Easy, Delicious Christmas Cookies
When you're getting everything together this weekend, don't forget the Christmas cookies. And they don't have to come from the store.
If your kids want to leave cookies for Santa, there's no reason you can't make them fresh — and with your kids.
On The Early Show Friday, cookbook author and cooking teacher Tori Ritchie shared some recipes that are so easy, your kids can help you with them, and so delicious that Santa won't miss your house, no matter what!
Ritchie baked them at the flagship store in Manhattan of specialty home furnishings retailer and The Early Show partner Williams-Sonoma.
RECIPES
Nutty Jumbles
Chock-full of crunchy almonds, pecans and walnuts, these jumbles make great after-school snacks or party treats.
1 tablespoon soft butter for greasing baking sheets
2 egg whites
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup chopped walnuts
Preheat an oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with aluminum foil and lightly grease with the soft butter.
In a bowl, combine the egg whites, brown sugar, vanilla and salt. Stir with a fork, mashing any lumps of sugar, until the mixture is frothy and smooth. Add the almonds, pecans and walnuts. Mix with the fork until all the nuts are well coated, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
Drop heaping tablespoonfuls of the nut mixture onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. As you work, scrape down the sides of the bowl and stir the mixture occasionally. Flatten the mounds slightly.
Place 1 baking sheet in the oven and bake until the nuts are well browned, 14 to 16 minutes. Using oven mitts, remove the baking sheet from the oven and set it on a wire rack to cool completely. Bake the second sheet of jumbles.
Using your fingers, carefully peel the cooled jumbles from the foil. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Makes 24 cookies.
Adapted from "Williams-Sonoma: The Kid's Cookbook," by Abigail Johnson Dodge (Time-Life Books, 2000).
Thumbprint Cookies
You use your thumb to make a dent in each ball of dough, which holds the filling. That's how these cookies get their name.
1 orange, washed
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
16 Tbs. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 to 2 tablespoons raspberry jam
1 to 2 tablespoons apricot jam
1 to 2 tablespoons blackberry jam
Before you start: Be sure an adult is nearby to help.
Position the oven racks in the lower and upper thirds of an oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Zest the orange: Holding the orange over the cutting board, rub it over the small grating holes of a box grater-shredder. Use short strokes and turn the orange as you work. Rub off only the colored part of the peel (the zest), avoiding the bitter white pith underneath. Measure out 1 teaspoon zest and set aside.
Mix the dry ingredients: In a bowl, using a whisk, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt until evenly blended. Set aside.
Mix the dough: In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until it is soft and fluffy. Turn off the mixer and sprinkle in the sugar. Continue beating until pale.
Turn off the mixer and scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the orange zest, vanilla extract and almond extract and beat until blended.
Turn off the mixer and add half the flour mixture. Beat on low just until blended. Add the remaining flour and beat until blended.
Scoop the dough: Using a measuring tablespoon, scoop up a rounded spoonful of dough and then use your finger to push the dough onto one of the prepared cookie sheets. Fill both cookie sheets with the dough, placing the lumps of dough 2 inches apart so that the cookies have room to spread as they bake. You should be able to fit 12 cookies on each cookie sheet.
Make the thumbprints: Dip your thumb in a little bit of flour and use it to make a dent in each ball of dough.
Fill and bake: Fill each dent with a small amount of jam, scooping the jam with a teaspoon and pushing off just what you need with your finger. You can vary the types of jam you use to make different flavors of cookies. When the cookie sheets are full, put them in the oven and bake until the cookies are lightly browned, about 18 minutes.
Let cool and serve: Ask an adult to help you remove the cookie sheets from the oven and set them on wire cooling racks for 10 minutes. Using a metal spatula, move the cookies directly onto the racks and let them cool completely before eating.
Line 1 cookie sheet with a new sheet of parchment. Scoop out the dough, then fill, bake and cool the rest of the cookies.
Makes 32 cookies.
Variations: You can make different types of cookies from the same dough!
