Make Five Holiday Christmas Cookies With One Simple Dough
The past three weeks have been a swirl of mocha mochas, ugly sweaters, secret Santa Clauses, and cookie exchanges. Even though you’ve baked dozens of treats and ate your own weight of butter and flour, we’ve just hit the home stretch with full baking cookies. More splashes, more extracts, more spices than you can count: almost enough to get you tossing away your tube of silver dragee. Fortunately, there is an easy way to keep your cookie production going and prevent your Christmas cookies from burning out.
Rather than exhausting yourself with 12 different cookie cutters, why not use one cookie dough that can serve as a canvas for many flavorful twists? Sure, you can just stick with gingerbread throughout the season, but you never beat your siblings, and there’s something very special about serving a full plate of different cookies, whether on a dessert table or in a cookie cutter from the Mail. … So instead of wearing out your wooden spoons mixing five different doughs this week, here’s a recipe for one delicious buttered cookie dough that’s versatile enough to press, roll, and slice, but also goes well with whatever flavorings and add-ons you have. wish. Try these five completely different cookies to get you started – Chocolate Mint Buttons, Jammy Fingerprints, Carved Pecan Cookies, Raspberry Coconut Sandwich Cookies, and Cane Candy Cookies – then start expanding when you’re comfortable and inspired.
Allie’s Basic Butter Cookie Dough
Ingredients:
- 3 sticks unsalted butter (softened)
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
- 4 egg yolks, room temperature (save one egg white for the Jammy Thumbprints)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups (about 14 ounces) all-purpose flour
Preheat oven to 350 ℉.
I knead this cookie dough by hand, but if you like a mixer, be sure to use the spatula attachment. Beat the softened butter and sugar until foamy, then mix with room temperature egg yolks. Add the next four ingredients, in order, until the bottom is dry flour. Divide the dough into 5 equal portions. You can take a look at this or weigh in five 7 ½ ounce lumps. You are now ready to set up cookies.
Chocolate mint buttons (yield: 16-20 buttons)
Ingredients:
- 4 ounces melted chocolate
- ¼ pieces of lollipops, crushed in a cup
Roll the butter cookie base into approximately 1-inch balls, using about a teaspoon of dough. Place them on parchment-lined cookie sheets 1 to 2 inches apart. They do not spread, but they will relax a little. Bake in 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes, or until the base is slightly browned. Cool completely. After cooling, dip the tops of the cookies in melted chocolate and sprinkle liberally with chopped candy chunks.
Jammy Thumbprints (output: 16-20 cookies)
Ingredients:
- 2 ounces of jam of your choice
- 1 cup finely chopped pecans (or other nuts. Try peanuts for PB&J.)
- 1 reserved egg white
Same initial shape – roll the butter cookie base into balls about 1 inch wide using about a teaspoon of dough. Place them on parchment-paper lined cookie sheets 2 inches apart. Dip each ball in egg white, shake off excess and roll in ground pecans. You only need a thin layer of egg white to serve as nut glue, so be careful not to end up with white balls in the bowl. Return the pecan-coated ball to the baking sheet. Repeat for all cookie balls.
When all the cookies are covered with the pecans, take your finger and gently press down the middle of each ball to form a depression. Don’t push through to the end; you need a hole large enough to fit the chickpeas. Fill the hole with your favorite jam. I love using Crofter Organic Seedless Raspberry Jam for these cookies because it has a strong flavor and low water content so it doesn’t evaporate or get gummy after baking. Bake in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes or until the bottom of the pecans are brownish brown. Cool completely.
Sliced pecan cookies (yield: 10-12 cookies)
Ingredients:
- ¼ cups of chopped pecans (or other nuts)
Add the chopped pecans to the buttered cookie base and gently knead to add the nuts. On a well-floured countertop, roll out the dough from an inch (for softer cookies) to an inch (for thicker cookies). Use a 2-inch cookie cutter to shape them. I use a scalloped round shape, but you can use any cookie shape that suits you. The size and thickness will determine how many cookies you receive. Place them on parchment-paper lined cookie sheets about 1 inch apart. Bake for 6-8 minutes in an oven with a temperature of 350 degrees, or until the base starts to be painted cookie. Cool completely.
Sandwich cookies with raspberries and coconut (yield: 18 cookies)
Ingredients:
- ¼ cup grated coconut
- ¼ glasses of raspberry jam
On a well-floured countertop, roll out a buttered cookie base about an inch thick. Use a 1/2-inch cookie cutter to shape them. As a cutter, I use the base of a large piping tip. You can adjust the size to your liking, but stick to the round shape to make it easier to roll them in the coconut. Place the cut cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet about 1 inch apart. Bake for 5 minutes in an oven with a temperature of 350 degrees, or until cookies base starts to be painted. Cool completely. When they have cooled, turn over half and on top of each upturned glass about ¼ teaspoon of jam. Take the remaining round cookie cutters and place the jam halves, pressing lightly so that some of the jam pops out over the edges. Roll the edges in grated coconut. These cookies taste best if you sit at room temperature for at least 3-4 hours. The biscuits absorb excess moisture from the jam, improving the overall texture.
Candy cookies (yield: 10 large or 20 small)
Ingredients:
- A drop of red food coloring
- ⅛ h. Peppermint extract
Take one part of the butter cookie base and cut it in half. Take half and add one drop of red food coloring and a teaspoon of peppermint extract. Be very careful with both of these add-ons – the small part makes a lot of difference. If you add too much color, the dough will become too sticky and you run the risk of overdoing it with flour. If you add too much extract, you end up with mouthwash-flavored cookies and, again, too sticky dough. Knead the dough gently with a spoon or hand until the color is uniform. Using small teaspoon-sized pieces of red and white cookie dough, roll out two long snakes about the size of a pencil. Twist the two colors to resemble a candy cane pattern. My resulting twisted cane was over 8 inches, so I split it in half and made two smaller ones. The size and thickness of each candy will determine how many cookies you get. Place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, about 1 inch apart and form canes. Bake for 6 minutes in an oven with a temperature of 350 degrees, or until cookies base starts to be painted. Cool completely.
The basic buttered cookie dough is one dough that you can give up endlessly. Each cookie can be converted to a new one, so let this be your guide to learning. Try dipping cookies in different nuts, mixing with chocolate chips, or trying Nutella or the coconut kaya jam you found at Queens Night Market for an impressive and varied cookie dish that will finally end the controversy over who is your favorite. child. (it’s you).