It’s Christmas time, and if your house is anything like my house it means making Christmas cookies. Cookies for probably 4 different parties, for the neighbours, and a school event or two. I have two tried, tested, and awesome Christmas cookie recipes for you. One is naughty – full of all the stuff that tastes good but isn’t good for; and one that is a little more healthy and gluten-free.
I will start with the naughty one. I have been making this sugar cookie recipe at Christmas for as long as I can remember. We made them every year since I was little. The dough is great – rolls out easy with a little flour dusted on the surface you are rolling them out on. And, bonus, the whole recipe makes roughly 12 dozen medium-sized cutouts – more if you use a small cookie cutter, and less if you use big ones. The dough freezes great, so you can make a few for a holiday event and then freeze the rest to make later. The cookies, once they are made, freeze well, too. Even once they are frosted you can freeze them. Just unstack them to thaw or the frosting will stick to the other cookies.
Here is the recipe for the sugar cookies and a link for the frosting that I made and used.
Sugar cookie cutouts
3 cups Parkay (I couldn’t find Parkay so I used Imperial brand margarine. (DON’T USE BUTTER unless you want oily cookies)
2 2/3 cups sugar (I cut this back to 2 cups and no one has ever known until now.)
1 teaspoon salt
8 egg yolks (you can plan on making egg white omelettes the next day or egg white quiche for dinner like me!)
4 tablespoons 1/2 & 1/2
4 teaspoons vanilla
8 cups of all-purpose flour
Instructions
Cream butter and sugar together until fluffy and well combined.
Then add egg yolks while mixing on low. Mix until egg yolks are well incorporated.
Then add the 1/2 & 1/2, vanilla, and salt.
Lastly, add the flour. I add 1-2 cups at a time. If you use the paddle blade on your blender it helps.
Once all the flour is mixed in, divide the dough into thirds, wrap in plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator for at least one hour. If you are planning on freezing any of it,l double wrap it or put it in a plastic zip freezer bag for later use.
Once chilled roll out dough to 1/4 in thick and place on greased cookie sheets. Place the cookie sheets in the freezer for 5 mins, then put into an oven heated to 350 degrees. (Putting the cutouts in the freezer helps them hold their shapes better while cooking.) Cook for 8 mins. Let cool and decorate.
Here is the link to the frosting recipe I used:https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/simple-cookie-glaze-recipe
And now for the nice recipe. It seems these days there is always someone with food allergies (myself included). These cookies are gluten-free, sugar-free, and nut free. I did use an alcohol sugar blend but no white table sugar. I call these naked gingerbread men because without frosting they really are a healthy option for the holidays that taste good too!
Here is that recipe
Naked Gingerbread Men
1 1/2 cups gluten-free flour mix
3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4-1/2 cup sugar substitute (here’s the link for the one I used: https://joyfilledeats.com/sweetener/
6 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
4 tablespoons molasses
1 tablespoon (21 g) honey (or maple syrup)
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions:
Cream together the butter and the sugar substitute.
Mix in egg.
Once combined mix in the spices – salt, honey, molasses, baking soda, and vanilla.
Lastly, add flour and mix until all is combined.
You can freeze this dough, too, at this point. Just wrap it in plastic wrap and then in a zipper freezer bag.
Roll dough out (I used cocoa powder to dust the board. If your dough isn’t sticking you won’t need this.)
Place the gingerbread men on a greased cookie sheet and then in the freezer for 5 mins before placing them in a 350-degree oven for 8 mins.
Once they are cooled, you can decorate them or leave them naked.
Happy Holiday baking to you!!
