Recently, I asked my grandma to send me two of my favorite Christmas cookie recipes. A week later they arrived by mail written on little recipe cards in the small, scrawling cursive that only grandmas seem to have. She sent me two different recipes for spritz cookies and one for her famous date swirls. They’re perfect, I love them, and I thought I’d share them with you.
To know me is to know that I will not shut up about these cookies. Collin recently reminded me that I brought them up on our first date. When I was growing up, these cookies were synonymous with Christmas. My grandparents’ house in Minnesota had a screened in porch that, in the colder months, doubled as a walk-in refrigerator. Around Christmastime my grandma predominantly used this area to stockpile her Christmas cookies. (That and large amounts of creamed cod but we don’t have to get into that here.) She would begin building her inventory weeks in advance. Come the week of Christmas, when her house was filled with us grandkids, aunts, and uncles, she would have more than enough to go around.
Although, I definitely have my favorites, when it comes to Christmas cookies, more is more and variety is key. Below I’ve included the recipes for some of my favorites, including spritz cookies, date swirls, pistachio pinwheels, ugly Barbie Christmas cookies, and chewy molasses cookies. Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, I hope you all have a fabulous and restful end of the year!
Spritz Cookies
Spritz cookies are a pretty simple sugar cookie dough flavored with almond extract and piped into shapes using a cookie press. (I used this one.) I tend to see them stamped into Christmas trees or wreaths, but my grandma would almost always pipe them into thin ribbons and top them with red and green sprinkles. The result is a super crispy, melt in your mouth butter cookie.
*Note: If you want to try your hand at piping ribbons, I suggest using the recipe pictured above on the recipe card. That dough is slightly more wet such that it can be piped. The recipe below cannot.
Ingredients:
1 c unsalted butter, softened
1/2 c granulated sugar
1 egg yolk
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
2 c all purpose flour
sprinkles to decorate
Step 1:
Preheat oven to 375 F. Cream the butter and sugar together in a medium bowl or Kitchen Aid (with the paddle attachment) until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add in egg yolk, almond extract, and vanilla extract. Mix until thoroughly combined and scrape down the sides again. Add the flour and salt and mix on low until combined.
Step 2:
Shape a handful of dough into a tubular shape and put into the cookie press. Press the dough onto a parchment lined sheet tray using your favorite disc and decorate with sprinkles. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until a very light golden brown.
Step 3:
These are a rare example of a cookie that you shouldn’t enjoy warm. Allow cookies to cool completely before eating because that helps them get crispy. These keep covered for 5-7 days.
Date Swirls
After I posted on Instagram that my grandma had sent me her Christmas cookie recipes, within the week, three of my cousins and one of my sisters texted me asking for this recipe. The spritz cookies always had my heart, but on a platter of cookies, these always seemed to be the most popular. They end up gooey and crispy and so damn good.
Ingredients:
For the cookie:
1/2 c butter
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c white sugar
1 egg
2 c flour, sifted
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
For the filling:
16 oz pitted dates
1 c water
1/2 c sugar (the original recipe calls for 1 cup but I don’t think it needs that much. I might even omit entirely, depending on how sweet you like your cookies)
1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
pinch of salt
flaky salt for topping
*note: chopped walnuts would also make a great addition
Step 1:
In a medium mixing bowl, cream together softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and add an egg. Beat until combined and scrape down the sides of the bowl again. Add the flour, salt, and baking soda, and mix until the flour is fully incorporated.
Step 2:
Dump the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap and shape into a rectangle. Wrap tightly with the plastic and place in the fridge to chill while you make the filling.
Step 3:
For the filling, place the dates, water, salt, and sugar into a small sauce pot. Place over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Use a rubber spatula to break up the dates until it’s the consistency of a chunky jam. This should take about 5-10 minutes, with constant stirring. Off heat, stir in the lemon juice and allow the date jam to come to room temperature.
Step 4:
Once the date jam is at room temperature, take your dough out of the fridge. Dust the counter with a thin layer of flour. Cut the dough into two equal pieces and roll them out into rectangles about as thick as you would pie dough. Like pie dough, this dough is not elastic, so roll it out slowly and pinch together any bits that crack. I find that it’s easier to do this with two smaller rectangles than with one large rectangle.
Step 5:
Spread the date jam over the dough in an even layer. Carefully, roll out the dough starting from the longer side of the rectangle. Roll as tightly as possible and then transfer to a sheet of plastic wrap, longer than the log of dough. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic and twist the ends to tighten. Place in the fridge and allow to chill for at least two hours.
Step 6:
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Unwrap the dough and slice into 1/4 inch thick slices. Transfer onto a parchment-lined sheet tray and sprinkle with flaky salt. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. While still hot, take a cup or biscuit cutter and place over each cookie and move in a circular motion around the cookie to help them form into circle. Press down lightly with your hand to flatten. Allow to cool completely.
Pistachio Pinwheels
This is the same exact dough used in the date swirls. Your swirl filling can be anything from Nutella, to jam, to this pistachio butter like I did here. These rolled more tightly than the date swirls making a crisp pinwheel pattern. Top with flaky salt for the perfect balance of salty, nutty, and sweet.
Ingredients:
1/2 c butter
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c white sugar
1 egg
2 c flour, sifted
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
pistachio butter (enough to spread an even layer. Don’t be stingy but the thicker the layer, the messier these will be)
flaky salt
Step 1:
In a medium mixing bowl, cream together softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and add an egg. Beat until combined and scrape down the sides of the bowl again. Add the flour, salt, and baking soda, and mix until the flour is fully incorporated.
Step 2:
Dump the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap and shape into a rectangle. Wrap tightly with the plastic and place in the fridge to chill for about an hour.
