Christmas Cookie Round-up

There is something about Christmas that just makes me want to bake large amounts of cookies.  I'm generally not a cookie person and yet I always make them this time of year.  Since many people have a few days off this week for the holidays I wanted to share what I've been baking as each recipe can easily be done in a day, so there's still time to make them for Christmas Day or they are so yummy they'd even be great to bring to a New Year's Eve Party.  I didn't get to making as many varieties of sweets as I would have liked, but what I did make was delish!

I started with these amazing Five-Spice Gingersnaps from Epicurious.  They got mixed reviews on the site, but were so adorable I just couldn't help myself.  The boy and I really enjoyed the spice in them, it wasn't in your face, but hit you more at the end.  I might add some fresh grated ginger next time to amp it up a bit, but these are great as is.  And I mean how adorable do they look?!

I love cinnamon, as can be seen by my Toasted Cinnamon Ice Cream recipe.  It sings of the holidays, but I honestly use it in hefty doses all year round, it's my favorite spice in both sweet and savory dishes.  I really wanted to try out a cinnamon marshmallow recipe so I perused around the web for a good recipe and happened upon this Chocolate Swirl Cinnamon Marshmallow recipe on Food52.  The recipe alone sold me, but as I read in the comments someone suggested turning them into Mexican Hot Chocolate marshmallows with a bit of ground chipotle.  Sweet & Spicy?!  Absolutely!  I couldn't be happier with how these turned out and will absolutely be making these on a regular basis because they were super simple and huge in flavor!

Christmas isn't Christmas for me without iced sugar cookies.  My sister and I differ on how we like our iced sugar cookies.  She's a fan of the softer cookies with a standard buttercream and some sprinkles, while I prefer a firmer cookie with royal icing.  Luckily I won't be seeing my sis until Christmas Day and these cookies are coming to the cottage, because they are absolutely my fave kind of sugar cookie.  I used Martha Stewarts recipe for Ideal Sugar Cookies and Doughmesstic's recipe for Royal Icing.  I dyed my icing red and teal and used some of the various sprinkles and dragees I've managed to hoard over the past year or so.  I love the way these turned out and how my piping skills have improved.  I didn't completely cover each one with icing, as it can be a bit much for some people and these were made for the boys family, where there's only one little one and the rest are adults.  I had tons of fun doing all the mittens, but I have to say I LOVE how the snowflakes turned out.

I also made these grasshopper squares again, this is the one cookies I consistently make every year.  I love the chocolate and mint together and even though the boy isn't a fan they're always a hit at our Christmas party and with just about everyone I give them to.

What kind of cookies did you make this year?

We didn't do cookie tins this year, opting instead for homemade apple butter and a recipe, so was able to bake smaller batches and serve them at our party and will share them with the family.

Don't forget to enter my Tetley Tea Giveaway to win a gift basket of tetley products valued at $70!


Enjoy!