Last week, Suzanne suggested a vitual cookie swap. Yes! Yes! I love seeing the cookies everyone bakes (although, in a more recent post, Suzanne linked to this article on how to create a “stunning” cookie platter, and now I have an inferiority complex.) For what it’s worth, here’s my “mini’ Cookie Palooza.
I originally planned to make two different cutout cookies (regular sugar cookie and gingerbread) plus two other cookies. But I went to two grocery stores and they were both out of molasses. What is going on??? Is there a nationwide molasses shortage? How am I supposed to my make gingerbread?
I decided to pivot and save the cutout cookies for later in the week- I don’t need them until Christmas Eve. I made two beloved favorites and one new cookie. First up- luckily I had just enough molasses to make one batch of these Seriously Soft Molasses Cookies from Sally’s Baking Addiction.
The backstory of these cookies is, one year when my son was in high school, he had his wisdom teeth extracted in December. I was googling recipes for soft foods, and came across this recipe. He LOVED these cookies, and I’ve made them every year since.
A quick note- all the cookies I made are vegan! When I’m adjusting a non-vegan recipe, I usually substitute a flax egg (one tablespoon ground flax + two and a half tablespoons water= one egg)) and it works great. I also use Earth Balance vegan butter in place of the butter.
Every December, Sally publishes ten new cookie recipes. This year one of the new ones was this recipe for Lemon Shortbread Cookies. Shortbread cookies don’t require an egg at all! I figured a tangy lemon cookie would be a nice addition to our cookie platter.
The third cookie I made was a tried and true recipe from Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s Veganomicon cookbook, orange chocolate chip biscotti. These cookies are SO GOOD. One year we gave them to my son’s teachers, and one sent us a note saying they were the best biscotti he had ever had, vegan or otherwise. I think my family would mutiny if I didn’t make these at Christmas.
Here’s the platter of cookies I put out for my family:
The rest were packed into gift bags, or frozen, to be taken out closer to Christmas when my son is home. Still to come- Cookie Palooza Part 2, with peanut butter balls, gingerbread men (depending on the molasses situation) and sugar cookies.
Who else is making cookies? What are your favorite Christmas cookies?
Top photo by Deidre Schlabs on Unsplash
23 Responses
I love shortbread and I love lemons and your Lemon Shortbread cookies look amazing!
I don’t make cookies but I love eating them. I can’t wait to get back to Switzerland to have some “Mailänderli” – a very simple butter cookie which I can’t get anywhere but in Switzerland!
https://www.newlyswissed.com/mailaenderli-recipe-with-step-by-step-instructions/
Catrina, I’m the opposite- I don’t actually eat cookies anymore (because I’m a recovering sugar-holic) but i still love making them. I looked at the cookies you linked to- they sound amazing but I won’t be making them because the recipe calls for FIVE eggs! In my experience, trying to sub for that many eggs doesn’t work out well.
I couldn’t find molasses this weekend either! No gingerbread for the Christmas program at my kid’s school. I love the look of the soft molasses cookies. Once I find molasses, they’ll be in the oven.
Oh no… what is happening with molasses??? We need our gingerbread!
Ooooooh I haven’t had biscotti in years, since before going vegan, and yours looks so good! I’m pretty sure I have that cookbook so I’ll have to try making it some time.
I’m not much of a baker but I am excited to go visit my parents because my mom is going to make all sorts of Christmas treats, including vegan peppermint bark!
Ashley, if you have that cookbook the recipe is actually for “Almond Anise biscotti.” Then you have to look at the variations, and one of them is for the chocolate chip orange ones. I’m not sure if I’ve ever made the almond anise ones- I’m sure they’re good too!
I know I was all “I’m just making a few things” but “a few things” might have to be expanded to include the lemon shortbread cookies;-)
What the heck with the molasses shortage??? Also I’m wondering when the last time that I used molasses was and if I still have some and if so how old it is…I probably don’t want to do the math on that.
That molasses could be valuable!!! Mine was kind of old, but not too old for cookies.
O M G, Jenny!! Your cookie platter looks SO GOOD!! And they’re such a terrific range of flavors! Part 2 (sounds like it would really send things over the top.)
I have to go to Suzanne’s link now to see how anything could be better.
