My Favorite Christmas Cookies Recipe
When I was asked to share my favorite Christmas cookies recipe, the problem was I don’t have just one!
I have so many favorite Christmas cookies recipes, how could I choose just one? So, I joined this amazing Christmas Cookie Swap, and today, I am sharing my three favorite cookie recipes!
Welcome to the Christmas Cookie Swap Blog Hop. Special thanks to Tana from Your Marketing BFF for organizing this and welcome to all of you who came over from Beth’s blog at 111 Light Lane.
Frosted Sugar Cookies
I included the frosted sugar cookie primarily because of the cookie cutter. It features our 100 year old home!
I ordered the cookie cutter from a store on Esty called Copypastry. The cookie cutters ship from Hungary so it takes a couple weeks. But it is totally worth it. They can make a cookie cutter from almost any design which is pretty cool. And they are printed on a 3-D printer. One thing I would caution you about, is don’t put the cookie cutter in the dishwasher. It will melt. I learned the hard way, but they were kind enough to replace it.
Cooking in our kitchen is one of my favorite things to do. I made labels for my canisters and I love them. The DIY instructions can be found here.
My Favorite Sugar Cookies
These are the best ever sugar cookies.
Ingredients
- Sugar Cookies
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Buttercream Frosting
- 1 lb. confectioner’s sugar
- 1 stick butter
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3 - 4 TBL milk
Instructions
- Whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar; add dry ingredients, and mix until incorporated. With mixer running, add egg, milk, and vanilla; mix until incorporated.
- Transfer dough to a work surface. Shape into 2 discs, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with nonstick baking mats or parchment paper; set aside.
- On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes, and transfer to prepared baking sheets, leaving an inch in between. Leftover dough can be rolled and cut once more. Bake until lightly golden, about 10 minutes; do not allow to brown. Transfer to wire racks to cool.
- To make frosting, blend all ingredients in mixer. You may add some lemon juice for citrus taste if desired. Frost cookies with icing.
Notes
I usually bake the cookies and then freeze them immediately. A few days later I take them out and frost the frozen cookies. I put them back in the freezer until they are ready to eat.
Peanut Butter Fudge
This peanut butter fudge is to die for. It’s actually lighter (probably due to the graham cracker crumbs) than you would expect and it’s really delicious. It’s one of those desserts that everyone loves. Be careful if you only make one batch, because everyone will have more than one piece. It’s that good!
It’s easy to make the crust layer which consists of graham crackers, peanut putter, butter and sugar. The top layer is chocolate and butter. Basically, you just melt it and spread it on top. It doesn’t get much easier than that. Or delicious!
Peanut Butter Fudge
Delicious chocolate and peanut butter fudge.
Ingredients
- 1 16 oz. box powdered sugar
- 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 1 8 oz. jar chunky peanut butter
- 1 cup butter, melted
- 1 12 oz. package chocolate chips
- 1 stick butter
Instructions
- Mix first four ingredients. Press into a 9 x 12 inch baking dish. Chill one hour.
- Meanwhile, melt chocolate with 1 stick butter over low heat.
- Pour over peanut butter mixture, smoothing with spatula. Refrigerate 20 minutes. Cut into 1" squares and refrigerate until firm.
Coconut Joy Candy Bars
My favorite all-time candy bar is an Almond Joy. So you can imagine why I love these bars! They are so delicious.
Chocolate Almond Coconut Bars
Ingredients
- Nonstick cooking spray
- 3/4 cup butter, melted
- 2 cups of sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 3 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 cups flaked coconut
- 1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/2 cup chopped almonds, toasted*
- Milk Chocolate Ganache
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 11 1/2 ounce package milk chocolate pieces
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 13x9-inch baking pan with foil, extending foil over edges of the pan. Lightly coat foil with cooking spray. In a large bowl stir together melted butter, sugar, and 1 tsp. of the vanilla until combined. Stir in eggs until combined.
- In another bowl combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and stir until combined. Spread half of the batter into the prepared pan. Bake 12 minutes or just until set. Cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, for filling, in a large bowl combine coconut, condensed milk, the remaining 1 tsp. vanilla, and the almond extract.
- Spread filling over baked chocolate layer; sprinkle with almonds. Carefully spread the remaining chocolate batter over the filling. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until the chocolate layer is set. Cool in pan on a wire rack.
- To make the Milk Chocolate Ganache, place chocolate pieces into a medium bowl and set aside. In a small saucepan bring whipping cream just to boiling. Immediately pour cream over chocolate in a bowl. Let stand, without stirring, 5 minutes. Stir until smooth.
- Spoon ganache over cooled bars, spreading evenly. Chill for at least 1 hour or until ganache is firm. Use edges of foil to lift uncut bars out of the pan. Transfer to a cutting board. Cut into bars.
Notes
Place bars in a single layer in an airtight container; cover. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
*TIP:
To toast nuts, preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Spread nuts in a shallow baking pan. Bake 10 to 15 minutes or until nuts are just golden, stirring once or twice. Let cool.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
1Serving Size:
one barAmount Per Serving: Calories: 187Total Fat: 10 ggSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 28 mggUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 6 gmgSodium: 98 mgmgCarbohydrates: 24gFiber: 1gSugar: 19 gg
Next you need to head on over to see Mysha at Remington Avenue and learn how to make Chocolate Peanut Butter Ritz Crackers. Don’t these look amazing?
Here are the rest of the amazing bloggers participating in this Christmas Cookie Swap Blog Hop. Be sure to visit them all for some fabulous recipes!
Leslie these all look so amazing and I’m a sucker for anything with fudge and can’t wait to try your peanut butter fudge recipe! So fun to join you on this blog hop and I wish you the happiest and merriest Christmas my friend! xo, Beth
Thank you for sharing your recipes. I can’t wait to try the coconut bars . . . just wondering what to use for the “coconut bars” ingredient? Thanks for your help
Fondly, Marta