What your family's favorite Christmas cookie???

Please share your family's favorite Christmas cookie recipes....

I try to do 1 new cookie each year.

and there's a pic of our favorite, the peanut butter cookie with the hershey kiss...
I think they are sometimes called peanut blossoms.

1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. peanut butter
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 3/4 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
Hersheys Kisses, 1 for each cookie


Pre-Heat oven to 375°F.
Cream together butter, both sugars and peanut butter. Add 1 egg and vanilla. Add flour, baking soda and salt.

Form in walnut size balls. Roll in white sugar and place them on a cookie sheet.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Press Hershey Kiss into each cookie when fresh out of the oven.

Makes about 2 1/2 dozen.

I just made 75 of those Peanut Butter Blossoms for Thanksgiving, they won't be on the table at Christmas. LOL

Oh BTW, I don't have a favorite.....I LIKE THEM ALL!

DH does those in chocolate too. He always uses different kiss flavors too. He is our Christmas cookie baker.

What??? no one else likes cookies????

As a small kid (circa 1960's), every christmas my mom would make the classic sugar cookies, shaped like Christmas trees or bells, with either red sprinkles or green sprinkles.

Even though I'm a half-century older (but am I wiser ?!? ....subject to debate), I still get misty-eyed when I see them at this time of year, even if I no longer eat them.

Awww, you're making me all teary eyed!!!

DH is gathering his cookie supplies, starting to bake next week.

Off topic (sort of...)

Several years ago, a cable channel was interviewing an older woman about Christmas baking; I was about to flip around the channels on the remote, to see if there was something more interesting to watch.

She started describing how "Cookie Cutters" (those metal shapes you push down on into the dough to get a particular shape) had become a favorite collectible for her, and she brought out some boxes of them.

As they interviewed her, it became much more interesting, and personal, to me. She had cookie cutters that had been in her family for many decades, as well as ones that she picked up at yard sales over many years.

The copper ones were more valuable from a monetary standpoint, but there were rare ones that were quite older, sometimes discolored by the older metal alloys used so many years ago (like your mother's, or grandmother's, baking sheets...with that deep, dark patina).

She could remember which ones came down throough her family, and which ones came from neighbors or tag sales.

It was an enchanting interview, since it resonated with my memories as a kid.

(A technical point: she stopped collecting plastic cookie cutters, because the plastic can't be made thin enough to cut effectively like stainless steel/copper.)

These are the memories for kids they will remember like I do....and it's even easier nowadays with the cookie dough already made in the refrigerated section of the supermarket!

I had those copper one...my mom let me use them for my play doh!!!

I make at least 10 different kinds of cookies, and have started a few, but will do most on Mon and Tues. Gingerbread cutouts are my favorite, but have added many must haves every year.
Eggnog thumbprint
Chocolate caramel thumbprint
almond joys
chocolate with a peanut butter filling
almond with a chocolate filling
white chocolate raspberry
2 different recipes for sugar cookies
snowballs
walnut cresents
I take a large tray to work for our Christmas lunch, plus some to my family for our Christmas party.

"Eggnog" thumbprint?

New to me, sounds intriguing!

I did those chocolate caramel thumbprints...but thought the caramel came out too hard, how are yours done?

My mother-in-law used to make Swedish ammonia cookies (Drommar?) which we scarfed down every Christmas. I have never been able to exactly duplicate her results, although there are many recipes available on the web.

I'll post the recipe later, also for the eggnog ones, but the caramel - it's just the vanilla caramels and heavy cream melted together, and it stays soft.

