These Easy Holiday Cookie Recipes Have Five Ingredients or Less
Making holiday cookies for the holidays doesn’t have to mean six types of sprinkles or three different types of sugar. In fact, some of my holiday favorites have amazingly few ingredients and require no decorations other than the occasional shake of powdered sugar. If you believe cookies should be easy to create and use, you’ve come to the right place. Here are 13 of my favorite Christmas cookies that use five or fewer ingredients and require no decoration. (Note that many of them don’t use flour either, so there are a surprising number of gluten-free options on this list.)
Pignoli cookies
Walk into any Italian bakery and, regardless of your initial intention, first look for the pignoli cookies . It may not be as colorful as a rainbow cookie, but this knobby little blob is a secret crowd favorite, and for good reason. Pignoli cookies are soft, chewy and very almondy. The price may seem a little high, but there is a reason for that. Ingredients: almond paste, sugar, egg whites and pine nuts. These are not ingredients I would hunt for on a regular basis, but the holidays are a special time of year when I can find an extra $10. Chewy, light, filled with almond flavor and a slight tar flavor, pignoli cookies are unlike any other cookie.
Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Cookies
No list of good cookies would be complete without oatmeal cookies, so here’s one that’s sure to become your favorite. Besides the oats, each of the other three ingredients is a source of flavor. The list includes ripe banana, chocolate chip and peanut butter, and unlike most of the other cookies on this list, there is no added sugar. Mix all ingredients in a bowl, scoop and bake. One bite like that will feel a little like being a kid and a little like eating healthy just so you can eat another one.
Shortbread
Sitting down with a good shortbread and a cup of tea is like something my (British) grandmother would do. Make the coffee and I’ll still enjoy them because baking a batch of shortbread cookies is so damn easy. The first cookie on our list to contain flour, shortbread cookies only require the above and the addition of butter and sugar. The resulting delicacy is slightly sweet, incredibly tender and delicious all year round. Most shortbread cookies hold their shape very well, so you can put a design on them or cut out shapes if you want a little decoration.
Meringue kisses
Surprisingly simple and completely fat-free, meringue kisses are a festive and sweet treat during these colder months. Whipped egg whites and sugar are the only two ingredients you’ll need. Some recipes call for cream of tartar and a few drops of whatever extract or flavoring you like, but if you had just a couple of eggs and a trusty can of sugar in the fridge, no one could stop you. . Depending on how far you want to go into decorating, you can keep it simple and add a few drops of food coloring to the mixture, or turn these cookies into a cute afternoon project with your kids. Spread a couple of dollops of meringue frosting and add candy accessories to create crunchy, sweet snowmen.
A simple yet elegant beauty.
If you’re looking for a stunning edible dish that only requires four ingredients (including garnish), then look no further than Norwegian kransekake. The batter is made from almond flour, powdered sugar, egg white and a couple drops of almond extract, and the icing is royal icing, which is simply more powdered sugar and egg white. Read here to get my recipe for festive kransekake.
Peanut Butter Cookies
I don’t need to push the idea of making peanut butter cookies on anyone. They could have needed 50 ingredients if it meant they would taste just as good. Luckily, you really only need three . Because peanut butter already contains peanut solids (no need for added flavoring) and lots of natural fat, making cookies with it only requires a little sweetness and enough binding to bring it all together. Let me introduce you to granulated sugar and an egg. Mix it all together and you’re ready for holiday bliss.
Amaretti cookies
Another cookie that practically cooks itself is amaretti, an Italian almond flour cookie that has a short ingredient list and is delicious. You can make these chewy treats with just three basic ingredients: almond flour, sugar and egg whites, but many recipes add a splash of almond flavoring or amaretto liqueur. Roll the dough into one-inch balls and dust them with powdered sugar before baking. This step is optional, but the cookies will expand in the oven and the sugar coating will crack nicely. No other decorations are required.
Coconut macaroons
These are not those French almond treats, mockingly pastel and unassuming, that sit in a bakery window and sell for a whopping three dollars apiece. We’re talking big, massive piles of chewy coconut. Macaroon is a happy place for coconut lovers, and buying a one-way ticket there is more than easy. Recipes vary , but the basics are a bag of sweetened coconut flakes, a binder and a sweetener. Usually this is sweetened condensed milk or egg whites. Combine the ingredients, scoop and bake until the bottom edges take on a hint of color and the flakes on top are beginning to brown.
Flourless dark chocolate cookies
If you want cookies that taste like chocolate brownie but are actually much easier to make than any brownie, try these flourless chocolate chip cookies . I first tried something like this at Whole Foods where they called it chocolate chewy cookies and it was full of chopped walnuts. This recipe uses extra chocolate chips instead, but if you like extras, I have a sneaking suspicion that you could add a similar amount of something else. Use pecans, potato chips, cornflakes or crumbled bacon to make this chewy chocolate your own fantasy creation.
Almond lace cookies
Despite their delicate and intricate appearance, lace cookies are very easy to make. Also called Florentines, these crispy, paper-thin, golden brown cookies are sometimes (thankfully) coated with a layer of dark chocolate. They’re delicious. They are called lace cookies because the sugar dough will bubble in the oven, and as it cools the bubbles will burst and leave behind holes. Since macaroon lace cookies are mostly liquid sugar and butter, the dough will be doughy. Be sure to leave plenty of space between each cookie because they will spread even more as they bake. Adding a dark chocolate coating is decadent, but entirely up to you, these crunchy buddies are perfect on their own.
Sugar cookies
She’s a classic. With just a few ingredients, sugar cookies are an extremely versatile concoction. Lay it out in mounds or roll it out with cookie cutters; it’s best to use a batch like this for the holidays. Sugar cookies contain almost the same ingredients as shortbread cookies and contain more sugar. (It’s hard to create suspense.) They also use granulated sugar instead of confectioner’s sugar because, unlike shortbread, sugar cookies are not crumbly and thin, but are meant to be chewy sweet bombs. Mix butter and sugar before adding flour. Place them on a baking sheet and if you have any sprinkles, spread them on top. Bake according to instructions.
Nutella cookies
While it’s tempting to simply scoop a spoonful into a jar of Nutella, it’s not suitable for sharing with holiday guests, and it’s even less suitable for delivering cookies to loved ones. Instead of squeezing brown paste into a cookie sheet, make these delicious treats that have just as intense flavor and are easier to handle. Mix Nutella, flour and egg in a bowl until you form a thick dough. Shape into rounds and bake for chewy delight.
Chocolate macaroons
An added benefit of minimal-ingredient cookies is that they require minimal effort, and they live up to this example. Simply add all ingredients to a bowl and stir. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment and bake. The almond flour adds a nice texture, the sugar and cocoa powder balance the sweetness and bitterness, and the baking powder keeps the cookies from turning into lumpy bricks. This recipe uses palm sugar, but it says below that it can be substituted with an equal amount of white or brown sugar.