Easy Christmas Cookie Recipes

Crusty on the outside, soft and warm on the inside, the evergreen cookie represents the spirit of Christmas like the cake and the pudding...bringing to mind the white Christmas traditions, anywhere in the world. Here are some mouth-watering recipes for warm Christmas cookies.

A standard prerequisite for baking cookies is to have the oven preheated at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, before the cookie dough is ready. The second rule is never to over bake the cookies. So do not allow them to bake for more than 15 minutes, or lie in the oven after it is turned off. The crispy freshness will be lost if any of these are not followed.

Ingredients
♦ 1 stick softened unsalted butter
♦ 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
♦ 1 egg, separated
♦ 1 ¼ cup sifted flour
♦ 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
♦ ½ tsp. ground ginger
♦ ¼ tsp. grated nutmeg
♦ ¼ tsp. ground cloves
♦ 2 tbsp. granulated sugar

Procedure
Beat together butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Keep aside two teaspoons of egg white, mix the rest of the separated egg into the mixture and mix well. Stir in the spices and flour, kneading into soft dough.

Roll this dough to about ¼ inch thickness and cut into Christmas shapes, stars etc. Brush these shapes with the egg white and bake for 10-12 minutes. Let them cool to room temperature before dusting with icing sugar.

Ingredients
♦ 3 tbsp. unsalted butter
♦ ¼ cup fine sugar
♦ 1 egg, separated
♦ Grated rind of half a lemon
♦ ½ beaten egg
♦ 1/3 cup ground almonds
♦ 1 cup flour
♦ ½ teaspoon mixed spice
♦ 3 tbsp. raspberry jam
♦ 2 tbsp. confectioner's sugar
♦ ½ tsp. ground cinnamon

Procedure
Beat butter, sugar and lemon rind together until light and fluffy. Gradually add beaten egg and then stir in the ground almonds. Sift together the flour and spices and knead into the mixture. Chill for about half an hour and then roll out the dough into about 1/8 inch thickness.

Cut out into cookie shapes. Bake for 10-15 minutes. After cooling to room temperature, use the apricot preserve to sandwich the cookies into pairs. Cool further, then dust with confectioner's sugar and ground cinnamon.

Ingredients
♦ 2 sticks unsalted butter
♦ 1 ½ cup confectioner's sugar
♦ ½ tsp. vanilla extract
♦ ¼ tsp. peppermint extracts
♦ 2 ½ cup flour
♦ ¼ tsp. salt
♦ 2 tbsp. crushed peppermint candy
♦ ¼ tsp. red food coloring

Procedure
Beat the butter till soft and beat in the sugar till fluffy. Add vanilla, egg and peppermint extract and stir in the flour and salt until well blended. Knead into firm dough and divide this dough into two parts. In one part add the crushed candy and red color. Wrap both the dough into tight plastic and refrigerate.

After half an hour take out both the dough and cutting small balls from each, roll out into 4 inch long shapes. Twist plain dough with colored dough to form a twisted length with alternate color and bend the end to form a cane. Set these two inches apart on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, do not allow to brown. Cool them and store in airtight container.

Ingredients
♦ 1 stick of lightly salted butter
♦ ½ cup fine sugar
♦ Grated rind of one lemon
♦ 1 egg beaten
♦ 2 ¼ cup flour
♦ ¼ cup cornstarch
♦ ½ tsp. vanilla extract
♦ ¼ cup colored sugar crystals

Procedure
Beat butter, sugar and lemon rind together until light and fluffy. Gradually add the egg, beating well after each addition. Sift together the flour and the cornstarch and blend into this mixture, along with the vanilla. Knead to marble, smoothly (but not too hard). Roll out this dough to about ¼ inch thickness and then cut into star shapes.

Sprinkle the tops of these stars with colored sugar and press them down gently so they get embedded into the dough. Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes. Leave to cool on the sheets for 3 minutes, and then remove. These star shapes go perfectly with the Christmas spirit.

Ingredients
♦ 1 ½ stick unsalted butter
♦ 1/3 cup confectioner's sugar
♦ ½ tsp. vanilla extract
♦ 1 ¼ cup flour
♦ ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
♦ 1/3 cup cornstarch
♦ 2 tbsp. semi sweet chocolate
♦ Confectioners sugar for dusting

Procedure
Beat together butter, sugar and vanilla extract, till light and fluffy. Sift together cornstarch, flour and cocoa powder and fold into the mixture. Spoon the mixture into a decorating bag with the star-shaped nozzle of ½ inch. Pipe 2 ½ inch long logs onto the baking sheet. Bake for about 12 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Melt the chocolate in a pan and dip both ends of the logs into it. Again lay the logs out to cool and to set the chocolate, refrigerate for about 30 minutes. Dust with confectioners sugar just before serving.

Christmas is a time for celebration, a time for joy and a time for all to come together. A family gathering is definitely incomplete without the sweetness of cakes and cookies, and the best part about the homemade ones is the love enclosed in them. Merry Christmas!