Oh-so-red and oh-so-delicious. I’ve already confessed to my passion about baking Brown Butter Cutout Cookies for Valentine’s Day (see With All My Heart). Now I’m admitting that red is my color of choice to decorate cookies for this holiday. But getting the right shade of red is not an easy feat because adding enough food coloring to get the red you want can sometimes negatively affect the taste of your cookie.
Since I didn’t have to clean my house for company this year, I baked up a storm and mailed a variety of cookies to those I love. These Raspberry-filled Christmas Sandwich Cookies were a big hit with everyone. The homemade raspberry jam filling was the perfect tart complement to the sweet, buttery cookie. Yum. Double yum.
Thanksgiving was a little bit unusual this year for us — as I’m sure it was for everyone else in the world. So the cookies had to be quirky, too. This little guy was the perfect addition to our dessert table, which also consisted of other new things like gingerbread pudding cake and chocolate mousse bars. No pie? Nope. Not this year. You see, the only kind of pie we all like is banana cream pie, which just didn’t seem like the right pie for the occasion. Enter this goofy-looking turkey cookie to save the day by providing a smile and a sugar rush.
Chocolate and Cinnamon? Absolutely! The combination of chocolate and warm autumn spices make an irresistible bite...and a surprising sandwich cookie. When I gave a plate of these Chocolate-Filled Pumpkin Cookies to a friend, she expected my tried-and-true vanilla bean cookie filled with dark chocolate ganache. She was pleasantly surprised by the cinnamon-sugar coating and the pumpkin spices in the cookie itself and how well these flavors complemented the chocolate. In between bites, she mused on whether she would share a few with her family or keep them all for herself.
Easter came even though we were hidden away. Easter came even though there were no hymns to celebrate its arrival. Easter came in spite of the mandate to keep our distance. And to bring joy to me and mine, I made cutout cookies by the dozens in shapes that remind me of life’s glory and abundance ... butterflies, eggs, bunnies, crosses, flowers, sheep, carrots (yes, carrots!). In spite of the craziness of our current situation, I sent out dozens of cheerful sugar cookies as sweet messengers of hope to those I love.
These Easter Egg Cookies may look all blinged-out but underneath the over-the-top embellishments lies a familiar classic: ye old chocolate chip cookie. There’s no rule that says only cutout sugar cookies can be decorated for Easter. Enter the humble, but well-loved, chocolate chip cookie — shaped like an Easter egg, covered with chocolate or royal icing and decorated to the hilt.
“Happiness is a plate of chocolate snowflakes... and someone you love to help you eat them.” Kasha
I’m fascinated (aka obsessed) with snowflake cutout cookies and this is a quick-and-easy way to decorate them when I have no time or have run out of “cookie decorating steam.” Yes, there are occasions when even I don’t want to spend all day decorating cookies. Sometimes I want (or need) to bake, decorate and package my cookies all on the same day.
“To appreciate the beauty of a snowflake it is necessary to stand out in the cold.” Aristotle
I love to make these shortbread angel cookies at Christmas time and give them to “my special people.” This year I made all kinds of shapes and sizes of angels, and it seemed so fitting because my “angels” come in all different shapes and sizes, too! You know who you are...you have an angel cookie to remind you that I treasure your friendship.
Throughout the year I love a dash of red here and there to add color to my cookies. But at Christmas time, red isn’t just an accent, it’s often the main attraction. These Brown Butter Red Christmas Ornament Cookies are the epitome of the Christmas holiday cookie...they’re red, they’re beautiful, and they’re yummy. The white and gold sugar crystal accents make each cookie look like a jewel. It’s impossible to ignore them.
