For many, one true sign of the holidays is when home chefs fill their kitchens with the wonderful aromas of fresh baked cookies. Several of your neighbors graciously shared some of their favorite cookie recipes for this issue. And most of these, with a tiny tweak to the presentation, such as with Julie Mancini’s Decorated Sugar Cookies and Rosey Moreno Jones’ Those Star Cookies Nonna Makes can be made to match any occasion.
Decorated Sugar Cookies
Submitted by Julie Mancini
“I love baking all different types of Christmas cookies. My favorites are Italian butter cookies, which are made into sandwiches with jelly inside and dipped in chocolate and sprinkles. My second favorites are Italian anise flavored cookies. My family, however, likes my decorated sugar cookies. The secret ingredients are orange extract and cornstarch. I used to make my cookies with a variety of flavors (almond, peppermint, lemon, rum), then one year I noticed all of the beautiful chocolate fall leaves I had decorated were not eaten, but the other ones were. That was because my family had figured out which ones had the orange extract. The cornstarch makes the cookie dough silky and smooth, easy to work with.”
Royal Icing
- 4 teaspoons meringue powder
- 2 pounds powdered sugar
- 3/4 cup water
Mix the meringue powder with about 3/4 of the powdered sugar. Add the water, a little at a time, until you can make a design with the whisk that won’t disappear until you count to 10. Separate it in different bowls and tint as desired. Use this to outline and fill. The secret to the icing is to not make it too thin. You’re better off having it a little too thick so you’ll have more control.
Sugar Cookies
- 1 cup unsalted butter (two sticks)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour (may need up to 4 cups)
- ½ cup cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon orange extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment. Cream the butter, sugar and extracts, just until smooth and combined. Mix in the eggs until incorporated. Add the flour, cornstarch and salt, and mix on medium low speed. The mixture will seem very dry and sandy at first, but after 3 to 5 minutes in the mixer it will gather itself into a ball and pull away cleanly from the sides of the bowl. Roll the dough out between two sheets of parchment paper, to a thickness of 1/4 inch. Cut into shapes and bake for 9 to 12 minutes. Cool completely, then decorate with royal icing.
Church Windows
Submitted by Jane Lyons
“My grandma always made Church Windows, and I try to make them every Christmas.”
- ½ cup butter
- 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 10-ounce package rainbow colored miniature marshmallows
- 2 cups sweetened flaked coconut (I sometimes use Rice Krispies instead)
- Parchment paper and tin foil
Put the butter in a 2 ½ quart glass or metal bowl. Place the bowl over a 3-quart saucepan of gently boiling water (upper bowl should not touch the water). Cook over the simmering water until butter is melted. Add the chocolate chips and stir until melted, then remove from heat. Let cool for 10 minutes at room temperature, stirring occasionally. Add the marshmallows to the melted chocolate and gently stir to coat.
Place two 15-inch by 18-inch pieces of parchment paper on a work surface. Put half of the chocolate-marshmallow mixture into the middle of each piece and shape into a 12-inch log using a rubber spatula. Wrap the logs tightly in the parchment and transfer to the refrigerator and chill for 30 minutes.
Put two new 15-inch by 18-inch pieces of parchment paper on your work surface and sprinkle each with 1 cup flaked coconut. Carefully transfer the chilled logs, which will still be soft, to the new pieces of parchment. Roll the logs in the coconut and gently press to fully cover the outside. Wrap the coated logs tightly in the new parchment paper or tin foil and chill until firm, for at least 4 hours or overnight.
To serve, cut the logs into 1/2-inch-thick slices.
Torticas de Morón
Submitted by Caroline Brauchler
“This was my late grandmother’s recipe. My family immigrated to the United States from Cuba in the ‘60s with very little of their possessions from their life in their home country, but my Abuela knew her recipes by heart and taught my mother and I to make many. She passed away a few months ago, but I’ll be sure to make these cookies for Christmas in her memory.”
- 1 cup vegetable shortening
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Combine the shortening and the sugar in a large bowl, then add the vanilla extract. Sift in the flour and salt, using your hands to mix the dough a few times while adding in the ingredients. Mix until the dough sticks together.
Place the dough on a piece of wax paper and then shape it into a cylindrical tube, about 2 inches in diameter. (Tip: to form the dough into shape, use the cardboard from a paper towel roll, cut from end to end. Wrap the roll outside the wax paper and dough to help make the cylindrical shape.)
