Favorite Christmas Cookie Recipes

Cookie exchange or cookie swap parties are a popular around the holidays. The idea is to invite a group of friends over and have each person make enough of one kind of cookie to share. You can sample the treats at the party and then each person puts together an assortment of different cookies in cute packaging to take home with them.

In honor of this great tradition, I have listed below some of my favorite holiday recipes, as shared by family and friends. They are not all cookies, but they are all delicious, so grab the kids and start baking!

Chocolate Crinkles

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt until combined.  
2. In another bowl, add the granulated sugar and oil. Beat on medium-high speed for 2 minutes, until mixture is light and fluffy. Add in eggs and vanilla, beating on medium-low speed until combined. Gradually fold in the flour fixture until combined.
3. Form the dough into a large ball and place it on a large sheet of plastic wrap. Wrap the plastic wrap around it and seal tightly. Refrigerate for 2 hours (or up to 24 hours) until the dough is completely chilled. 
4. Unwrap the dough and form into 1-inch balls. Dip each dough ball into the powdered sugar until it is completely covered on all sides. Place on a baking sheet 2 inches apart.
5. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove baking sheet from the oven and let cookies cool for 3 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack, and let them cool until they reach room temperature. 
   

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Sugar Cookies (My Grandmother’s Recipe)

Ingredients for cookies:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup Crisco
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 cups flour
• 3 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp buttermilk
• 1/2 tsp baking soda 

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 375F degrees. Cream together the butter and Crisco and gradually add in the sugar.
2. Add the flour, eggs and vanilla.
3. Mix the buttermilk and baking soda together, then add to mixture.
4. Form into a ball and refrigerate until stiff.
5. Remove dough from fridge. Roll out the dough onto a floured surface and use cookie cutters to make shapes.
6. Put onto greased baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes. Cookies will be soft and thick.

Ingredients for icing:

• 1/2 box confectioners sugar
• 1/2 stick butter
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup water

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a pan on the stove over medium heat. 
2. Stir until smooth and consistent. Keep warm until icing the cookies. (You can add food coloring to make different colors of icing.)
3. After cookies have cooled, drizzle icing over cookies.  
   

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Christmas Crunch

Ingredients:

• 3 cups Cheerios
• 3 cups Rice Chex
• 3 cups Wheat Chex
• 1 cup Pretzel Sticks
• 2-3 cups M&Ms
• 24oz White Chocolate

Directions:

1. In a large bowl combine the Cheerios, Chex, pretzels and M&Ms. Mix them up, making sure they are evenly distributed.
2. Meanwhile, over a double boiler, melt the white chocolate according to the directions on the package.
3. Once the chocolate is melted and has a smooth consistency, drizzle the chocolate over the cereal mix and combine with a wooden spoon. Make sure all of the cereal is covered in chocolate.  
4. Once the entire batch has combined, lay it out to dry on a large sheet of parchment paper. Let it dry 1 hour.
   

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Bourbon Balls (My Aunt’s recipe)

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup bourbon (I use Jim Beam)
• 1 bag pecans (crushed)
• 2 boxes (2 lbs) Confectioner’s sugar
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 stick of butter
• 1 24oz bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Soak the pecans in the Jim Beam overnight.
2. Add the sugar, butter, vanilla and pecans together and mix.
3. Form mixture into 1-inch balls and place on parchment paper. Chill in the fridge for 1 hour.
4. In a double boiler melt the chocolate until smooth. Dip each ball in chocolate until covered.
5. Put back on parchment paper and allow to cool. Store in an air tight container.
   

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Hot Cocoa Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup granular sugar
• 2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 1/4 cup flour
• 4 packs instant hot cocoa; DO NOT get sugar free
• 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup jet-puffed vanilla mallow bits

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350F degrees. Beat butter and sugars in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla and mix well.
2. Combine flour, hot cocoa mix, baking soda and baking powder in separate bowl.
3. Gradually beat the dry mixture into the butter mixture until well blended. Stir in chips and bits.
4. Drop onto greased baking sheet and bake until edges are lightly browned — about 10 minutes.

You can also add holiday-themed chips to mix in and make a batch with crushed peppermint to give it the holiday flair of a peppermint mocha.

Do you have a favorite holiday cookie recipe? Share with us in the comments!