbread.... I love it with whipped cream. Wonderful!
DeleteI Love Good Cookies and Thank you for the recipe Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteSarah, you're so welcome!
DeleteMagic cookie bars are a favorite of mine any time of year. My friends scarf them right down when I bring them to a "party". The first recipe I had for monster cookies used a dozen eggs and 18 Cups of oatmeal. Needless to say the recipe made a LOT of cookies. My favorite Christmas treat is my family's Million Dollar fudge. Who knows where the recipe originally came from but we make several batches every year.
ReplyDeleteIn large deep pan combine 1 can (13oz) evaporated milk and 4.5C sugar. Bring to a boil, cook rapidly, stirring, for 9 minutes. Pour over 24 oz choc chips, 1C butter & 7.5 oz marshmallow creme. Mix well till blended. Add 1 T vanilla (2 C nuts) Spread in greased pan and chill. It makes ~5# (I think!)
Hey, that fudge recipe is very similar to mine! It's a great combo, right? And the boiled milk/sugar combo ensures the perfect texture, every time. I do boil the marshmallow creme and the butter along with... so I wonder if the texture is the same your way? I'll have to play, Anne!
DeleteMy daughter and I made cookies together for a cookie exchange at church. We made almond flavored candy-cane shaped cookies. *Chef's Kiss* they were delicious!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE THOSE WORDS "DAUGHTER AND I"!!!!!! :)
ReplyDeleteMy Sarah loves to bake for occasions.
Beth leaves the baking to me, LOL!
But Sarah is a twelve-hour-drive away so we only get to bake together once a year or so.
But I get to bake with grandkids often, and you know I love, love, love that!!!!