Easy Christmas Cookie
Recipes - One Recipe with Many Variations
by: Karen Ciancio
There are so many Christmas cookie recipes around
but often so little time to bake during the busy
holiday season.
The solution?
A great tasting basic cookie recipe that
quickly and easily turns into such a variety
of easy to make Christmas treats, friends
and family will think you poured over all
your favorite Christmas cookie recipes.
Let's start
with the basics.
Basic Cookie
Dough Recipe
- 1/2 cup (or
1 stick) butter (or margarine) at room
temperature
- 1/2 cup
brown sugar, lightly packed
- 2
tablespoons sugar
- 1/2
teaspoon baking powder
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon
vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups
all-purpose flour
In a large
bowl, combine all the ingredients except the
flour. Beat with an electric mixer, scraping
the sides of the bowl several times, until
the mixture is light and fluffy. With mixer
at a low speed, add the flour gradually,
beating just until everything is well
blended.
Place the
mixture on a baking sheet using a tablespoon
measure and press down with a spoon to
flatten a bit. Or roll our and cut into
shapes with a cookie cutter. Bake at 350ºF
for about 12 to 15 minutes, until golden.
This basic
cookie mixture is also the base for the
following cookie recipes (all baked in a
preheated oven at 350ºF).
Orange Cookies
(Makes about 32)
Add 1
tablespoon of grated orange zest to the
recipe. Shape into a log that is about 1
1/2" in diameter and refrigerate for 4
hours.
Slice dough
into 1/4" thick slices. Place on cookie
sheet. Cookies can be decorated with
candies, rolled in colored sugar, or cut
into pretty holiday shapes before baking.
Bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes,
until lightly browned.
Cherry Coconut
Chocolate Squares
(Makes about 54 squares)
In addition to
the basic dough you will need:
- 1/4 cup
unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 large
eggs
- 1 1/2 cups
granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon
almond extract
- 1/2
teaspoon baking powder
- 3 cups
flaked coconut
- 1/2 cup
maraschino cherries, well drained and
coarsely chopped
Line a 13"x9"
baking pan with foil.
Stir cocoa
powder into basic dough mixture. Press
evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 10-15
minutes or until the crust looks dry.
In a medium
bowl whisk together eggs, sugar, almond
extract and baking powder until well
blended. Stir in coconut and cherries. Pour
over the baked crust.
Bake for 30-35
minutes, until top just begins to brown and
a toothpick inserted near the center comes
out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack.
Lift it out on to a cutting board using the
foil ends and cut into 1 1/2" squares.
Squares can be stored in an airtight
container for up to 3 weeks.
Coconut
Pineapple Cookies
(Makes about 36)
In addition to
the basic dough you will need:
- 1 1/2 cups
sweetened flaked coconut
- 1/3 cup
pineapple preserves (use raspberry or
apricot if you prefer)
Add 1 cup of
the flaked coconut to the basic dough
mixture and mix well. Shape the dough into 1
1/2" balls and roll in the remaining coconut
to coat them. Place the balls 1" apart on
lightly greased cookie sheets. Make a deep
indentation in the center of each cookie
with your fingertip.
Bake for 12-15
minutes until the cookie is firm and the
coconut is lightly toasted. When cooled,
fill each hole in the center of the cookies
with the preserves.
You can vary
this basic dough to make a wide variety of
Christmas cookie recipes. Add other
flavorings like maple, ginger or cinnamon.
Add chopped dried fruits like apricots or
dates. Or bake them plain in holiday shapes
and decorate with colored icing.
Christmas is
such a wonderful time of year. Here's hoping
these quick and easy Christmas cookie
recipes help keep the pressure off the cook.
