Christmas Cookies that are not cut outs

I like to mix things up, so I always want to have something chocolate, something vanilla, gingerbread, lemon, fruit, cinnamon, molasses, peppermint.

I always make white chocolate raspberry thumbprints, chocolate thumbprints, rolled out gingerbread, snickerdoodles or pumpkin spice cookies, vanilla drop sugar cookies (DH’s favorite), molasses chewies, and I might also do lemon raspberry thumbprints. I’m looking for a white chocolate peppermint cookie this year, I think that would be a good combo.

I’d link up some recipes but my internet is going super slow right now so I’ll have to try to do it later. 😕

Chocolate crinkles

I love these! They're easy and super festive looking (and they taste good).

www.hersheyland.com/recipes/kisses-candy-cane-blossoms.html

The biggest hit is a chewy amaretti cookie. They're a little fiddly in terms of finding ingredients-caster sugar and almond meal-but easy to make, GF and very tasty.

I've also had a good response with Belle's Dead Aunt cookies. I believe the original recipe calls for lemon glaze but I've used orange too.

I also like to make different varieties of boozy truffles and at least one cookie is always chocolate and orange because I love those flavors together.

Then I just make one based on what I'm feeling any particular year--this year it's a ginger cookies with crystallized ginger.

Last year was the first year I did Christmas baking myself without my mom's help/her recipes and these were some of the ones I used --

Raspberry Almond Shortbread/thumbprints - big hit, a couple people from my boyfriends' work wanted the recipe.

Hot Cocoa Cookies - a MESS but so so good. I viscerally hate nonpareils so I used some cute tree sprinkles I found at Walmart.

Peppermint Meringues - kind of a cookie and SO DAMN EASY. The "hardest" part was getting nice lines brushed in the bag for the peppermint effect. I dipped the bottoms in dark chocolate + sprinkles and they were a big big hit.

Pecan Shortbreads - these... idk what went wrong for me but they looked terrible. They tasted great but definitely didn't look like hers so I felt like they weren't up to fluff.

A couple of years ago, I made cookies every workday in December for my co-workers.  One day I made these and let me tell you - they were the easiest cookies I made (I just used Pillbury Peanut Butter Cookies in the tube) and they were by far the most popular cookies I brought that year.  I made all the others from scratch but these were the ones people just seemed to really love.  The second most popular cookies were Oatmeal Scotchies.

Our friend circle had a socially distanced cookie exchange last year as way to "be together" yet not, to enjoy the holidays. It went smashing and we've continued with it, doing a spring and fall version of the exchange. I've already decided my contribution for our second annual Christmas exchange will be a cookie bar, rather than individual cookies.

I am not a cookie baker (don't really have the patience for it) but made Spicy Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies last year and they were the hit of the cookie exchange. Highly recommend!

For the last 11 years I have done a 10 dozen cookie package for my business. I've switched it up over the years and have settled on a few that really work for me time wise:

gingerbread snaps
shortbread
jewel cookies (brown sugar base with candied fruit & almonds - roll, chill, slice, bake style)
spritz (cookie press cookies with cream cheese in them)
orange cranberry slices (another slice & bake)
chocolate pinwheels (more involved slice & bake)

I like to start my holiday baking by looking for drop cookies, bar cookies, and a scone. They are all easy types of treats to make, and by doing some of those early, I feel like I have a good start to my baking and then can enjoy making some more time-consuming varieties.

I love to make some sort of coconut drop cookie and some sort of oatmeal based one. I like to make a blondie or something similar.

My one big exception is to make pizzelle, which for me, are something more elaborate looking, but which we can actually whip up quite quickly.

My youngest likes to make peanut butter cookies with a mini Reese's cup pushed into them. You make them in mini-cupcake tins.

I don't have any recipes handy, which is why I've just mentioned general ideas that can be easily googled.

I like to mix it up too, sometimes I use the same base doughs, so sugar cookie dough and shortbread dough then add in different flavors, coloring, sprinkles, dipped chocolate, etc. You can separate sugar cookie dough, add food coloring then layer it to roll and slice to make pinwheel type cookies.


Other favs are a rolled cinnamon nut cookie that the dough has sour cream, so it's a nice soft dough. My nephew loves PB kiss, so do those every year. I do some various drop cookies. I've made chocolate bark in various themes like trail mix, pretzel, smores, oreo, etc.



My Mom makes traditional kifli or kiffle cookies with apricot, lekvar and walnuts. ​


I also celebrate St. Lucy's day and make st. lucia buns, but this year thinking of trying a cinnamon bread type thing. 


This year is way scaled down, but I thought about adding a biscotti to the mix. I purchase one of those "holiday cookies" magazines every year, I have quite the collection, so always go thru and tag different things I want to try. I also am planning to try cocoa bombs.

Italian meatball cookies

I made the hot cocoa cookies last year - they were a big hit!  I bet yours looked super festive with tree sprinkles!

WOW!!  You have quite the repertoire!  
Which are your absolute favorites, and if you have time, can you please share recipes for the Peppermint Twists and Rumballs?  

I just posted the recipe for the Welsh Currant Cookies on the Recipes board, under the desserts sub heading. All my other cookie recipes are at the beach house. I will be there tomorrow & will post the other requests over the weekend.

My mom was the family baker and these are all family recipes. She taught me and I now carry on her tradition. Mostly because I will never hear the end of it if I don’t! It’s a lot of baking on top of everything else that needs to be done for the holidays. I’m just in awe of the magic my mom and grandmothers created every year at Christmas. I try my best but it never feels as good as their holiday magic.