Heartwarming Holiday Cookies

Heartwarming Holiday Cookies

Illustrations by Katie Carmichael-Reynolds

The holiday season presents the perfect excuse to bake, share, and indulge in festive treats. Bring joy to any holiday table with these four irresistible cookie recipes celebrating classic flavors—from buttery snowballs to fruity, jam-filled Spitzbuebe.

Cherry Almond Cookie

Recipe provided by Chelsea Cumiford | Yields: 18 cookiesINGREDIENTS

1-12 oz jar maraschino cherries, juice reserved

1/2 cup salted butter, melted

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon pure almond extract

2 teaspoons maraschino cherry juice

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1¾ cups all-purpose flour

DIRECTIONS

1. Prepare the maraschino cherries by dicing and drying them on paper towels.

2. Preheat oven to 350F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.

3. To a large bowl, add melted butter, and whisk in sugars until combined.

4. Add egg, almond extract, and cherry juice. Mix until smooth.

5. Stir in baking soda, and flour until just combined, then fold in cherries.

6. Scoop 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie onto prepared baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart.

7. Bake for 10-12 minutes until edges are set. Let cool on the pan for 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Snowball Cookie

Recipe provided by Vicki DeFrancesco | Yields: Approximately 24 cookies

INGREDIENTS

2 cups butter, softened

3/4 cup powdered sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 cups flour

2 cups pecans, chopped

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. In a large bowl, cream butter and powdered sugar until smooth. Add vanilla, then gradually mix in flour. Fold in pecans.

3. Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, until the bottoms are lightly golden.

4. Let cookies cool for 10 minutes, then roll in powdered sugar while still warm. Roll again in powdered sugar after cooling, if desired.

Gluten-Free Holiday Sugar Cookies

Recipe provided by Lifestyle Staff | Yields: 12 to 24 cookies, depending on size

INGREDIENTS (FOR THE COOKIES):

2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour

3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3 tablespoons powdered sugar

8 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 egg

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Optional: Holiday food coloring

FOR THE FROSTING:

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup whole milk

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

4 cups powdered sugar

Optional: Holiday toppings (e.g., sprinkles, cinnamon, pumpkin spice)

COOKIE DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Mix all dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix wet ingredients.

3. Gradually mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until combined.

4. Roll dough into 1- to 2-in. balls and place on a cookie sheet.

5. Bake for 6 minutes, rotate baking sheet, and bake another 6 minutes.

6. Let cool, add frosting (directions below), and sprinkle with holiday toppings, if desired.

7. Optional: Make sandwich cookies with frosting between two cookies and coat the sides with toppings.

FROSTING DIRECTIONS

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter on medium speed until it becomes smooth and creamy (about 1-2 minutes).

2. Slowly add the milk, vanilla extract, and salt to the butter. Continue beating on low speed until everything is well mixed.

3. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar, 1 cup at a time, mixing on low speed. After each addition, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula to ensure an even mix.

4. Once all the sugar is incorporated, increase the speed to medium-high and beat for about 3 minutes. If the frosting is too thick, add a little more milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, until the desired consistency is reached. If too thin, add more sugar.

Spitzbuebe

Recipe provided by Lifestyle Staff | Yields: 35-40 cookies

INGREDIENTS (FOR THE DOUGH):

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoons vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

1 eggwhite

Powdered sugar for dusting

FOR THE FILLING:

1/2 cup red currant jelly or raspberry jam

DIRECTIONS

1. Add butter and sugar together in a stand mixer. Mix on low speed for two minutes. Add the flour, vanilla extract, salt, and eggwhite into the mixture. Mix on low speed until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Knead briefly by hand, shape into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for an hour.

2. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Divide chilled dough in half. Roll out one half on a lightly floured surface to about ¼-inch thick. If you have a Spitzbuebe cookie cutter (available online), you can use that; otherwise, you can cut out 35-40 circles with a circle cookie cutter and use a smaller cutter to create a hole in the center of each. Repeat until one half of the dough is cut into cookie tops.

3. Bake the cookie tops for 10-12 minutes, or until lightly golden. While the tops are baking, roll out the other half of the chilled dough and cut the bottoms while the tops bake. Bake the bottoms for 12 minutes.