It’s the holiday season and you know what that means — Santa Claus is coming to town! And there’s no better way to welcome Saint Nick into your home than with a fresh batch of cookies and a nice, cold glass of milk.
Emily Liu / Daily Nexus
While there’s nothing wrong with using pre-made cookie dough, don’t be afraid to try something different this year! For all we know, maybe Santa Claus is over your everyday chocolate chip cookie or going on a gluten-free diet. With that being said, here are some recipes to spice things up this holiday season!
Michelle Lee / Daily Nexus
Matcha White Chocolate Cookie (Michelle Lee)
Ingredients:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon culinary/ceremonial grade matcha powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup white sugar
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 ½ cups roughly chopped white chocolate or white chocolate chips
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 325 F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- With an electric mixer or whisk, mix together brown sugar, white sugar and melted butter in a large mixing bowl. Add in vanilla extract, egg and egg yolk until the mixture looks light and creamy.
- In a separate bowl, sift together all-purpose flour, matcha powder, baking soda and salt.
- Add and mix in dry ingredients to the large mixing bowl in small batches. Keep mixing until a dough forms.
- Fold white chocolate into the dough.
- Scoop dough into heaping tablespoon-sized balls and place on a baking sheet spaced 2 to 3 inches apart.
- Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned. The center of the cookie may still be soft but should firm up after letting cookies cool for 10-15 minutes. Enjoy!
Nicole Wakeland / Daily Nexus
Holiday Oreo Cream Cheese Cookies (Nicole Wakeland)
Ingredients:
- 3 ounces cream cheese
- 8 tablespoons salted butter, softened
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup and 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 12 Oreo cookies, crushed
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- Crushed candy canes
- Optional: green and/or red food coloring for the holidays
Directions:
- In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter.
- Add sugar and vanilla, and mix until light and fluffy.
- Add a couple of drops of food coloring (optional).
- Add flour and baking powder, and mix well.
- Fold in Oreos, then cover the bowl and place in the refrigerator for about 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 375 F.
- On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, place 2-inch balls of dough on the sheet evenly spread out, and press them down slightly.
- Press the crushed candy canes onto the top of the dough balls.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes (the edges should be golden brown but the cookie will be soft).
- Remove cookies from the oven and let them cool for a few minutes.
- Sprinkle on a dash of crushed candy canes, and your oreo cream cheese holiday cookies are complete!
Shelby Guy / Daily Nexus
Drunken Eggnog Cookies (Shelby Guy)
Adapted from: Lori Lange at recipegirl.com
Ingredients:
- 2 ¼ cup of flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 ¼ cup white sugar
- ¾ cup softened butter
- ½ cup eggnog
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large egg yolks
- ¾ ounce of bourbon (Maker’s Mark or Wild Turkey is best)
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 325 F.
- Cream together the butter and sugar until the mixture is smooth and homogenous.
- Add the eggnog, yolks, vanilla and bourbon to the mixture and beat on medium speed until smooth.
- Add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg to the mixture and beat again at a low speed until combined.
- Place 1 tablespoon of dough on a non-stick baking sheet, approximately 1 inch apart. Sprinkle with nutmeg if desired.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown in color. Place on a wire rack to cool.
Maya Salem / Daily Nexus
Lacy Oatmeal Cookies (Maya Salem)
Ingredients:
- 1 cup quick-cooking oats (gluten-free, if desired)
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour (gluten-free, if desired)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ cup white sugar
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup chocolate chips, melted
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 325 F. Cover baking sheets with foil, then coat the foil with a non-stick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, combine oats, flour, salt and baking powder.
- In a large bowl, cream sugar and butter until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Mix in the flour and oat mixture until just combined.
- Drop dough by teaspoonfuls — yes, teaspoonfuls — onto the prepared baking sheets, 2 ½ inches apart.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until edges turn golden. Cool, then peel cookies off with a metal spatula. Be sure to re-spray baking sheets with non-stick cooking spray between batches. Depending on how many baking sheets you own, this process can take some time, so enlist some help from family members or housemates!
- Melt chocolate chips in a double boiler. When cookies are cool, match up the same sized pairs. Brush chocolate on the flat part of one and lightly press the flat part of the same-sized cookie on top.
Chace Duma / Daily Nexus
Gluten-Free Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies (Chace Duma)
Ingredients:
- 1 stick butter
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup white sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1 ¾ cups gluten-free all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup semisweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup crushed candy canes, 2 tablespoons set aside for garnish
Directions:
- Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Once butter is completely melted, place in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the sugars and whisk to combine
- Add the egg, vanilla and peppermint and whisk again until the mixture is smooth and creamy
- Put candy canes in a plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin or any other large blunt object you might have in your kitchen. I ended up using 8, but it depends on the size of your candy canes. Crush until they’re reduced to small chunks. You do not want a powder.
- Use a rubber spatula to mix in the dry ingredients until completely combined. Stir in chocolate chips and all but 2 tablespoons of the crushed candy canes
- Cover the bowl and let the batter sit for 30 minutes. While the dough is sitting, preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Using a small ice cream scooper or large spoon, scoop cookie dough onto a baking sheet a few inches apart from each other.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes until cookies are golden and the center is set, but still soft.
- Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of crushed candy cane on top, and let the cookies cool for 5 minutes (if you can wait that long) then dig in!
Charlotte Glass / Daily Nexus
Vegan Coconut Gingersnap Cookie (Charlotte Glass)
Ingredients:
- 1 ⅔ cup flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons molasses
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup coconut oil
- ½ cup shredded coconut
- ¼ cup almond milk
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 375 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the wet ingredients (molasses, coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla extract) and sugar.
- In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, salt).
- Slowly fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients until dough forms.
- Scoop about a spoon-full of dough and roll into balls. Roll into sugar if you’d like and give each a bit of space (enough to be pressed down) on the baking sheet.
- Use your hand or the bottom of a cup to gently press down dough balls. For a thinner, crunchier cookie, flatten the ball more. For a chewier cookie, lightly flatten.
- Sprinkle coconut shavings on top of each cookie!
- Bake for 10-30 minutes (according to density) or until the cookies’ surfaces appear crackled (but not ashed). The cookies should appear very soft but will firm up once cooled.
- Gift these cookies (maybe after stealing a couple for yourself) to your friends and family or leave them out on Christmas Eve to fuel Santa’s flight — it is the season of giving after all!
