Our top picks for Christmas cookie recipes

Holiday chocolate chip cookies

What you'll need:

• 1 glass of butter;
• ¾ glasses of sugar;
• 1 teaspoon vanilla;
• 2 cups of flour;
• ⅓ glasses of cocoa powder;
• 1 teaspoon baking powder;
• ½ teaspoon baking soda;
• ¼ teaspoon of salt;
• 2 tablespoons of milk.

For the frosting:

• 2 tablespoons of butter;
• 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder;
• 2 tablespoons of milk;
• 1 ¾ cup icing sugar.

Method

1. Warm your oven to 175 degrees and cover a baking tray with parchment paper.
2. Whip the butter together with the sugar and vanilla until you get a soft, pale mixture. Drop in the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, then keep beating until everything is well combined. Finish by pouring in the milk and giving it one last stir.
3. Shape the mixture into little rounds roughly 3 cm wide. Arrange them on the lined tray with 5-7 cm of space between each, then gently flatten them using your palm or the base of a glass you've previously moistened in sugar.
4. Pop them in the oven for 13 minutes. Let the biscuits sit on the tray for 3 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.
5. Combine the butter, cocoa, and milk in a small pot over low heat until the butter melts. Pull it off the burner and stir in the icing sugar.
6. Spoon 2-3 teaspoons of glaze onto every biscuit, letting it spread toward the sides, and scatter any sprinkles or decorations on straight away.
7. The icing firms up fast, so coat and decorate each biscuit one at a time.
8. Should the icing begin to stiffen, simply return the pot to gentle heat and warm it through.

Lime-infused snowballs

Our Top Picks For Christmas Cookie Recipes

What you'll need:

• 3 cups flour;
• ½ teaspoon baking powder;
• ¼ teaspoon of salt;
• 220 g soft butter;
• 3 cups powdered sugar;
• 1 large egg yolk;
• ¼ glasses of lime juice;
• 1 tablespoon lime zest.

Method

1. Heat the oven to 175 degrees and line two baking trays with parchment.
2. Stir the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a small bowl, then set it aside.
3. Cream the butter with one cup of powdered sugar in a large bowl until airy, around 2-3 minutes. Mix in the egg yolk, lime juice, and zest, then keep the mixer on low until smooth.
4. Tip the dry mixture into the wet and beat again until uniform. The consistency will feel quite crumbly at first. Use your hands to gently press it together until it forms a single mass.
5. Portion the dough into 2.5 cm balls and arrange them on your lined trays, leaving a little room around each.
6. Bake at 175 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until they turn a pale golden shade. Start checking at the 15-minute mark since oven heat can vary.
7. While the biscuits are still warm, roll them through the remaining two cups of powdered sugar and place them back on the tray to finish cooling.
8. Dust any leftover sugar over the cooled biscuits. They keep well in a sealed container for up to two weeks.

Classic Christmas gingerbread

Our Top Picks For Christmas Cookie Recipes

What you'll need:

• 3 ¼ cups flour;
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon;
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger;
• ¾ teaspoon of baking soda;
• ¾ teaspoon of ground cloves;
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg;
• ½ teaspoon of salt;
• ¾ a glass of butter, softened to room temperature;
• ½ cup brown sugar;
• 1 large egg;
• ½ glass of buckwheat honey;
• 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract;
• zest of one small orange (optional).

For the icing:

• 2 cups powdered sugar;
• 2-3 tablespoons of milk;
• ¼ teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Method

1. Whisk the flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, cloves, salt, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Reserve for later.
2. In a separate large bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar on medium speed for over 2 minutes until light and fluffy.
3. Pour in the egg, honey, and vanilla, then beat once more until smooth. Switch to the lowest speed and slowly fold in the flour mixture until it disappears into the butter blend.
4. Split the dough into two even pieces and roll each into a ball. Press each ball flat into a disc roughly 1 inch thick, wrap in cling film, and chill for two hours or leave overnight.
5. When the dough has firmed up, turn the oven on to 175 degrees and prepare a baking tray with parchment.
6. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured, hard surface until it's about 2 cm thick. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters and move them onto the lined trays.
7. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the tops and rims feel firm. Let them rest on the tray for at least 5 minutes before shifting them to a wire rack.
8. Once the biscuits reach room temperature, ice them however you like.
9. To prepare the glaze, stir all the icing ingredients in a bowl until completely smooth. Loosen it with more milk if it's too thick, or thicken it with extra sugar if it runs too thin. A drop of food colouring works nicely too.
10. Pipe the icing onto the gingerbread using a piping bag or a plastic bag with the tip snipped off.
11. The gingerbread keeps for up to 4 days when stored in a sealed container.

Spiced Mexican chocolate cookies

Our Top Picks For Christmas Cookie Recipes

What you'll need:

• 1 ¾ cup flour;
• ½ cup almond flour;
• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder;
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon;
• ½ teaspoon of salt;
• ⅛ teaspoon of cayenne pepper;
• 1 cup butter at room temperature;
• 1 cup brown sugar;
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract;
• ¼ teaspoon of instant coffee;
• 2 tablespoons of white sugar.

Method

1. Heat the oven to 175 degrees and line a baking tray with parchment.
2. Combine the wheat flour, almond flour, cocoa, salt, cinnamon, and cayenne in a medium bowl.
3. Cream the butter with the brown sugar, vanilla, and instant coffee in a large bowl until silky.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mix in two batches, stirring after each addition until evenly incorporated. The dough will look like coarse crumbs, which is exactly right.
5. Scoop out heaping tablespoons of dough onto the prepared tray. Roll each portion between your palms into a ball and repeat with the remaining dough.
6. Coat each ball thoroughly in sugar, place it back on the tray, and press it down to about 0.8 mm thick using the base of a glass.
7. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Leave the biscuits on the tray for 2 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

Every one of these recipes is wonderfully straightforward, so you won't need to spend hours fussing in the kitchen. The payoff is a plate of festive treats that fills your home with the comforting scent of honey and cinnamon!

Featured image credit: unsplash.com

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