To see more recipes, go to Page 2.Fruit Thumbprints
Follow the recipe for Thumbprint Cookies, but leave out the jams. After you have made a dent in each cookie, press half a dried apricot into each dent (you'll need 32 dried apricot halves in all). Continue with the recipe as directed to bake the cookies.
Chocolate Thumbprints
Follow the recipe for Thumbprint Cookies but leave out the jams. After you have made a dent in each cookie, press a chocolate kiss into each dent (you'll need 32 chocolate kisses in all). Continue with the recipe as directed to bake the cookies.
Sprinkle Balls
Follow the recipe for Thumbprint Cookies but leave out the jams. Also omit the step that calls for making a dent in each cookie. Instead, when you scoop out the dough, roll each scoop gently between your palms to make a ball. Then press one side into a bowl of multicolored sprinkles or decorating sugar. Place the cookies, sprinkle side up, on the cookie sheet and continue with the recipe as directed to bake the cookies.
Adapted from "Williams-Sonoma Sweet Treats," by Carolyn Beth Weil (Simon & Schuster, 2006).
Sweet Lemon Cupcakes
If you fill your muffin cups too full with batter, you'll end up with overblown cupcakes! Fill them just the right amount and they'll have flat tops. Then, the icing won't flow over the sides and they'll be easier to decorate.
2 lemons, washed
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
5 teaspoons poppy seeds
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup milk
2 cups confectioners' sugar
Yellow and green decorating sugar
Zest the lemons: Before you start, be sure an adult is nearby to help.
Position the racks in the upper and lower thirds of an oven and preheat to 325°F. Line two 12-well muffin pans with paper liners.
Holding the lemons over a cutting board, rub them over the small holes of a box grater. Use short strokes and turn the lemon as you work. Rub off only the colored part of the peel (the zest). Measure out 2 teaspoons zest. Reserve the lemons.
Start the batter: In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and poppy seeds. Stir with a whisk until evenly blended. Add the 2 teaspoons lemon zest to the flour mixture and whisk well. Set aside.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until it is soft and fluffy. Turn off the mixer, sprinkle in the granulated sugar and continue beating until pale.
Finish the batter: One at a time, crack the eggs into a small bowl and check for shells. Add the eggs to the batter, one at a time, beating well after adding each one.
Turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add half of the flour mixture and beat on low speed just until blended. Turn off the mixer and add the milk. Beat on low speed until smooth. Turn off the mixer and add the rest of the flour mixture. Beat just until blended.
Fill the cups: Scrape down the sides of the bowl with the rubber spatula. Then, using two large spoons, one to scoop out the batter and the other to push it off the spoon, fill each muffin cup half full. Don't fill the muffin cups any higher than that. Wash the bowls and spoons.
Bake the cupcakes: Put the pans in the oven and bake until the edges of the cupcakes are pale golden brown and a thin skewer inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean (ask an adult to help!), 20 to 25 minutes.
Ask an adult to help you remove the pans from the oven and put them on wire cooling racks. Let the cupcakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then lift out the cupcakes, put them directly on the racks and let cool completely, about 45 minutes.
Make the icing: Holding each zested lemon on its side on the cutting board, cut the lemons in half with a sharp knife. Twist each lemon half over the cone of a citrus juicer. Pick out and throw away any seeds. Measure out 3 tablespoons juice and put in a small bowl.
In another bowl, whisk together the confectioners sugar and a little of the lemon juice. Add some more lemon juice but only enough to make the icing thick. It should slowly fall off the whisk.
Ice and decorate: Spoon some icing on top of each cupcake and use the back of the spoon in a circular motion to help spread it to the edges of the cupcake liner. Let the icing stand for a minute until it smooths out to make a flat surface.
Right away, sprinkle the iced cupcakes with the colored sugar. Don't wait too long after pouring the icing or it will harden and the sugar won't stick. Makes 24 cupcakes.
Adapted from "Williams-Sonoma Sweet Treats," by Carolyn Beth Weil (Simon & Schuster, 2006).
