Must-make holiday cookies 🍪
Issue No. 11: Brighten up your holidays with these seven fabulous cookie recipes
Welcome back to Dish Lister!
This past week, my kitchen was transformed into a cookie factory as I happily kicked off one of the highlights of the season—my annual holiday cookie bake-off! This year’s cookie selections were particularly strong, and I’m excited to tell you all about them.
Without wasting another minute, let’s dish!
The cookies you need to make this holiday season
I cherish this busy, fun time around the holidays—socializing, eating out, going to parties, visiting holiday markets, traveling, spending time with friends and family, and, of course, having more excuses to bake. I most look forward to my annual holiday cookie bake-off, which involves carefully researching and selecting cookie recipes that look and sound incredible.
For this year’s bake-off, I chose SEVEN different holiday cookie recipes that capture the essence of the holidays. Many of the recipes are classic seasonal cookies with a twist. I included one standard favorite, because how could I not?
After trying them all, I can confidently say this year’s batch of cookies were some of THE BEST I’ve ever made. Every single recipe was a winner in its own right. A handful of local (lucky) recipients of my cookies expressed a similar sentiment.
The good news is, you can make and enjoy every one of these cookies too. All of the recipes are approachable and easy to make, noting that some do require a bit more time and patience. I highly recommend trying as many of them as possible! Just be prepared for the flood of compliments that you’ll inevitably receive.
Can’t wait to hear what you think!
MY 2024 HOLIDAY COOKIE LIST:
White Chocolate-Pistachio Cranberry Cookies, Sarah Fennel, Broma Bakery. I’ve never made a Broma Bakery recipe that I didn’t like and was excited to try these cookies, which Fennel calls one of her favorites of the season. White chocolate, fruit, and nut-studded, the cookies have more of a shortbread texture, which I’m definitely not mad about. Don’t skip the extra white chocolate drizzle; it’s the icing on the cake (cookie).
Rum-Buttered Almond Cookies, Vaughn Vreeland, NY Times Cooking. I like butter, I like almonds, and I like rum, so this gluten-free cookie was a no-brainer to include in my holiday line-up. Brushing them multiple times with a rum-butter glaze really infuses them with flavor. And while the rum wasn’t as pronounced as I’d expected, the toasted almond yumminess more than made up for it. I’ve been told this cookie is also the perfect complement to a cup of coffee.
Coconut Lime Sablés, Dorie Greenspan, Dorie’s Cookies. I’ve always enjoyed the combination of lime and coconut (like the classic song). Bringing them together in a perfectly round—thanks to a muffin tin—shortbread cookie is a brilliant idea. And, unlike a lot of other cookies, their flavor gets better with time. Dorie Greenspan makes some of the best cookies out there (see more on this below), and this one should not be missed.
Peanut Butter Blossoms, the Gerrero family, adapted by NY Times Cooking. This beloved classic holiday cookie originated in 1957, but there’s nothing dated about its rich peanut butter flavor and fudgy texture that’s complemented by a dollop of gooey (when eaten warm) milk chocolate. After trying one, you will understand why they’re still popular almost 70 years later.
Lemon Crinkle Cookies, Dan Pelosi, crateandbarrel.com. Crinkle cookies, with their snowy-covered tops, are the quintessential holiday cookie and were a must-include on my list. This year, I decided to branch out from the typical (albeit delicious) chocolate versions. After reviewing around twenty recipes, I happily discovered this one. The cookie is bursting with bright, citrusy notes reminiscent of a lemon bar, and it’s got a perfectly fudgy, chewy interior and crisp, sugary exterior. This was one of my kids’ favorites.
Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies, Vaughn Vreeland, NY Times Cooking. I’ve always been drawn to cookie recipes that feels fresh and new. This Mexican Hot Chocolate cookie, which I’ve had my eye on for a while, fits the bill perfectly and did not disappoint. It’s got a complexity of flavors and textures and gives off strong Mexican hot chocolate vibes. The cookie is on the crispier side with a pronounced spiciness from the cinnamon and cayenne, while the sweeter, chewier marshmallow interior offers a wonderful contrast. All in all, an impressive holiday treat!
[Note for anyone making these cookies: After reading some of the recipe reviews/ comments about the chilled dough being hard to work with and the marshmallows not peeking through the dough after baking, I made some adjustments: I stuffed the mini marshmallows and balled the dough with all ingredients at room temperature and then froze the stuffed cookie dough balls overnight. When ready to bake, I thawed the dough balls for a few minutes before dredging them in the cinnamon sugar, extended the total baking time by about five minutes, and they came out perfect.]
Ginger Cheesecake Cookies, Samantha Seneviratne, NY Times Cooking.
Run, don’t walk, to make these next-level cookies, especially if you’re a ginger fan. They were my favorite from this year’s bake-off. The cookie on its own would be incredible; it’s got a lovely spiciness from ginger three ways (plus black pepper) and a sweet crispiness from the sanding sugar. But then adding a lightly sweet, creamy cheesecake filling balances everything out and takes it over the top. After eating one, I was left feeling warm and fuzzy inside—the highest praise I can give a cookie.
To maximize your cookie baking success, here are a couple of quick tips/ tricks that I rely on regularly, and you should too:
WEIGH EVERYTHING. I invested in a food scale and use it all the time. When baking, I always get better, more consistent results when measuring ingredients by weight vs. volume.
Use a wide-rimmed glass for perfectly round cookies every time. Right when you take the cookies out of the oven (they must be hot for this to work), place the glass over a cookie and rotate it in a circular motion a few times until the cookie forms into a nice circular shape. Repeat across all. Watch this video for a visual reference.
Happy baking!!
Cookie-centric cookbooks that I love
I wouldn’t feel right about having a holiday cookie edition and not sharing a few cookie cookbooks that inspire me. Holidays or not, I turn to these three books often and encourage every regular (or aspiring) baker and/or cookie fanatic to check them out:
100 Cookies, Sarah Kieffer. Sarah Kieffer (of the Vanilla Bean baking blog) invented the pan-banging cookies, which are truly a sight to behold (and eat!). Her chocolate chip ones currently reside in my top 5 all-time favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes—no small feat given the dozens of amazing ones I’ve tried! In addition to an entire chapter of pan-banging cookie recipes, there are many other really crave-able cookies in this book. Make the Brownie Cookies (make mine with peanut butter, natch) and Smoky Butterscotch Cookies when you want to impress.
Dorie’s Cookies, Dorie Greenspan. I briefly met Dorie while working in the Good Housekeeping test kitchen after culinary school (spoiler: she was super nice!). And she signed my copy of this cookbook, which rightfully received a James Beard Award for Best Baking and Dessert Book in 2017. In addition to the Coconut-Lime Sablés, her Espresso Chocolate Sablés are a favorite. Also try the Classic Jammers and Cocoa-Tahini Cookies with Sesame Crunch.
The Essential Cookie Companion, King Arthur Baking Company. Besides making my go-to flours, King Arthur develops kick-ass classic and creative cookie (and bar cookie) recipes too. If I could only own one cookie cookbook, it would be this one. Must-try recipes: Triple Play Peanut Butter Cookies, Black & White Shortbread, Golden Crunch Cookies, Magic in the Middles. (Honestly, the list goes on and on; there are so many treasures to choose from!)
I hope I’ve inspired you to make some of these amazing cookies this holiday season. If you do, let me know which are your favorites. I also love a good recipe swap, so please share your favorite holiday cookie recipes with me. Maybe I’ll even include some in my next 2025 bake-off!
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