Easy
Christmas Cookie Recipes - One Recipe with Many Variations
By Karen Ciancio
There are so many Christmas cookie recipes around
but often so little time to bake during the busy holiday season.
The solution? A great tasting basic cookie recipe
that quickly and easily turns into such a variety of easy to make
Christmas treats, friends and family will think you poured over all your
favorite Christmas cookie recipes.
Let's start with the basics.
Basic Cookie Dough Recipe
1/2 cup (or 1 stick) butter (or margarine) at room
temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients
except the flour. Beat with an electric mixer, scraping the sides of the
bowl several times, until the mixture is light and fluffy. With mixer at
a low speed, add the flour gradually, beating just until everything is
well blended.
Place the mixture on a baking sheet using a
tablespoon measure and press down with a spoon to flatten a bit. Or roll
our and cut into shapes with a cookie cutter. Bake at 350ºF for about
12 to 15 minutes, until golden.
This basic cookie mixture is also the base for the
following cookie recipes (all baked in a preheated oven at 350ºF).
Orange Cookies
(Makes about 32)
Add 1 tablespoon of grated orange zest to the
recipe. Shape into a log that is about 1 1/2" in diameter and
refrigerate for 4 hours.
Slice dough into 1/4" thick slices. Place on
cookie sheet. Cookies can be decorated with candies, rolled in colored
sugar, or cut into pretty holiday shapes before baking. Bake in
preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, until lightly browned.
Cherry Coconut Chocolate Squares
(Makes about 54 squares)
In addition to the basic dough you will need:
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups flaked coconut
1/2 cup maraschino cherries, well drained and coarsely chopped
Line a 13"x9" baking pan with foil.
Stir cocoa powder into basic dough mixture. Press
evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the crust
looks dry.
In a medium bowl whisk together eggs, sugar,
almond extract and baking powder until well blended. Stir in coconut and
cherries. Pour over the baked crust.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, until top just begins to
brown and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in
the pan on a wire rack. Lift it out on to a cutting board using the foil
ends and cut into 1 1/2" squares. Squares can be stored in an
airtight container for up to 3 weeks.
Coconut Pineapple Cookies
(Makes about 36)
In addition to the basic dough you will need:
1 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
1/3 cup pineapple preserves (use raspberry or apricot if you prefer)
Add 1 cup of the flaked coconut to the basic dough
mixture and mix well. Shape the dough into 1 1/2" balls and roll in
the remaining coconut to coat them. Place the balls 1" apart on
lightly greased cookie sheets. Make a deep indentation in the center of
each cookie with your fingertip.
Bake for 12-15 minutes until the cookie is firm
and the coconut is lightly toasted. When cooled, fill each hole in the
center of the cookies with the preserves.
You can vary this basic dough to make a wide
variety of Christmas cookie recipes. Add other flavorings like maple,
ginger or cinnamon. Add chopped dried fruits like apricots or dates. Or
bake them plain in holiday shapes and decorate with colored icing.
Christmas is such a wonderful time of year. Here's
hoping these quick and easy Christmas cookie recipes help keep the
pressure off the cook.
Karen Ciancio is a cook and lover of
all things food and cooking related. Her website http://www.cookingnook.com
contains easy dessert recipes, plus lots of other recipes,
cooking tips, measurement conversions and kitchen ideas.
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