Incredible Edible Gifts!

By Elizabeth Morse Read

For those of us who are culinarilychallenged, the prospect of making holiday cookies can be daunting – was that baking powder or baking soda I was supposed to use? What do I do with all those tiny containers and bottles of exotic ingredients for the rest of the year? (Trust me – once you master baking these cookies, you’ll be making them year-round, not just at holiday time!)

Here’s the ultimate foolproof baking hack – cake-mix cookies! They are way easier to make than cookies from scratch and they produce soft moist cookies that look and taste like they came from the bakery. And while you may not be able to be there-in-the-flesh at your family’s holiday gatherings this year, your thoughtful gift of a box of homemade cookies will be a big hit!

Cake-Mix Cookies Basics

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Select two cookie trays that will fit side-by-side on one oven rack, rather than on separate racks – that way you won’t have to rotate the trays half-way through. (Opening the oven door will screw up the cooking time and could result in burnt-on-the-bottom or dried-out cookies.)

In a large mixing bowl, whisk your favorite flavored 14.25 oz. cake mix with your selected dry add-ins like cocoa powder or spices, then use a stiff spoon to mix in two whisked large eggs and 1/3 cup vegetable oil and your selected wet add-ins like flavored extract or syrups. Once it’s all blended thoroughly, add in ½-1 cup of any extra dry ingredients – chopped nuts, flavored morsel chips, raisins/chopped dried fruit, flaked coconut, etc. Let dough cool in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to make it less sticky and easier to scoop.

They are way easier to make than cookies from scratch and they produce soft moist cookies that look and taste like they came from the bakery

If you’re planning on coating your cookie dough with dry powdery ingredients like cinnamon sugar, confectioner’s sugar, finely crushed nuts, flaked coconut, or cocoa, add ½ cup to a small mixing bowl. Crush any lumps with a fork. Using a 1 ½ teaspoon cookie scoop, drop a small, rounded scoop of the dough into the powdered coating and shake it a bit to cover thoroughly.

Place the dough scoop on ungreased cookie trays lined with parchment paper (tip: buy pre-cut sheets online!). Leave about two inches between each scoop, as cookies will spread and flatten as they bake.

Bake for exactly ten minutes; remove trays from the oven and let cool for a few minutes before using a thin spatula to transfer cookies to a wire cooling rack. Each of the following recipes makes about 20 cookies. Keep in an air-tight container on the countertop for three days or up to a week in the refrigerator – or freeze the batch on a cookie tray for 30 minutes, then put them in a freezer bag or plastic container for up to three months.

If you’ll be dropping off a batch of one cookie or an assortment of many cookies at someone’s house, fill a festive cookie tin or an old-fashioned cookie jar and tie it with a colorful ribbon or raffia, with your name and recipes enclosed in an attached holiday card.

German Pfeffernusse (“pepper nuts”)

Use a spice cake mix (I recommend Duncan Hines brand), add ½ tsp. pumpkin spice, ½ teaspoon white pepper, ½ tsp. ground ginger, 1 tsp. anise extract, ½ cup chopped hazelnuts or walnuts. Roll cookie dough in confectioner’s sugar before baking, as per instructions.

Dutch Windmill Cookies

Use a spice cake mix, add ½ tsp. pumpkin spice, ½ teaspoon ground cardamom, ½ tsp. ground ginger, 1 tsp. anise extract, ¼ tsp. white pepper. Top each dough scoop with four almond slices in a windmill pattern.

Spiced Oatmeal Cookies

Use a moist carrot cake mix (or spice cake mix), ½ cup oil (instead of 1/3 cup), 2/3 cup quick cooking oats, ½ cup finely chopped walnuts and/or raisins. Flatten dough slightly with a fork before baking.

Mocha Chip Cookies

Use a rich chocolate cake mix, add 3 tsps. coffee syrup or 2 tsps. powdered espresso, ½ cup dark chocolate chips, ½ cup chopped nuts (optional).

Rocky Road Cookies

Use a rich chocolate cake mix, add ½ cup mini-marshmallows, ½ cup dark chocolate chips, ½ cup chopped walnuts (optional).

Mint Chip Cookies

Use a rich chocolate cake mix, 1 tsp. spearmint or peppermint extract, ½ cup crushed peppermint hard candies; top each dough scoop with more crushed candies.

German Chocolate Cookies

Use a rich chocolate cake mix, 1 tsp. vanilla extract, 1 cup loosely-packed coconut flakes, ½ cup chopped walnuts or hazelnuts.

Almond Cookies

Use a moist yellow/butter cake mix, ½ tsp. pumpkin spice mix, 1 tsp. almond extract, ½ cup crushed almonds; top each dough scoop with a whole almond before baking.

Butterscotch Cookies

Use a moist yellow/ butter cake mix, 1 tsp. vanilla (or butter-flavored) extract, ½ cup butterscotch morsels; top each dough scoop with a whole walnut or more morsels.

Vanilla Lavender Cookies

Use a moist yellow/butter cake mix, 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract, 1 tsp. butter-flavored extract, 1 tsp. lavender paste or 2 tsp. lavender extract (optional), lavender sprinkles. Place dough scoops 3 inches apart, instead of 2 inches – they spread.

Lemon cookies

Use a moist lemon-with-pudding cake mix [I recommend Betty Crocker], 1 tsp. lemon extract. Roll the cookie dough in confectioner’s sugar before baking, as per instructions. Bake only 9 minutes instead of 10 – the bottoms burn quickly.

Strawberry Cookies

Use a strawberry cake mix, add 1 tsp. baking powder, ½ tsp. vanilla extract, 1 cup white chocolate chips, ½ cup chopped dried strawberries (optional). Bake only 9 minutes instead of 10 – the bottoms burn quickly.

Get Them to the Holiday Party on Time!

Ideally, you can drop off your cookies to family, friends, and neighbors within driving distance, but if you’ve got far-flung people you want to ship them to, be especially careful about packing them so that they’ll survive the journey – and get there on time. It’s important to keep your baked goods moist and fresh by tightly sealing them in plastic wrap or waxed paper inside an airtight unbreakable container – you don’t want them shifting and crumbling while in transit, so don’t choose a container that’s too large for the total contents. Use a rigid cardboard box 2-3 inches larger than your container, and surround it with bubble wrap or crumbled newspaper on all sides, including top and bottom, before taping the box. (Better yet, let UPS or FedEx do the packing for you for an additional charge.)

You want your cookies to arrive fresh, so choose the fastest and most reliable shipping option – during holiday season, there can be many unexpected delays if you just send them through the post office (usps.com). United Parcel Service (ups.com) and FedEx (fedex.com) are more expensive, but you can feel more confident that your package will arrive in a timely fashion depending upon which shipping option you choose. It’s a good idea to ship early in the week to avoid having your package getting stuck in a warehouse over a weekend. And you can track the status of your package on the carrier’s website so that you can let the intended recipient know ahead of time when to expect it. Happy baking!