# Christmas Cookies!
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-cookies/826234
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [December 16, 2018, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-cookies/826234 "2018-12-16T18:54:34Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2018, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-cookies/826234/1 "2018-12-16T18:54:34Z")
Got some favorites? I always make the ones my mother made, which include what she called ‘almond balls’ (Mexican wedding cakes), spritz, and an orange/lemon nut cookie. For the last two years I’ve also been making mince tarts, using [this recipe](https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/christmas-brandied-mince-tarts-recipe), which is excellent.
This year will be a first for Polish [chrusciki](https://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/polish-angel-wings-chrusciki-359778) (angel wings), one of my wife’s childhood favorites. Pronounced “croos-cheeky”, if you’re wondering.
How’s about youse guys? Any recipes welcome.
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### Author:  [@Periwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Periwinkle)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2018, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-cookies/826234/2 "2018-12-16T19:46:10Z")
Yes, I love Christmas cookies! I have a big plastic tub full of cutters, decorations and other Christmas baking doodads.
Two of my favorites are from my old Betty Crocker cookbook from when I first got married. Roll out sugar cookies and candy cane cookies, the recipes are also on allrecipes: (ETA For the sugar cookies, I make frosting with confectioners sugar wth a little butter and milk and gel coloring, and then sprinkle colored sugar and/or other decorations).
> **[Candy Cane Cookies II](https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/10270/candy-cane-cookies-ii/)**
>
> Holiday cookies shaped like candy canes and decorated with crushed peppermint candy.
> **[Mary's Sugar Cookies](https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/23750/marys-sugar-cookies/?internalSource=hub%20recipe&referringContentType=Search&clickId=cardslot%201)**
>
> This is an old fashioned sugar cookie with a hit of almond flavor. Cut into your favorite shapes with cookie cutters and sprinkle with colored sugar for special occasions.
More recent favorites are peanut butter cookies with a mini Reese’s cup pushed down into them after baking (you make them in a mini muffin tin) and white chocolate cranberry macadamia drop cookies:
> **[Peanut Butter Cup Cookies](https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/9471/peanut-butter-cup-cookies/)**
>
> These cute peanut butter cup cookies are easy to make in mini muffin pans for the most peanut buttery of treats.
> **[White Chocolate Macadamia Cranberry Dreams](https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/10511/white-chocolate-macadamia-cranberry-dreams/)**
>
> These rich and buttery cookies are studded with vanilla chips, macadamia nuts, and dried cranberries. They can be baked right away as drop cookies, or refrigerated or frozen in logs for slice-and-bake cookies.
My husband loves date pinwheels, I am actually going to make these today:
> **[Date-Nut Pinwheels](https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/date-nut-pinwheels/)**
>
> Pinwheel cookies with dates and walnuts are a family treasure. There are a few steps when prepping, so I sometimes freeze the dough and bake the cookies later. —Frieda Whiteley, Lisbon, Connecticut
I also like jam thumbprints, no bake oatmeal cookies, and trying new ones sometimes so I look forward to seeing the responses on this thread!
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### Author:  [@Periwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Periwinkle)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2018, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-cookies/826234/3 "2018-12-16T19:53:39Z")
Missed the edit window to add Christmas Mice. I like red licorice for their tails…
> **[Peanut Butter Christmas Mice](https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/peanut-butter-christmas-mice/)**
>
> With their black licorice tails, candy noses and peanut ears, these chewy "mice" were always a hit at classroom parties. My children are in their teens now, but they still ask me to make these cookies for the holidays. —Nancy Rowse, Bella Vista,...
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### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2018, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-cookies/826234/4 "2018-12-16T19:57:17Z")
My favorite were chocolate meringues. Lots of work, but delicious!
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### Author:  [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2018, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-cookies/826234/5 "2018-12-16T20:01:07Z")
I make a cakey type gingerbread cookie. Soft, chewy, no icing. We like 'em naked with no eyes to judge us. My kids liked sugar cookies so they could decorate them.
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### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2018, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-cookies/826234/6 "2018-12-16T20:48:39Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#):
>
> I make a cakey type gingerbread cookie. Soft, chewy, no icing. We like 'em naked with no eyes to judge us. My kids liked sugar cookies so they could decorate them.
I was at the neighborhood bakery this morning and noticed that they made reindeer cookies. Basically, they took a gingerbread man cutter, cut the shape, then turned it upside down (feet upward), put a reindeer face where the head was, and piped on antlers going up the legs. Very clever.