Well, by now you’ve seen the stunning cookie platters! I’m not saying they TASTE better than mine, but they definitely look more festive.
Meh.
There’s “staff and SEO” written all over posts like that. Plus the writing is like AI on tranquilizers.
I prefer your work.
I am in love with gingerbread cookies. ESPECIALLY soft ones (I’m not a huge fan of dry gingersnaps). The more spices the better for me. I love a rich, warming ginger cookie. I think it would be my absolute favourite cookie. I definitely prefer it over chocolate chip, which my kids think makes me insane.
I don’t make many cookies at Christmas, but we have a variety of other baked goods we do every year.
Elisabeth, you would like these cookiees! They definitely live up to their name. They are seriously soft!
Oooh good luck with the molasses situation! During the pandemic I had a hard time finding it and I remember going to like three different stores and practically hoarding it. Even now I have those scars, so I pick up molasses more than I probably need to for emergencies such as this. I just made gingerbread this past weekend, plus peppermint bark, which TOTALLY COUNTS. I’ve also made gingersnaps, which sound a lot like the soft ginger cookies you made, but it’s my grandma’s recipe. I’ll make sugar cookies later this week. I used to make so many more different kinds when the boys were in school, for their friends, etc., but now I’m trying to keep it semi-low key. Or as low key as I can get it. Your cookies look so good! Very yummy. Fingers crossed on molasses!
Well, people around here better not be hoarding molasses! Gingerbread for all!!!
Your cookie platter looks wonderful! I bet the cookies were gobbled up quickly! I do not do much holiday baking sadly. But I will be making sugar cookies this weekend for the decorating party with our neighbors. But I’m sticking w/ round cookies because I don’t have it in me to test another recipe that tolerates rolling/cutting out shapes (GF baking is extremely finnicky). But our guests are going to bring some and the wife seems to do a lot of GF baking (even though no one has a gluten intolerance in their house) so it will be fun to see what the come up with! My favorite cookie is a soft gingersnap type of cookie, kiss cookies/peanut butter blossoms, and sugar cookies. I know I can make pb blossoms GF but I just don’t need loads of cookies around at this time of year since I am not great at self control and I don’t have GF friends to give the cookies to… I wish I could go to a bakery and purchase like 2 kiss cookies to satisfy that craving! There is one GF bakery that makes delicious food so I should check it out and see if they sell pb blossoms!
Our sugar cookies are also for a decorating party. I definitely do shapes, but I’m not making them gluten free. I want to see photos of your decorated cookies! Are there kids involved? I always love how little kids decorate cookies. I mean- I like how they look but I probably wouldn’t want to eat them, ha ha. I hope you can find someone to give you two pb blossoms!
Yes, the kids will do the decorating! I used to do this with my college friends but their kids have kind of aged out and it became increasingly difficult to schedule with all of their activities (they are 10 to 18!). So now we are going to start a new tradition of doing it with our neighbors that have a 2.5 yo and a baby. We are trying to kind of enmesh ourselves with this family because they are cool people, their kids are sort of close in age, and it’s easy to get together! So this will be our first time doing the cookie decorating with them. I am sure our cookies will not be very visually appealing. Ha. But the kids are excited for it!
I think I’m going to make chocolate chip cookies tonight with my new mixer! Maybe some molasses cookies? Or maybe I should wait and do the big bake on the week I have off between Christmas Eve and New Year’s?! Who knows where the baking gods will take me?
Engie, with your new mixer, the possibilities are endless!!!
Yum, those cookies look amazing! Especially the soft ones- soft cookies are my favourite (white choc chip are particularly good!). I don’t make Christmas cookies (this is not such a thing in Australia and I’m more of a savoury cook in general).
My daughter LOVES white chocolate chips! And I have some! Maybe I’ll make a cookie with them after Christmas, between Christmas and New Year’s.
Awww, I love a virtual cookie swap… I am behind on blog reading so I missed Suzanne’s announcement but I love catching up on the posts. Your cookies look amazing.
I only baked on batch of vanilla almond crescent cookies this year (which I entered into a baking championship at work – and I won! LOL) but I have not baked anything else (since we’ll be traveling and I didn’t have a lot of time).