Gingerbread Cookies
5 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 Tbs. ground ginger
4 tsp. ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. Freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp. allspice
11/2 tsp. salt
16 Tbs. (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup unsulfured molasses
1 egg
Make the Cookie Dough: Have all the ingredients at room temperature. Over a sheet of parchment paper, sift together the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat the butter on medium-high speed until fluffy and pale yellow, 4 to 6 minutes. Add the brown and granulated sugars and beat for 1 minute. Reduce the speed to low and add the molasses, beating until well combined, about 1 minute. Add the egg and beat until combined, about 30 seconds.
Add the flour mixture in 4 additions, beating in each addition before adding more.
Beat just until combined, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Using floured hands, form the dough into a smooth mound and divide into 4 equal portions. Shape each into a disk and wrap separately with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.
Preheat an oven to 400ºF (200ºC). Line several baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove 1 dough disk at a time from the refrigerator and let stand for 10 minutes. Place the dough between 2 sheets of parchment or waxed paper and roll out to a thickness of 1/4 to 3/8 inch (6mm to 1cm). This thickness is important to ensure the baked cookies will fit together.
Cut Out and Bake the Cookies: Dip the cutters into flour just before using and cut out the shapes (see tips below). Using an offset spatula, carefully transfer the cutouts to the prepared baking sheets, putting similar-size pieces on the same pan: snowman bases and reindeer legs on one; sleigh sides, treetops and tree bases on another; and snowman bodies, reindeer bodies and sleigh ends on another. The sides of each notch need to be parallel so the notch will fit into the interlocking piece after baking; if the sides have stretched apart, gently push them towards each other so they are parallel. Repeat with the remaining dough.
Gather up the scraps, re-roll them and cut out additional cookies. For best results, do not re-roll scraps more than once. Refrigerate the cookies until firm, about 20 minutes.
Bake the cookies until lightly browned on the bottom, 4 to 5 minutes for snowman bases and reindeer legs; 6 to 7 minutes for snowman bodies, reindeer bodies and sleigh ends; and 8 to 9 minutes for sleigh sides, treetops and tree bases. Transfer the baking sheets to wire racks and let the cookies cool for 5 minutes. If the dough has spread into the notches during baking, use a paring knife to gently trim off the excess cookie while still warm so the cookies will interlock when assembled. Let the cookies cool completely on the baking sheets, then decorate as desired and assemble (see tips below).
Makes 4 or 5 of each type of cookie.
Decorating Tips:
When decorating with frosting or royal icing, be sure to leave enough space around the interlocking slots to ensure the cookies will fit together. You'll find a royal icing recipe along with decorating tips at williams-sonoma.com/recipe.
Snowmen: For each snowman, cut out 1 body and 1 base. After cooling and decorating, interlock the body with the base.
Trees: For each tree, cut out 1 treetop and 1 base. After cooling and decorating, interlock the top with the base.
Sleighs: For each sleigh, cut out 2 sides and 2 ends. After cooling and decorating, interlock the sides with the ends.
Reindeer: For each reindeer, cut out 1 body and 2 pairs of legs. After cooling and decorating, interlock the body with the front legs and back legs.
Williams-Sonoma Kitchen
Royal Icing
Ideal for decorating cookies, royal icing dries quickly and can be tinted with food coloring. You can use the icing to attach decorative candies, colored sugars and small ornaments to the cookies. It's a good idea to flavor the icing with a few drops of vanilla extract or fresh lemon juice.
3 egg whites, at room temperature
4 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
Pinch of salt
A few drops of vanilla extract or fresh lemon juice (optional)
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites, confectioners' sugar, cream of tartar and salt on medium-low speed until blended. Add the vanilla or lemon juice, increase the speed to medium-high, and continue beating until stiff peaks form and the mixture is nearly triple in volume, 7 to 8 minutes.
Remove the bowl from the mixer, cover tightly with plastic wrap and store at room temperature until ready to use, up to 6 hours.
Makes 5 to 6 cups.
Williams-Sonoma Kitchen