Christmas Smash Sugar Cookies

When I choose cookies to make for the holidays, I inevitably pick a recipe that I end up not making. I find a different recipe, or I end up not having a needed ingredient, or something else happens. That’s fine with me- there are lots of cookie recipes out there that I want to try. I got a Food Network email about the Top 100 cookies. How could I resist that?

This recipe was the one featured in that email, but there are lots of other interesting cookie recipes. I did one other “smash” recipe, and those turned out well, so this was intriguing. These cookies are a basic sugar cookie that you then roll them in sprinkles. I compiled several different types of sprinkles, and that seemed to work. 

My challenge was to find room in my refrigerator for two baking sheets. I ended up making my refrigerator a giant game of Jenga, shuffling stuff around and balancing one baking sheet on the top of my egg carton. Whatever works! You then smash down the cookies before baking and then drizzle with powdered sugar glaze. These are super festive and cheerful, and I’m really glad that I made these this year.

Christmas Smash Sugar Cookies
3/4 cup butter, room temperature 
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla 
2 eggs, lightly beaten 
2 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder 
1/4 teaspoon salt 
Holiday sprinkles

3/4 cup powdered sugar 
1-2 tablespoons milk/cream

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and sugar on medium until light. Add the vanilla and eggs and mix again on medium to combine. The mixture may look curdled. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir until the dough just comes together.

Shape the dough into 24 equal balls. Shape each piece into a ball and roll the ball in holiday sprinkles. Place on a Silpat-lined baking sheet and refrigerate for one hour.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Remove the baking sheets from the refrigerator. With measuring cup, flatten each cookie to about 3” in diameter. The edges will crack- that is what you want. If the measuring cup sticks to the cookies, dip the cup in flour.

Bake for 12-14 minutes, until the cookies begin to brown along the edges. Allow the cookies to cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once the cookies are cool, make the glaze: in a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and milk until the glaze is smooth and thick. Drizzle the glaze randomly over the cooled cookies. Allow the glaze to set before serving.

Recipe from The Food Network

Cranberry & White Chocolate Shortbread

I have had this recipe saved for a long time and I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t made them previously. This is a Canadian recipe, from Robin Hood Flour, which is a big vendor there. They also sponsor the Canadian Baking Show, so I am also familiar for that reason. I really like the Canadian Baking Show, it’s similar to the British show, but with different hosts and judges. And the challenges are a bit different and reflect the mosaic that is truly Canadian.

I haven’t made anything with dried cranberries recently, but it’s one of those things that I always have on hand. The ones that I have are a bit different, and while they are dried, they look almost like they are freeze-dried. The berries are whole, and not wrinkly like a raisin. Different, but I don’t recall that they tasted different last time I used them.

I followed this recipe as posted, but my bars were super crumbly. I know they are shortbread, which is always a bit crumbly, but these were extreme! I think I baked them for a couple of minutes longer than needed; it’s hard to tell as they don’t brown much. I also didn’t cut them after 30 minutes- it’s busy this time of year and I was doing something else! So these don’t look as polished as I had hoped, but they are still very tasty.

Cranberry & White Chocolate Shortbread
1-3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla 
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Heat the oven to 300 degrees. Line a 9” x 13” pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, and salt; set aside. In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla on medium until creamy. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture. Fold in the dried cranberries and white chocolate chips. 

Pat evenly into the prepared pan. Prick the top of the bars with a fork.

Bake for 40-50 minutes, until the bar begin to turn golden along the edge. Allow to cool for 30 minutes before cutting into bars. Lift the bars from the pan and peel away the foil. Cut into squares while still warm. Dust with additional powdered sugar before serving.

Recipe from Robin Hood Flour

Boston Cream Pie Fudge

Since I became the designated fudge maker in the family, I don’t always choose very traditional fudge recipes. My dad used to make about 20 different varieties of fudge and molded chocolates, and I simply don’t have the time for that. I have long looked at different recipes, but I was hesitant to share them as I didn’t want my dad to feel compelled to make them. Now I am choosing to make them.

One that I have wanted to make for a while is this recipe for Boston Cream Pie Fudge. It uses a variety of ingredients: marshmallow fluff, custard powder, white chocolate chips, but you also have to cook the butter/sugar/cream to soft ball stage. An interesting combination and one that made for a very thick mixture! I certainly got a workout with this recipe.