Wow Deb, what a list! i too am curious about the Eggnog one.

eggnog thumbprints

2/3 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup finely diced nuts

filling:
1/4 cup butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1-2 tsp milk

beat butter and sugar, beat in egg, vanilla and nutmeg, beat in flour
shape into 1" balls and roll in diced nuts
place on lightly greased cookie sheets, press centers to make a thumbprint
Bake at 375 9-11 minutes. Cool.

beat all filling ingredients, pipe into center of each cookie and sprinkle with nutmeg
makes 36

Thanks for the recipe!

chocolate caramel thumbprints

1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
2 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1/3 cup baking cocoa
1/4 tsp salt

1 cup finely diced nuts

filling:
16 caramels
3 Tbsp heavy cream

drizzle:
melt 1/2 cup chocolate chips and 1 tsp shortening over double boiler til smooth

beat first 5 ingredients, beat in flour, cocoa and salt
chill until firm enough to shape into 1" balls
roll into diced nuts
place on lightly greased cookie sheets and press centers to make thumbprint
bake at 350 9-10 minutes
cool
melt caramels and heavy cream stirring over low heat until smooth
fill centers of cookies with caramel and drizzle with chocolate

Yum!!! Thanks Deb!

Thanks Deb

Snicker doodles and Pizzelles!!

Love Snicker doodles!! What are Pizzelles???

Oh Celeste they are so good with a cup of tea! A thin wafer like cookie with a hint of anise flavor you make on a pizzelle iron that is a little like a waffle iron. They are time consuming to make since you can only do one at a time but oh so good!!

Sounds yummy!!!

Not cookies but i recently did something my Mom always did...took raw peanuts, dropped them in boiling water and let sit for 5 minutes. It softens the skins so you can 'pop' the peanut out. Then dry them on paper towels and drop them into hot peanut oil. Cook till brown and bubbly, drain, and salt. I've eaten half a bag of peanuts in less than 48 hours. I'd have them all gone but Brian keeps hiding them on me!!!

This is a dangerous thread for me, but I just had to peak. If I allow myself even a small amount of sugar, I get addicted immediately and can't stay away from the stuff. All of those cookies you make, Debi, are making me really tempted! Chocolate and caramel are among my all-time favorites, but I also love those old-fashioned decorated sugar cookies like we made in my childhood. I always made them for my son too, and we always had them with hot chocolate when we decorated the tree. I don't dare make them now. If I just keep sugar out of my system, I'm okay.

I hear 'ya !!!

Eat a big bowl of salad (with some chicken), and then allow yourself one luxurious cookie, slowly nibbled.

You need to treat yourself once in a while!

I finished up all the cookies today, taking 14 dozen to work tomorrow, made 27 dozen for friends for a small fee, and will take some to my family on the weekend. That's about all that is in my freezer right now.

If anyone is making the eggnog cookies I posted above, I tried to make them by rolling the dough in nuts without egg whites, but it didn't work well with that recipe. It did work for the chocolate ones.

You can use 2 egg yolks in the cookies, and slightly beat the egg whites, dip the dough balls in the egg before rolling in nuts.

Thanks for the eggnog cookie update!

I find myself using "egg substitute" ("Egg Beaters") more often in recipes, so I might do some experimenting after Christmas.

Gee, 14 dozen + 27 dozen = 41 dozen......Wow, you must be organized, and have it down to a science!

probably at least 60 dozen, but I've only counted the ones I've gotten ready so far.

And it is like an assembly line, I make all the doughs first, then do all the baking, then all the filling/drizzling.

Oh, I'm so tired just thinking about all that baking, Debi! I'd rather eat them! lol

I finished the butter cookies, 21 dozen and the pizzeles I lost count on LOL I now smell like buttery licorice!

Yum!

going to have to try the caramel thumbprints!!!!

they're always a hit

I always make jam ones... raspberry jam & I mix chambord in with it

I thought about using raspberry jam in the chocolate cookie too, and I was going to mix some of the jam into the chocolate drizzle, but I didn't. I did make white chocolate raspberry ones.

here is my fav recipe.. I skip the vanilla bean because I use vanilla sugar in them... I always have a container of that on hand

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/butter-and-jam-thumbprints-recipe2/index.html

DH and DD have the dough made for the cutout cookies. It's chilling in the fridge. Tonight he says they'll start baking . He does several different kinds of cookies.

Call me ignorant...I had to search for a description of "chambord." (Sounds great!)

(EVERYTHING sounds terrific !!!)