Cookie Time – recipes and holiday baking tips

This is the year! Mark my words. 2019 will be the year that I will make dozens of cookies for the holidays just like I did when we lived back in New York. To fulfill my prophecy, I am compiling a checklist of helpful tips and links that will help me and hopefully our members as well!

To get in the Christmas Cookie spirit, I’ve been watching the Christmas Cookie Matchup on Hallmark Drama. It is a very sweet show that is somewhat bake-offish that includes the cast of When Calls the Heart, a Hallmark drama, who act as taste testers and cookie assistants. One of the judges is Emily Hutchinson who is the author of Creative Cookie Decorating. Her book is truly a step-by-step guide to creating cookie magic. You can take a look inside with our .

I’ve also been watching the Food Network Holiday Baking Championship (I always learn something new each episode.) Food Network’s Christmas Cookie show is fun to watch but just to see the amazing decorations as they don’t do anything besides sugar cookies and gingerbread. Coming up soon Food Network has the Ultimate Hanukkah Challenge with Molly Yeh!

Coming on December 12th, ABC will have the Great American Baking Show – Holiday Edition, so be sure to check your schedules in your area. I wish ABC would reconsider bringing back the American version of the bake-off. The first season (2013) was not successful for a number of reasons (which I won’t go into). Then it returned and we had the Johnny Iuzzini blow up. ABC hire me, Jane and Darcie to be your judges – we come without skeletons in our closets.

Below I have set out some links that may help inspire your baking this year.

Cookie Recipes

• Tis’ the Season to be Baking … Flour Everywhere La la la la: shares links to major cookie contest recipes, cookie generators, (I refer back to this post every year), our online cookie recipes and much more! I’ll recap a few here for the entire list head to the December 2016 post:
  • Washington Post cookie generator
  • Washington Post cookie article 
  • Los Angeles Times cookie contest
  • Chicago Tribune cookie contest and their Holiday Cookie book is a must-have.
  • The Denver Post cookie favorites
  • Bob’s Red Mill United States of Cookies
  • StarTribune (Minneapolis) and their The Great Minnesota Cookie Book is another must-have. 2019’s winners.
• Holiday Cookies: an EYB post that shares recipes from our members compiled last year
• Ideas for wrapping edible gifts (Darcie)
• We-Energies – download pdfs of their yearly cookie cookbooks
• Serious Eats: Best holiday cookie recipes (123)
• Delish: 50 easy holiday cookie recipes
• Good Housekeeping: 78 best holiday cookies
• Pillsbury: 50 easy holiday cookie recipes
• Taste of Home: tips, cookie recipes, and more
• Country Living: cookies, tips, holiday eats
• Chatelaine: 30 of their most popular cookies
• Splendid Table’s Virtual Cookie Exchange
• Dallas’ News 2019 Winning Cookie Recipes
• Food52 Cookies from all over the world
• Most popular Christmas cookies across the United States
• Download Home & Family cookbooks
• The British Royal Family’s cinnamon cookie

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My favorite cookie is the Italian Rainbow Cookie. Some helpful links.

• How to make Italian rainbow cookies
• Italian rainbow cookie cheesecake (my recipe)
• Stephen Collucci’s recipe
• The rainbow (cookie) connection

• And of course, the Levain chocolate chip walnut cookie.

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How to make a cookie box from Displaced Housewife, her book The Cookie Book is one of my favorites! (Photo: Displaced Housewife). Be sure to check the bottom of the post for more cookie box inspiration!

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Helpful articles for any Bundt ® cakes you may be making this season

• Converting cake recipes for a Bundt® pan
• Converting other pan sizes

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Embossed rolling pins, Springerle cookies

• Valek: Tips for using the embossed rolling pins
• House on the Hill: More tips
• Fantes: tips for Springerle
• King Arthur’s Springerle recipe
• The set of Springerle molds that have been on my list forever

Holiday cookie exchange

• Real Simple: Tips and timeline for throwing a cookie exchange
• Martha Stewart: How to host the perfect cookie swap

Organization ideas

The photo above is of a drying rack that you can purchase at Amazon. One of these resides on my baking island and houses my most used cookie cutters. I no longer have to go rummaging through my bins of cutters for my biscuit cutter or doughnut cutter. For the holidays, I might change out a few with holiday-themed cutters but my cookie cutter tree stays out all year. (A few members asked for a photo of the cookie cutter tree, so I have shared it below.)

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During the holidays, I utilize two or three wire bins and fill one with decorating bags and tips, icing spatulas, etc.. I fill the second bin with sprinkles and cookie decorating candies, and the last bin has cookie packaging, ribbons, scissors, labels, and trimmings to wrap up small packages of cookies. When I need to, I can gather up the baskets and stow them in a closet or my office to clear up some space. Having all the tools I need to bake and decorate helps me stay on task.

Lastly, one of my favorite new things is Joanna Gaines‘ giant multi-cookie cutter. I picked up two – one to hang on the wall and one to use. It’s adorable! Darcie informed me about Pampered Chef’s cool rolling cookie cutter. I have a very old plastic type roller but I love the look of the stainless steel!

Be sure to check out my gift guide for the baker that includes a fabulous giveaway as well as my gift guide for cookbook lovers and serious cooks for other holiday inspiration.