I am the type of person that really values giving everyone at least a little something over the holidays. It’s the season of giving! The easiest way to spread a lot of love for not a lot of money is to bake. In 2020 I went all out on cookie baking with some new treats that I would highly recommend. I wrote this after the holiday season of 2020 where I baked my little heart out. Rather than giving a step by step of each recipe used I wanted to share the variety of treats that I baked. I encourage you to incorporate some of your own, plan a cookie swap with friends, and make some cookie tins or trays for your family and friends!
The Classic Falzon Christmas Cookie: Snickerdoodles
There is no Christmas without a Snickerdoodle. If you’ve never had one, you are missing out. Slight crunch on the outside, perfect pillowy perfection on the inside, these cookies shouldn’t be tweaked at all. Our family has been baking these as long as I can remember. Every teacher, friend, and family member that knows our family comes to expect some of these at Christmas! Our recipe comes from an older cookbook and it has never let me down. The key is cream of tartar.
Low quality pictures… 
…High quality cookies
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/2 C sugar, plus more for rolling
- 2 tsp cream of tartar
- 2 3/4 C flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- cinnamon, for rolling
- Cream butter and sugar together in a stand mixer.
- Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
- Add eggs to mixer one at a time.
- Add flour mixture in a few parts so it doesn’t fly around your kitchen.
- Wrap dough and place in fridge for at least two hours. We usually make it in advance
- Roll into balls, roll in cinnamon sugar, and bake at 400 for 7-10 minutes. The bottoms should be just golden. Let cool on sheet and enjoy!
Cookies en Masse: Spritz
I bought a cookie press when I realized I would have more kitchen space to myself and am very happy with it! Since I had never use a press before I was amazed at how many little cookies you get with one batch of dough. At least four dozen each time, which makes these very easy to give as a group. I incorporated some food coloring and various flavors to make the tins look more festive. All of the recipes I found for Spritz cookies came from this article (https://www.tasteofhome.com/collection/our-favorite-spritz-cookie-recipes/). I made a classic almond spritz, chai spice (a fan favorite), lemon, and chocolate. My favorite was the almond with lemon as a close second. These are definitely more for the crunchy cookie fans. If you like any kind of butter cookie, get yourself a cookie press and make a bunch of these!
More for looks than for taste: Wookie Cookies
We decided to do a fun date night and make this recipe from Tasty. These were a very soft gingerbread cookie that was shaped to look like a Wookie from Star Wars. In hindsight I would have doubled the spice recommended. Additionally, I am not a big gingerbread fan and haven’t had many to date. I thought these were way too soft for a traditional gingerbread. They were, however, very large cookies, absolutely adorable, and added a fun element to a cookie tin. We had a lot of wounded Wookies by the end… missing a limb, a head, or all of their chocolate buttons came off. I’d try these again with a better gingerbread cookie recipe. If you’d like to give it a shot, the recipe is here: https://tasty.co/recipe/gingerbread-wookiee-cookies.
Chocolates: Peppermint Bark
My mom has a ton of chocolate molds and usually includes festive chocolate on her cookie trays. This year I bought my own and made some really cute treats. The easiest of them all required no mold, just a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Peppermint bark requires four ingredients: dark or milk chocolate, candy canes, white chocolate, and peppermint extract. Crush up candy canes in a plastic bag into tiny pieces. Melt the first layer (brown chocolate) in a glass bowl over a small amount of simmering water and add a little peppermint extract. I had a 9×13 sheet and used about 1/4 tsp in each layer. Pour the melted chocolate onto your wax paper lined sheet. Do the same thing with the white chocolate after the brown chocolate has set (but isn’t cold, or they will come apart). Sprinkle the candy cane on the top layer before it hardens. Once set, break up into a bunch of candy-sized pieces. Enjoy!
Gift Giving
The hardest part about planning all of your holiday baking is making sure each cookie is still fresh by the time you see the people you’re giving them to. I’d plan to bake your crunchiest cookies first and your firmest cookies last. If you are planning on making some chocolates, those can easily be done first as they keep well. I either raid a Michael’s or Walmart for cheap metal tins and trays. Line them with parchment or wax paper and assemble your variety together. I like to tie them with twine or ribbon to make them look a little nicer. If I’m going to a dinner or a holiday party, I would bring a tray placed in a cellophane treat bag tied with curling ribbon.
I bought some treat boxes this year and they worked out well. They weren’t air tight so I had to pack these the day of or the day before I was giving them out! Kiwi liked to be as close to them as possible. 
This is one of the trays I made. All of the cookies mentioned above, plus a ton of chocolate.
Overall, there’s no right or wrong way to give someone sweets. If it makes you feel good, do it.
Happy Baking!
J
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