christmas cookies
December 16th, 2010
There have been some lovely things coming out of the oven these days. I always tell myself I won’t make a thousand kinds of cookies this year, but then well: there are the ones I always make and the ones my mom used to make and the favorite ones from last year and the new recipe I found this year. I kind of like getting carried away, but the problem is that I tend to favor the extra complicated cookies at christmastime and I come away never wanting to see another cookie again. This year that hasn’t happened. yet.
fig pinwheels: these were a favorite from a few years back but they are less exciting to me now. The dough is super delicious, but the filling is too figgy. I think next year I’ll make it with dates and orange peel.
english toffee: always good.
hazelnut thumbprints: I made these last year and didn’t give any away because they were so good. This year I made a double batch (so I could share) and filled them all with apricot jam.
basler brunsli: I think these are Swiss cookies? They are chocolate and almond and rum and so grown up and wonderful. I’m going to share the recipe with you next week.
alfajores: this was a new one for me this year and blazzam! they are amazing. Two little flaky cookies, like barely sweetened pie crust with dulche de leche inside. awesome.
mexican hot chocolate cookies: these are new to me too and they are lame. The cookies are boring and not spicy at all. Oh well, there has to be one crummy recipe every year.
gingerbread and ganache sandwich men: I think gingerbread and chocolate are the best together, so I made these little sandwiches. How could they not be good?
All of the cookies I’ve made so far are packaged up and ready to go, but I’m working on another list: christmas cookies just for us. So far I have down these (which I make every year) and these (which are a perfect new twist on an old christmas favorite).
I’ve got your toffee recipe bookmarked to try sometime in the twelve days of Christmas — we’re so full of other life things that we haven’t had much time to do christmassy things before the 25th this year — hence, the twelve days of Christmas! Any way to extend the cheer, methinks, is just as nice. +Chelsea
Oh, my word. These are amazing. I love baking Christmas cookies, too. Especially with weather like we’ve been having in my part of Wisconsin. But I have a 4 month old, so I have yet to get the oven going this season…
Sounds like you would love these:
http://www.gourmet.com/recipes/2000s/2004/05/hazelnut-cookies
I made them this year, simple, easy, and delicious. They have been a favorite amongst the batches I’ve sent out so far this year!
Even I would bake a cookie called basler brunsli — looking forward to the recipe!
I made the Mexican hot chocolate cookies too and was really disappointed. They sounded so yummy but I thought they were bland too (no spice at all) and I found the dough to be really persnickety.
YUM! Those all look super amazing. I’m really looking forward to the recipe next week.
I love that you made alfajores! My husband is from Peru and we have these at almost all special occasions with his family. I finally got their recipe and I love to make these. I actually prefer a different filling so when I make them, I use a Raspberry filling instead (sac-relig among the fam but I love it and so do the kids ; )
I’m impressed: they look delicious. I ought to try the English toffee – I’ve never really worked out what Americans are talking about when they say fudge / caramel / toffee, as it never quite seems to be the same as what we call fudge / caramel / toffee.
Wow, they look fantastic! I definitely want to try to make some of them, particularly the mexican hot chocolate cookies.
yum! i’m baking gingerbread today. and maybe the girls and i will make cookies next week.
I developed a cookie a few years ago to celebrate my youngest son’s birth country – Guatemala. It is REALLY good with lots of chocolate and spices. I named them Cariques (his middle name) and submitted them to The Food Network. They selected me for a cookie exchange show they were filming and I was sooooo excited. HOWEVER, all my friends refused to be filmed so I had to back out. :( Geez, it’s not like I hang out with America’s Most Wanted! Oh well, we still love Cariques and I’ll share the recipe with anyone who’s interested!
I’ve only managed a couple of batches of my ultra quick cinnamon biscuits. Perhaps this year, we will go for New Year cookies!
Oh yummy! Iam not a very good baker, but your photos make me want to go in the kitchen and start mixing!
Thanks for the Smitten Kitchen link. I just finished making the chestnut cookies and they are amazing!!! Onto try your hazelnut next…
What a cookie platter!
I know alfajores from my mother in law whois from Andalucia (Southern Spain). They are different from what you show here, but so, so tasty and also made for Christmas.
Yes, Basler Brunsli are from Switzerland, it’s an old recipe from the city Basel, my home town.
Wonderful to meet my Grandma’s favorites on this blog.
they look yummy!
I made the Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies but I could tell by reading the recipe that the way Martha had it was not going to be very interesting. I added Chili powder to the cookie dough and then increased the amount I rolled the cookies in. This helped a lot.
Yum. Those pinwheels look wonderful. Here’s our cookie plate http://chazandginger.blogspot.com/2010/12/christmas-cookies.html