I think my favorite Christmas tradition every year is packing and delivering boxes of food for local families in need with our local Elks Lodge. My grandads, dad, and now brother are all members of the lodge, and we have been helping with "Christmas box" delivery for literally my entire life - it's a lot of work (especially for the guys), but we love it so much!
As part of that tradition, there's always a lunch back at the lodge put together by all of the Elks wives for all of the volunteers the afternoon after all of the boxes are delivered, and I always make cookies for it. I LOVE baking, and spending the day before the lunch baking hundreds of cookies is so much fun for me. Plus, everyone loves the cookie girl. 😂
Over the years I've come up with a tried and true repertoire of cookies that are always a hit, and today I'm sharing them! (Spoiler alert - they're mostly Sally's Baking Addiction recipes. She's the best!) They're not all necessarily "classic" Christmas cookies, but a few of them have a Christmassy twist (read: red and green sprinkles) and they're all crowd-pleasers! Whether you're making cookies for 2 people or 100 people, there's something for everyone on this list.
My main tip if you're making a lot of cookies at a time is to prep as much of the dough as you can the day before you plan on baking them. With this particular list of recipes, several of them require that you chill the dough before baking. Since I serve these cookies on a Saturday, I prep the dough that needs to be chilled on Thursday, chill it overnight, and then bake it on Friday while I work on the rest of the recipes that don't require chilling. It streamlines the process and saves time!
P.S. If you missed it, I did a whole post on my must-have holiday baking tools, so check it out if you're looking to upgrade your baking game!
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| Image via Sally's Baking Addiction |
1. Brown Butter Pecan Pie Bars: These are the #1 most complimented cookies (bars) that I make! I get asked for the recipe every time I bring them to a gathering. They're a little more work than regular cookies because they require making browned butter shortbread crust in addition to the pecan "filling," but they're SO worth it. I don't even really like pecan pie, but I could eat these pecan pie bars all day!
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| Image via The Recipe Rebel |
2. Double Chocolate Cookies (with M&M's): These are always a hit with the chocolate lovers, plus they're super easy - just four ingredients! To make mine more Christmassy, I use the holiday red and green M&M's in them instead of chocolate chips. I mix a cup or so into the dough, and then press three into the tops of each of them before baking for presentation. You could add any add-ins that you want to these! Different types of chocolate chips, crushed candy canes, Reese's Pieces, caramel pieces...
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| Image via Sally's Baking Addiction |
3. Funfetti Cookies: These are always a favorite of mine, they're just a classic chewy sugar cookie filled with festive sprinkles! I've always used the Sally's Baking Addiction recipe for them in years past, but I think I'm going to switch to this one that I discovered this year and have been making a lot. They're perfectly sweet and chewy!
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| Image via Averie Cooks |
4. Snickerdoodles: If I could only make one Christmas cookie for my family, it would be snickerdoodles! They seem to be the crowd favorite, and I always make extra. To holiday-ify them, I mix in some red and green sugar with the cinnamon sugar mixture that you roll them in, and it makes them so sparkly and festive!
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| Image via Sally's Baking Addiction |
5. Peanut Butter Blossoms: These are a classic Christmas cookie! Who doesn't love chocolate and peanut butter?? I usually make these with the classic sugar coating, but you can also use red and green sugar like pictured above to make them festive!
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| Image via Sally's Baking Addiction |
6. Soft Molasses Cookies: These are my personal favorite cookie every year, and I get asked for the recipe often! The spiced flavor is so wonderful, and they have the perfect chewy texture. These with a cup of black coffee is my ideal treat!
7. Pistachio Cookies: I saved the best for last! This is a recipe near and dear to my heart because it's a family recipe! We've used the same handwritten directions from a stained notepad page for as long as I can remember, and today I'm sharing it with you! These may sound a little weird, but they are SO chewy and flavorful, and my friends always look forward to these every holiday season.
Ingredients:
- 2 eggs
- 3 T water
- 1/2 vegetable oil
- 1 box white cake mix
- 1 box instant pistachio pudding mix (just the powder, not prepared)
- 1/2 c chopped nuts (I use pecans)
- 1/2 c shredded coconut
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the eggs, water, and oil, and beat until combined.
- To the mixer, add the cake mix and pudding mix and mix until almost combined (still some dry spots).
- Add the nuts and coconut and stir until just combined. The dough will be loose and sticky.
- Distribute cookie dough in 2 T increments to a baking sheet and make the blobs as round as possible. Bake for 8 minutes or until just set and lightly browned on the bottoms.
Are there any amazing recipes that I need to add to my lineup? Let me know! With all that being said, I really do need to make all of these cookies today, so I'd better get going! Stay tuned on Insta stories because I'm sure I'll post progress pics over there. 😋 Have a great weekend!
xoxx, Laura
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