Step 3:
Take your dough out of the fridge and dust the counter with a thin layer of flour. Cut the dough into two equal pieces and roll them out into rectangles about as thick as you would pie dough. Like pie dough, this dough is not elastic, so roll it out slowly and pinch together any bits that crack. I find that it’s easier to do this with two smaller rectangles than with one large rectangle.
Step 5:
Spread an even layer of the pistachio butter over the dough using a spoon or small offset spatula and roll it starting from the longer side of the rectangle. Roll as tightly as possible and transfer to a sheet of plastic wrap, longer than the log of dough. I made mine the diameter of a paper towel tube and that worked really well. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic and twist the ends to tighten. Place in the fridge and allow to chill for at least two hours.
*Tip: Place your wrapped log of dough inside of a paper towel tube to chill in the fridge. This prevents the log from getting flat on one side.
Step 6:
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Unwrap the dough and slice into 1/2 inch thick slices. Transfer onto a parchment-lined sheet tray and top each one with flaky salt. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to a rack and allow to cool.
Ugly Barbie Christmas Cookies
I want to start by saying that this is not a grown up cookie. It’s not the sort of baked good that conveys sophistication and nuance. That’s for another newsletter. These are the cookie equivalent of a Christmas tree completely covered in a hodgepodge of multi-colored ornaments, some broken and mangled, the whole thing adorned with rainbow string lights, and handfuls of tinsel. If ugly Barbie had a Christmas tree, I imagine it would look like the one I’m describing and she would definitely make these cookies.
They’re colorful and wonky, and sort of ugly-cute, chock full of whatever kind of candy you want. I like pretzels, caramel, coconut, and chocolate. But, you could add lots of stuff. You could try to class up the joint with chopped dark chocolate and sea salt, or go wild with mini m&m’s or those tiny peanut butter cups they sell at Trader Joe’s. The options are limitless. I also like coating mine in a bright colored sugar, but as is sort of the theme with these cookies, that’s up to you.
This recipe is the result of a happy accident. They’re based on Alison Roman’s chocolate chip shortbread cookies. However, when I attempted them last year, I got distracted and mistakenly added egg to the dough and softened the butter that was meant to remain cold. I was new to the multitasking necessary when filming a recipe, and this was not an uncommon occurrence. However, they turned out delicious and came together a little easier than the original recipe. In the end, I think the egg helps bind everything together—especially when adding in a bunch of extra ingredients. If you come up with any good flavor combo’s or mix in’s, please share!
Ingredients:
1 c + 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 c granulated sugar
1/4 c light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 c all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
6 oz chocolate bar of choice, chopped (I like the milk chocolate Tony’s Chocolonely bar with caramel and sea salt)
1 c unsweetened coconut flakes
1 c salted pretzels, broken up
as many sprinkles as your heart desires (I used about a handful)
1 lg egg
More sprinkles or Demerara sugar for coating the outside (optional)
Step 1:
In a medium mixing bowl, cream together the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until well combined. Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula and add the egg and vanilla extract. Mix to combine, before scraping down the sides of the bowl and adding in the flour, salt, crushed up pretzels, chopped chocolate, sprinkles, and coconut flakes (and whatever else you want in there). Mix until just combined.
Step 2:
Spread out a large sheet of plastic wrap and dump out half of the dough. Use your hands to form a rough log shape that’s about the circumference that you want your cookies to ultimately be. Wrap the plastic around the dough as tightly as possible. Twist the ends of the plastic wrap to make a rounder, more compact log. I find it helpful to hold each end of the plastic and use them to roll the log on the counter, almost like you would use a rolling pin. the log will get smoother and more round. Once you’re happy with the shape, place in the fridge. Repeat with the remaining dough and allow both to chill for at least two hours.
Step 3:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Once chilled, unwrap the dough and pour out a handful of sprinkles or sugar onto a large plate. Spread them out to evenly cover the plate. Take the dough and roll it over the sprinkles, pressing down so that they stick to the log. Repeat this until it’s fully covered.
Step 4:
Slice the cookies into about 1/2 inch thick coins and space evenly on a parchment lined sheet tray. Bake on the center rack for about 15 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Allow to cool and enjoy!
Chewy Molasses Cookies
I shared these in a previous Substack, but for purposes of curating my ideal lineup of Christmas cookies in one place, I thought I’d include it here as well. Enjoy!
Yield: about 12 2 oz. cookies
Ingredients:
2 c all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp ginger powder
1/2 tsp allspice powder
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt
1 large egg
1/2 c butter, melted
1/3 c granulated sugar
1/4 c dark brown sugar
1/4 c sorghum molasses (regular molasses works too)
About 3/4 c Demerara or coarse sugar for rolling
***1/2 c granulated sugar, 3/4 cup molasses
Step 1:
Preheat oven to 375 F. Whisk flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and salt in a small bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk egg, melted butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and molasses until fully combined. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
Step 2:
Scoop dough and roll into balls and transfer to a lined baking sheet. I like to use a 2 oz ice cream scoop for cookies. I find that scooping the dough into bigger balls leads to a chewier cookie.
Step 3:
Pour your coarse sugar into a bowl and toss each ball of dough individually in the sugar and roll into a ball. Place back onto a lined baking sheet. At this point, you can either freeze the dough to bake off later or bake right away. If baking right away, this dough does not require you to chill it first.
Step 4:
Place the cookie dough onto lined baking trays 2 inches apart and bake for 8 minutes, flip your sheet and continue baking for another 6 minutes. *Hot tip: it’s better to under-bake these cookies than overtaking them. You’ll lose some chewiness by over-baking.