There aren’t many cookies I don’t like, but there’s something special about the ones we make around the holidays.  I make all sorts of cookies when the weather turns cold.  Here are three recipes I love to eat give throughout the Christmas season.

The Classic Peanut Blossom.  I could care less about peanut butter or chocolate, really, but put these guys together and, man, this is one fantastic cookie.  You can’t beat the Hershey’s recipe–you can find it here.  Then break out the milk, friends, you’ll need a glass!

To give these cookies as a gift is complicated not only by the fact that you and your kids will want to eat them all yourselves, but also because the tips of those chocolate kisses are so delicate.  Make sure the cookies are completely cool before you pack them up into a pretty package.

The Decorated Cut-Out, or the Show-Off Sugar Cookie.  Who doesn’t want a sugar cookie, or five?  Cut-outs are fairly easy to make; it’s the decorating that throws people.  Using Meringue Powder in your icing is your best bet.  Or pipe Royal Icing around the edges & use a flow-in icing to fill (it’s actually pretty easy, you just have to get the hang of piping).  Here’s a great recipe, including a Royal Icing with meringue powder.  To make flow-in icing, put some Royal Icing in a dish and slowly stir in enough water until it ‘flows’ smoothly onto a surface after you stir it. It works beautifully!  (Use a pastry bag to pipe & flow.  To get flow-in icing into corners–on a star, for example–use a toothpick quickly, before the icing sets.)

The Pressed Cookie.  My mom’s friend gave her this recipe, called Mürlee oder Toegebäch way back before I was helping in the kitchen.  (Okay, fine, I never really helped much in the kitchen, but she got this recipe when I was young, anyway.)  I tried Googling the name to no avail, but I assume it came from the Old Country somewhere.  At any rate, these are better known as Pressed Cookies now, or sometimes Spritzes.  To make them, you’ll need to invest in one of these (it’s a cookie press).

I loooove these cookies and I love to switch out the disks to make fun new shapes.  Here’s the recipe from my mom:

• 1 c powdered sugar
• 2 c butter, softened
• 3 1/2 – 4 c flour
• 1t vanilla
• 1/2 – 1 t almond extract (optional – I don’t use it)

Preheat oven to 350°
Combine butter, sugar, and flavoring(s).  Beat with a hand mixer until fluffy.  Stir in flour by hand and mix well.  Separate dough and add food coloring.  (You might want lots of green, for example, if you’re making wreaths or Christmas trees.) Spoon dough into cookie press.(Chill remaining dough until ready to use.)
Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes.


This week, I’ve posted all sorts of Homemade Holiday Gift Ideas that Rock.  If you’re short on money but willing to spend time, I can promise you that your friends, kids’ teachers, and favorite aunt would love to receive any of these.

• Homemade Bread and Jam
• Chocolate-Dipped Pretzel Rods
• Hard-Tack Candy and Easy Homemade Caramel

A word to the wise:  make extra for your own family.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you! 

When I give candy at Christmastime, it’s truly a gift from the heart. My Aunt Jo used to make hard tack candy every year, and grabbing a handful was near the top of my list when my family made the trek north to visit.  Later, in college, my girlfriend Missy’s mom sent us a box of homemade caramel during midterm exams.  I think I ate most of the box.  When I graduated, I got myself a fancy Williams-Sonoma cookbook (I was living in California, after all) and gave the caramel recipe a whirl.  It was HARD.  Really.  The next time I saw Missy I mentioned her mom’s caramels and she told me how easy they were.  Huh.  I came away with the recipe and a great homemade holiday gift idea.  The hardest part is the wrapping, for sure.


Hard Tack Candy

• 2 c sugar
• 2 c water
• 2/3 c white Karo corn syrup
• ½ t oil flavor (NOT extract)
• food coloring
• powered sugar

Easy Homemade Caramel

• ½ lb (2 sticks) butter
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 2 c sugar
• 1 c white Karo corn syrup

• Homemade bread and Jam
• Chocolate-Dipped Pretzel Rods