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### Author:  [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2018, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-cookies/826234/7 "2018-12-16T21:22:05Z")
I was just thinking I might make some gingerbread this week. Would love to make mince pies, but nobody but me would eat them. I even took a tray to a party last year, and brought the whole thing home again! Bloody heathen Americans…
This is the gingerbread recipe I use, but I sub half the molasses for golden syrup. [http://www.christmas-cookies.com/recipes/recipe43.spicy-gingerbread-cookies.html](http://www.christmas-cookies.com/recipes/recipe43.spicy-gingerbread-cookies.html)
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### Author:  [@BlueInfinity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlueInfinity)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2018, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-cookies/826234/8 "2018-12-16T21:58:42Z")
I can make my own gingerbread and sugar cookies, but I must buy a tin (or two, etc.) of Danish butter cookies. It’s an essential for the season.
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### Author:  [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2018, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-cookies/826234/9 "2018-12-16T22:12:55Z")
I make [Pecan Butter Balls](http://www.midwestliving.com/recipe/cookies/pecan-butter-balls/)\*; you can feel your weight and cholesterol both going up at the same time. God bless us, everyone!
\*My version is slightly different, but it’s hardly worth mentioning.
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### Author:  [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2018, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-cookies/826234/10 "2018-12-16T22:14:53Z")
We make the same Christmas cookies as my mother/her mother did: sugar cookies (with cardamom), Apricot crumb bars, date-nut pinwheels, Chocolate bells (pretty much chocolate flavored sugar cookies, but for some long-lost family reason, they have be cut out with a bell shaped cutter), Shortbread logs with raspberry jelly filling, etc.
The only new addition, courtesy of a friend: cranberry orange crispies. The recipe came from a box of cranberry quick bread, and is dead simple, fast to make, and very tasty.
Ingredients:
1 package (15.6 ounces) cranberry-orange quick bread mix
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
1 egg
1/2 cup dried cranberries
Directions
1In a large bowl, combine the bread mix, butter, walnuts and egg. Stir in cranberries. Roll into 1-1/4-in. balls. Place 3 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Flatten to 1/8-in. thickness with a glass dipped in sugar. Bake 10-12 minutes at 350f on ungreased cookie sheets. Cool on wire racks.
That’s the original recipe. I increase the butter by one tablespoon because the dough seems too dry to me. (I use large eggs, maybe if you buy extra large/jumbo you wouldn’t need to.) A CRUCIAL addition is the zest from an entire BIG orange. Really, otherwise the orange aspect is overwhelmed by the cranberries. Finally, in honor of the season, I use green decorating sugar instead of white when flattening the cookies. 🙂
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### Author:  [@nonacetone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nonacetone)
#### Post date: [December 17, 2018, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-cookies/826234/11 "2018-12-17T00:30:57Z")
I did all my cookie baking, already. I put a Baker’s Dozen of each, into those tall, plastic goody bags, and filled up gift bags with each variety, for friends. I also toss in a medium sized tin of the assorted, small candy bars.
This year, I toned it down, and didn’t make as many varieties of cookies as I usually do. I made:
Peppermint Bark
Oreo Bark
Peanut Brittle (Everyone got an entire batch of this one, because they love the stuff!)
Peanut Butter Fudge
Chex Mix (Everyone got two bags of this one!)
Toll House Cookies
M&M Cookies
Chocolate Toll House Cookies
Chocolate M&M Cookies
Triple Chocolate Cookies With Heath Bar Bits
Iced Sugar Cookies
Soft Ginger Cookies
Russian Tea Balls
I still need to make another batch of Peanut Brittle, and another batch of Chex Mix, for here, at home. I REALLY want to make some Baklava, but, I don’t know if I will. My daughter wants me to.
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### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [December 17, 2018, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-cookies/826234/12 "2018-12-17T00:46:56Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#):
>
> I make [Pecan Butter Balls](http://www.midwestliving.com/recipe/cookies/pecan-butter-balls/)\*; you can feel your weight and cholesterol both going up at the same time. God bless us, everyone!
>
> \*My version is slightly different, but it’s hardly worth mentioning.
Those are very similar to the ‘almond balls’ I mentioned above. Almonds instead of pecans, and almond extract. Then half a candied cherry stuffed into the center.
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### Author:  [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)
#### Post date: [December 17, 2018, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-cookies/826234/13 "2018-12-17T01:20:09Z")
> [@Chefguy](#):
>
> I was at the neighborhood bakery this morning and noticed that they made reindeer cookies. Basically, they took a gingerbread man cutter, cut the shape, then turned it upside down (feet upward), put a reindeer face where the head was, and piped on antlers going up the legs. Very clever.
