When I was a kid, I loved to bake Christmas cookies. We weren’t a big baking family, but there were some cookies that we made every year. I keep the tradition going now, but every year I wish I had more time to bake more types of cookies to share with everyone I love. The Easy Christmas Cookie Cookbook can help me with that. Not only are there a wide variety of types of cookies, there are also lots of tips about freezing either the baked cookies or the cookie dough, so with a little planning, I can bake a ton of cookies to get ready for the holidays. And you know what that means: gift-giving done!
Author Carroll Pellegrinelli has put together over 60 recipes of holiday treats (or everyday treats, if you want) that you can use for holiday parties, gifts, and for eating. And she has set this up so that even beginning bakers can jump in and get started.
The first chapter is everything you need to get set up for success: lists of the ingredients you need, the equipment that will get your cookies baked, tips for storing and freezing your treats, and lots of ideas for decorating with icings and sprinkles. There is the master recipe for Royal Icing, which isn’t the only icing you can use to decorate your bookies, but it’s one of the classics. And once you’re prepared, with everything in place, then it’s on to the cookies to bake.
Chapter two is all about Holiday Favorites. This is the Christmas Sugar Cookies, the Butter Spritz Cookies, the Gingerbread People, the Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies, and (my personal favorite) Chocolate Crinkles. There are also Holiday Pinwheel Cookies, Snowballs, Chocolate-Dipped Almond Cookies, and Peanut Butter Blossoms. Then you can step it up a notch with chapter three, Classics with a Twist. Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies, Ultimate Snickerdoodles, Hot Chocolate Cookie Cups, Minty Chocolate Chip Cookies, Red Velvet Crinkles, and Smooth Irish Whiskey Brownies are just a few of the exciting treats that take your recipes just one step higher than the usual ones your family and friends expect.
Chapter four is filled with New Creations, like Bacon and Eggnog Cookies, Sharp Cheddar Cheese Butter Cookies, Brie and Fig Jam Thumbprint Cookies, German Beer Chocolate Cookies, and “Eat Your Vegetables” Christmas Cookies (made with zucchini and carrots). And then the final chapter is filled with Not-Quite-Cookies, which include recipes that are perfect for gift-giving or for impressing friends and family at holiday gatherings. There are Slow-Cooker Nutty Chocolate Clusters, Polar Bear Chow, Truffles, Easy English=Style Toffee, Flavorful Fruity Popcorn, Crispy Holiday Trees, and No-Bake Chocolate Cookies.
Each recipe is also packed with extra information. There are tips for storage, serving, ingredients, techniques, and even troubleshooting. There are notes for variations or traditions. And there are notations signifying bar cookies, molded cookies, rolled cookies, and drop cookies as well as for recipes that are freezer-friendly and icebox cookies (cookies that need time to chill before baking). Pellegrinelli sets her readers up for success every step of the way, making this a great cookbook for beginning bakers who want to build fun holiday traditions with cookie baking, decorating, sharing, and gifting.
I love the breadth and creativity of these recipes, but I can’t help but wish there were more photos. The festive nature of these recipes call out for more photos, and I would have loved to see more pictures of decorating techniques and ideas. But that being said, the recipes are tempting, and I think anyone baking from The Easy Christmas Cookie Cookbook will make the holidays a big hit for their family and friends.
Egalleys for The Easy Christmas Cookie Cookbook were provided by Rockridge Press through the Callisto Media Publisher’s Club, with many thanks.