Since the fudge was so thick, my effort to swirl the batter wasn’t very obvious. You make the base fudge then cut it into pieces and dip in melted chocolate, which I hadn’t done before. Thankfully the fudge was easy to cut and dipping in chocolate was no problem at all. The chocolate adds a nice flavor to this fudge, which has the subtle flavors of white chocolate and custard.

Boston Cream Pie Fudge
2 cups sugar
½ cup butter
½ cup heavy cream
2 cups white chocolate chips
7 ounces marshmallow cream
3 tablespoons Bird's Custard Powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla 
3 tablespoons cocoa powder

6 ounces semisweet chocolate
1 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil

Line an 8” square pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large, heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, butter, and heavy cream. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Attach a candy thermometer to the pan and lower the temperature to medium low. Cook until the thermometer reads 234 degrees, which was about 10 minutes. 

Remove from the heat and add the white chocolate chips, stirring until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth. Stir in the marshmallow crème, then the Custard Powder and vanilla. Stir until smooth.

Pour 2/3 of the fudge into the prepared pan. To the remaining 1/3, stir in the cocoa powder, mixing until combined. Pour the chocolate 1/3 on top of the remaining fudge in the pan. Swirl the two fudges together with a flat knife. Chill the fudge for several hours.

Remove the fudge from the pan and cut into squares. 

Finally, make the topping: in a medium microwave-safe bowl, combine the chocolate and vegetable oil. Microwave in 30 second increments, stirring frequently, until the mixture is smooth. Allow to cool for 10 minutes.

Dip the top of each piece of fudge into the chocolate. Allow the chocolate to set before serving. Store in the refrigerator.

Recipe from Sweet Recipeas

Mincemeat Blondies

It doesn’t seem like it’s Christmas unless I make something with mincemeat! I always make mince pies, but I like to make some sort of cookies that also include mincemeat. What mincemeat you use and how it tastes varies a lot. I usually pick up what I can, as long as it’s from England. Some folks make it from scratch, but I don’t usually have that much time. Thankfully, store bought mincemeat is good, and I think of it as spicy, chunky applesauce.

This is a quick and easy recipe and came together in a snap. I’ve used weight measurements here rather than volumetric measures, and it is much more accurate. A kitchen scale that measures both grams and ounces is one of the most used devices I own! I seem to use fewer measuring cups as well when I use my kitchen scale.

This is a British recipe, and there is a learning curve with recipes from abroad. You can translate oven temperature and similar things, but some baking instinct is still needed. These bars were to bake for about 25 minutes, but mine were far from done. I baked them closer to 35 minutes, and they are still quite soft. My foil stuck a bit as well, but I have no idea why! None the less, these bars are lovely and have the spices of mincemeat, which is so warming this time of year.

Mincemeat Blondies 
115 grams butter, melted
210 grams brown sugar
150 grams mincemeat
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg 
125 grams flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt

Heat the oven to 355 degrees. Line an 8” square baking pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray. 

In a large mixer bowl, combine the melted butter and brown sugar. Using medium speed, beat until smooth. Add the egg, mincemeat, and vanilla and stir again on medium to incorporate. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir just until the flour disappears into the batter.

Spread in the prepared pan, smoothing the top with a spatula.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, rotating the pan after 15 minutes, until set. The bars will be soft but should not be liquid in the center. Allow the bars to cool before cutting them into squares. 

Recipe from Fuss Free Flavours

Christmas Crinkle Cookies

I was online looking for a certain recipe that I remember from growing up, and while I didn’t find quite what I was looking for, I came across this recipe. There are many variations of similar cookies online, but there is also a lot of fake information out there. I have fairly good baking instincts, but some recipes just don’t seem like they will work. Also, I come across recipes where the picture and the recipe don’t match, which is a huge warning. 

This recipe is so simple, and since it contained oil rather than butter, I knew I could make it dairy free, except for the eggs. The cake mix that I had initially purchased did contain milk ingredients, so I did a quick web search to identify dairy-free cake mixes. There are several, so I noted them down and headed to the store. To their credit, my local store had all three of the options that I had written down. I chose a French Vanilla cake mix, as I thought it would add nice flavor to the cookies. 

