holiday cookies – In Good Taste

Tips and Recipes to Host the Best Holiday Cookie Swap

Maris Callahan — Sun, 01 Dec 2019 18:00:41 +0000

Sound easy enough to pull off? We have everything you need to organize the best holiday cookie swap of the season, including a baker’s dozen cookie recipes from some of our favorite blogs. The Prep Guest List When planning your holiday cookie swap, remember that you’ll need to bake enough cookies so that everyone can take a few home. That means you might not want to invite thirty of your closest friends…unless they happen to be serious bakers. Shoot for up to ten friends who enjoy baking and who you think will all get along with one another. Cookie Rules The first rule of a holiday cookie swap is that no one talks about the holiday cookie swap. Or is that from the movie Fight Club? Either way, the holiday cookie swap rules are up to you, but you should definitely set some. Let guests know what the parameters are—such as, whether or not cookies should be made from scratch or if they should be holiday-themed. Don’t be afraid to delegate a little to ensure you don’t have three identical shortbreads. Typically, guests bake a dozen cookies for every attendee. But a half dozen would work if the party is large (say, more […]

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Chewy Molasses Spice Cookies

Maris Callahan — Tue, 27 Dec 2016 19:45:07 +0000

I know, I know. I’m sharing a cookie recipe after Christmas, right when the Internet is breathing a collective sigh of relief that cookie season is finally behind us and that it’s time to return to our regularly scheduled diets. I won’t lie, I have a yoga class scheduled this afternoon and I’m listening to non-Christmas music for the first time since Thanksgiving, so I appreciate the break. At the same time, I’m all for anything that will extend the festive Christmas spirit for a few more days and these ginger molasses cookies happen to fit the bill. There are so many things about the Christmas season that I wish were simply winter traditions. I’m all about the magic of Christmas and I realize it bears some pretty significant religious symbolism for a lot of people, but for me it’s about celebrating the people, places and experiences that you’re grateful for and celebrating the year. I love the music, the decorations, the excuse to bake (a lot) and eat (a lot) with loved ones. Even though the Christmas season is rooted in religion, there is a lot about the Christmas season that has brings out the good in people and I think that’s something to […]

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Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Maris Callahan — Tue, 22 Dec 2015 16:58:35 +0000

These classic chocolate crinkle cookies have a crisp, crackled exterior rolled in powdered sugar and are dense and chewy inside. I find the saying, “the best things in life are free” to be extremely misleading. In my opinion, especially if you ask me this time of year, the best things in life are chocolate. These chocolate crinkle cookies are perfect for a holiday cookie tray, cookie swap, office party or any occasion that could potentially warrant two dozen cookies between now and the end of the year. I realize that these are called “crinkle” cookies because as they bake, they puff up and crinkle, but I can’t say “crinkle” without thinking of the Santa Claus moniker Kris Kringle. So now, these will forever be known to me as Santa Claus cookies but don’t let that stop you from making them long after Christmas. These chocolate crinkle cookies are definitely on the sweeter end of the spectrum, but have a deep rich chocolate flavor that’s going to make you want to reach for more than one. Or, maybe I’m just projecting. To me, these cookies might speak to Kris Kringle, but their powdered sugar exterior make them the perfect winter cookie to enjoy whenever […]

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Iced Eggnog Cookies

Maris Callahan — Mon, 21 Dec 2015 05:07:53 +0000

Eggnog lovers can take their holiday spirit to go now with these cookies, made with lots of warm spices, eggnog and finished with buttery, rum-laced icing. I love Christmas. Though I was raised by one Jewish and one Catholic parent, I’ve never identified with either religion and to an extent, have even struggled to fit spirituality into my life. I find the history of religions fascinating and of course, respect those who practice it, but I’ve never identified with the principles of either religion that I was exposed to growing up. Religion is a highly personal topic, and you probably came here for a cookie recipe, so instead of waxing on about what I don’t believe, I want to talk about what I do believe in: tradition, gratitude, love and celebration. I understand the religious significance of Christmas, and I realize a lot of people oppose the commercialization of a day that is supposed to be extremely holy, but I love the ceremony around the season: I think the decorations are beautiful, I love hosting and attending holiday parties, baking and sharing holiday treats and shopping for gifts that will make other people smile. I also love tradition and learning about how my friends and […]

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Crowd Pleasing Holiday Cookies: Almond Butter Blossoms

Maris Callahan — Thu, 07 Nov 2013 22:51:33 +0000

As with most fattening, sugar-laden calorie bombs, people love peanut butter with a cultish enthusiasm. I prefer almond butter. Because for one, almond butter can produce these almond butter blossoms. Though I imagine that the sandwich staple flies from the shelves during the holiday cookie-baking season, I am personally not fan. Though I’ve been known to put away an occasional peanut butter English muffin, I could just as easily put all the peanut butter in the world on a raft and float it in the general direction of The Island from LOST. Now that we’ve established that little fact, I’m going to climb on the rooftop (or maybe just a bench or other slightly elevated surface) and shout my love for almond butter, a peanut alternative made from from crushed almonds. Though almond butter is a highly nutritious food — packed with monounsaturated fats, vitamin E, potassium, magnesium, iron, calcium and phosphorus — we won’t wax poetic about that today seeing as we’re about to blend it with shortening, white flour and an entire cup of sugar. Because peanut butter blossoms are a highly-coveted holiday cookie, I would be remiss if I didn’t attempt them in one way or another, […]

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