Yes, with some clever decorating you can turn [any shape of cookie](https://foulmouthedbaker.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/cocksfinished.jpg) into Christmas cookies.
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### Author:  [@Fair\_Rarity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fair_Rarity)
#### Post date: [December 17, 2018, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-cookies/826234/14 "2018-12-17T01:56:18Z")
I love Alton Brown’s [Chocolate peppermint pinwheels.](https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/chocolate-peppermint-pinwheel-cookies-recipe2-1953696) When I make them, I skip the candy cane bits and add green dye to the non-chocolate part.
I made these fantastic chocolate cookies one year that did require chopped candy canes and I have since lost my cookbook and it makes me sad. I’m sure I can find similar recipes if I looked, but I don’t feel like trial and error till I find THE recipe.
I made fudge and rice krispie treats this year. I don’t think there’s enough time to make real cookies.
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### Author:  [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)
#### Post date: [December 17, 2018, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-cookies/826234/15 "2018-12-17T02:31:29Z")
I’ve been making [Oatmeal Scotchies](https://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/18478/Oatmeal-Scotchies) on and off for my friends at Christmas time, for the past decade or so. My brother sometimes joins me and we make some for his friends. This year I gained a new group of co-workers (city council!) so I rolled up my sleeves and made 20 dozen bars.
Something happened that made the cookies more moist than expected (I think I had too little oatmeal) and I almost scrapped the whole bunch. But my mom assured me they were good and I got kudos upon kudos from everyone who got a dozen. Hooray for me!
They’re not Christmas cookies but I can’t remember the last time I made them outside of Christmas, so they are Christmas cookies to me.
They’re delightful and pretty easy - you should make your friends some! 🙂
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### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [December 17, 2018, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-cookies/826234/16 "2018-12-17T03:17:56Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#):
>
> I’ve been making [Oatmeal Scotchies](https://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/18478/Oatmeal-Scotchies) on and off for my friends at Christmas time, for the past decade or so. My brother sometimes joins me and we make some for his friends. This year I gained a new group of co-workers (city council!) so I rolled up my sleeves and made 20 dozen bars.
>
> Something happened that made the cookies more moist than expected (I think I had too little oatmeal) and I almost scrapped the whole bunch. But my mom assured me they were good and I got kudos upon kudos from everyone who got a dozen. Hooray for me!
>
> They’re not Christmas cookies but I can’t remember the last time I made them outside of Christmas, so they are Christmas cookies to me.
>
> They’re delightful and pretty easy - you should make your friends some! 🙂
Loved butterscotch and English toffee since I was a kid. I’ll have to give it a try.
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### Author:  [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)
#### Post date: [December 17, 2018, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-cookies/826234/17 "2018-12-17T03:23:03Z")
My fave has always been the classic soft gingerbread man, with or without frosting/decorations, and sometimes warmed up and dressed with whipped cream.
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### Author:  [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)
#### Post date: [December 17, 2018, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-cookies/826234/18 "2018-12-17T04:28:32Z")
> [@Chefguy](#):
>
> Those are very similar to the ‘almond balls’ I mentioned above. Almonds instead of pecans, and almond extract. Then half a candied cherry stuffed into the center.
I could do without the cherry, but the rest sounds really tasty. Would that basic recipe work with walnuts? My wife’s idea, but I think walnuts might be too bitter.
An aside: One of my aunts made some kind of spice cookie with, I think, VERY DARK King syrup (molasses?). Whenever my mother would ask for the recipe, we think she deliberately sabotaged the recipe she gave us; different recipe every time. 'Tis the season! 😉
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### Author:  [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)
#### Post date: [December 17, 2018, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-cookies/826234/19 "2018-12-17T05:47:17Z")
I got my hands on a jar of Cinnamon and Sugar mix. The sugar is the large crystal kind. It almost looks like glass glitter. It’s very tasty. Wonder what kind of cookie that would go with?
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### Author:  [@Periwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Periwinkle)
#### Post date: [December 17, 2018, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-cookies/826234/20 "2018-12-17T06:09:28Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#):
>
> I got my hands on a jar of Cinnamon and Sugar mix. The sugar is the large crystal kind. It almost looks like glass glitter. It’s very tasty. Wonder what kind of cookie that would go with?
Snickerdoodles.
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