For the food coloring, you will want to use a paste or gel food coloring in order to get vibrant colors. The colors do fade a bit during baking, so don’t fret when you look at the garishly colored dough. Mixing in the food color takes some effort, but you want the dough to be an even color. These cookies are so soft, but they baked up so well. They are chewy and have a lovely vanilla flavor. 

Christmas Crinkle Cookies
13-14  ounce white/vanilla cake mix
 2 eggs
1/3 cup oil
Red and Green food coloringPowdered sugar    

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the cake mix, eggs, and oil on medium until the dough comes together. Divide the dough evenly between two bowls. Color one bowl of dough red, and the other green. 

Using a small cookie scoop, scoop 1-inch balls of dough, then roll in powdered sugar and roll to reform a ball. Place on the prepared baking sheets. It’s best to work through one color of dough before working with the other colored dough.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the cookies are set. They may be slightly browned along the edges. Cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Mommy Hates Cooking

German Chocolate Cake Fudge

This summer when my husband and I were on holiday, we had some German Chocolate Cake fudge. German Chocolate Cake is one of my favorites and to have it in fudge form was lovely. I knew that I wanted to try making a similar fudge, and I found a couple of different recipes to consider. 

The fudge that I had was a two-tone fudge, with a chocolate nut base topped with a white chocolate, coconut, and pecan topping. I did find that I could piece together a couple of different recipes to make a similar fudge, but I also found recipes like the one below that was more all-in-one. Going with my theme of not-too-difficult recipes, I chose that route.

Ideally, I would make my own coconut pecan frosting, and you can do that if you have the time. This fudge only takes a few minutes to assemble, as you melt things in the microwave then stir in the extras. I use British-style unsweetened desiccated coconut rather than American-style sweetened coconut because I figured this is already sweet enough! This fudge set up beautifully and cut in lovely little squares. This was very easy and very tasty!

German Chocolate Cake Fudge
12 ounces dark chocolate chips
7 ounces coconut pecan frosting
⅓ cup Nutella
½ cup pecans, chopped
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1 teaspoon salt
Additional coconut

Line a 8” or 9” square pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium/large microwave-safe bowl, combine the chocolate chips, coconut pecan frosting and the Nutella. Microwave for 1 minute and then stir. Microwave for an additional 30 seconds, stirring again. Continue heating in 30 second increments until the mixture is smooth. 

Add the pecans, ¼ cup coconut, and salt and stir to combine. Spread the mixture into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with a spatula. Sprinkle with additional coconut. 

Refrigerate until firm, at least several hours. To serve, lift the fudge from the pan and peel away the foil. Cut into squares.

Recipe from Cooking with Janica

Peppermint Patty Cookies

Peppermint with chocolate is a fantastic combination, especially this time of year. I have made a variation of this recipe before, where I made the dough from scratch. This year, in trying to find easier recipes, I came across this one that uses a chocolate cake mix as the base. While this does make for a thick dough, it comes together quickly. You’ll need that as shaping these cookies does take some time.

I had the option of using mini York Peppermint Patties or York Thins, which are the same diameter as the mini Patties, but are thinner. As I was hoping to make a few more than the 16 that the original recipe stated, I chose to use the York Thins. Other than the dough being sticky, they worked great!

Did I mention that the dough is sticky? I’m not kidding! I measured out all of the dough and had the York Thins ready to go, but the dough wants to stick to your hands. I had to completely wash and dry my hands after shaping three cookies. Don’t try to shape them with damp hands, that was a complete mess! Shaping them takes a bit, but they look great when they come out of the oven, and will be perfect for my cookie exchange coming up.

Peppermint Patty Cookies
1 package dark chocolate fudge cake mix (15.25 ounces)
1 egg + 1 yolk
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
16-24 snack size York Peppermint Patties
Holiday Sprinkles

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a large mixer bowl, mix the cake mix, egg and yolk, cream cheese, and butter on medium until combined. The mixture will be thick. 

Shape the dough into 16-24 portions. Flatten the dough with your hands and place a peppermint patty in the center of each piece of dough. Wrap the dough around the peppermint patty, sealing completely. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheet and top with holiday sprinkles.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until set. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Recipe from Tastes of Lizzy