Uncover the dough and cut it into slices, about ½ inch thick. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, then place the slices on it. Bake at 325 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until the bottoms are golden brown.
Grandma Sue’s Snow Drops
Submitted by Amy Panaia Davidson
“These are my Grandma Sue’s recipe for Mexican Wedding Cookies, but we called them Snow Drops. As a kid, I would make these for my father and mail them to him because we lived in different states. I have Grandma’s typewritten recipe that I cherish as an heirloom. These are such easy cookies even little kids can make them.”
- 7/8 cup butter
- 4 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
- 2 cups cake flour
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon water
Beat the butter and confectioners’ sugar until creamy. Add in dry ingredients and blend well. Chill until the dough is firm enough to shape with your fingers. From the dough into small, date-shaped pieces. Bake at 400 degrees for about 10 to 12 minutes. Roll each cookie in sifted confectioners’ sugar as soon as they come out of the oven.
Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies
Submitted by Linda Sutherland Humphrey
“When you have to eat gluten free, cookies are a real treat. I love this simple, three-ingredient recipe.”
- 1 cup peanut butter
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 egg
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Blend the ingredients well and roll into balls. Place the balls on a cookie sheet and bake for 10 to 15 minutes.
Those Star Cookies Nonna Makes
Submitted by Rosey Moreno Jones
“When I make these shortbread cookies at Christmas I use a star cookie cutter. In the fall, I use leaf and pumpkin-shaped cutters. You will have to make this recipe about five times before you get it down pat and the right texture. When it is perfect, the cookies will melt in your mouth like a butter/candy.”
- 2 sticks of salted butter
- 3/4 cup of granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 2 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour
Cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla. Slowly incorporate the flour into the mixture. In the summer, if it is humid, you may need more flour; in the winter it may take a tad less. When well mixed, roll and pat the dough into a flat disc. Wrap it in plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator for at least 30 min. This also freezes well for up to three months. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Break the dough in half and roll each piece out on a floured surface to about 1/4 thick. Cut the dough into star shapes. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 7 to 10 minutes. Watch carefully so they don’t burn; you don’t even want brown edges. Remove from the oven and let sit for at least 15 minutes. These cookies will be very delicate, so carefully turn every other piece over and put a dollop of your favorite jam (the original is grape, but in fall these are great with apple butter, in summer a pineapple or peach jam; get creative). Put a dry cookie on top of a jam cookie and gently press down. Sprinkle both sides with powdered sugar. You can store these in an airtight box for about 4 to 5 days, but they usually don’t stay around that long!
Old Fashioned Christmas Sugar Cookies
Submitted by Sarah Harper Griffis
“One secret to these cookies is to make sure your butter and cream cheese are softened to room temperature before you begin and chill the dough for at least a couple of hours to ensure the cookies bake up nice and soft and don’t spread too much on your cookie sheet. Don’t overbake these cookies; they should not be brown on the edges at all. In fact, they should look a bit undercooked when you pull them out of the oven.”
- 1 stick salted butter softened
- 2 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1½ cups sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoons almond extract
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Red and green sanding Sugar
In a large bowl add the butter, cream cheese, sugar, eggs, vanilla and almond extract. Using a hand mixer, beat until light and fluffy, about 4- to 5 minutes. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Turn the hand mixer to low and combine the ingredients until a soft dough forms. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for two hours. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Form the dough into balls and put on the cookie sheet at least 1 inch apart. Using a fork, make a crisscross pattern by pressing down lightly into the dough. Sprinkle each cookie with red and green sugar. Bake for 9-11 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for five minutes before removing them to a wire rack to continue cooling.
Ginger Snap Cookies
Submitted by Presley Griffis
“This recipe was handed down from our Auntie Carole Peterson to my mommy, Sarah Harper Griffis, and now to me. Since I am only 10 years old, my mommy helps me make these. They are yummy for any season!”
- 3/4 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- Additional 1/2 cup sugar for rolling
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper, by greasing it or with a section of Silpat. In the bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed. Add the egg and molasses and mix. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger together. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl while on low speed until everything is incorporated and a dough forms. Scoop the dough into balls. We use a scoop that measures about 1 1/2 tablespoons. Roll each dough ball in the sugar and place them on the baking sheet (12 per sheet). No need to flatten the dough balls. They will spread out as they bake. Bake for 11 to 13 minutes. Allow them to cool on a cookie sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.
