Making cookies with my family or making cookies for Christmas day is definitely my favorite activity of the holiday season. With Christmas coming up, these recipes are sure to impress, whether it be family and friends, or if you are quarantining for the holidays, even your pets! (I’m joking please don’t feed these to your pets). These three cookie recipes are very flexible and if you need to substitute, or leave out extra ingredients, the cookies will still taste wonderful.

These three recipes are some of my favorites, and now they are all compiled here for your enjoyment! Baking can be pretty much whatever you make it, whether it be a meditative time in the kitchen alone or absolute chaos burning the house down. Baking really is much simpler than people make it out to be, and these recipes are very flexible for any skill level chef who may dare to bake these.

Chai Tea Cookies

At first glance, this recipe may seem a little strange, especially the addition of black pepper into the recipe, but it definitely tastes good! The addition of black pepper doesn’t add any spice to the cookie, or any flavor, but merely a touch of brightness which balances out all of the heavy warm spices in the spice mix. These cookies are very reminiscent of gingerbread and snickerdoodles, but have just a touch of extra spice and a little funky, deep, rich notes which create a wonderful cookie.

Recipe

Serving Size: 2 dozen

Recipe Time: 30 min

Ingredients

• 3 cups Flour
• 1 ½ tsp Baking soda
• ½ tsp Salt
• 1 ½ cup White sugar
• 2 ½ tsp Ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp Ground ginger
• 1 tsp Ground cardamom
• 1 tsp Ground cloves
• ½ tsp Ground nutmeg
• ¼ tsp Black pepper
• 2 sticks, or 1 cup Unsalted butter, softened
• 1 Egg
• 1tsp Vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Prepare Baking Sheet by spraying with non-stick spray.
2. In a bowl, mix together Flour, Salt, and Baking Soda.
3. In another bowl mix together Sugar, Cinnamon, Ginger, Cloves, Cardamom, Nutmeg, and Black Pepper. Set aside ¼ of mixture to sprinkle on dough before baking.
4. Add butter and mix together for 3 minutes until fully incorporated.
5. Add egg, vanilla, and mix until just combined. Slowly add dry mixture into wet mixture while mixing, until fully incorporated.
6. Either scoop dough into whatever size cookies you prefer and roll in the reserved spiced sugar mixture, or roll out dough into a slab, cut with cookie cutters into Christmas shapes, and dip in reserved spiced sugar mixture.
7. Bake for 8-10 minutes, and let rest until cool.

Amish Cookies (Better Sugar Cookies)

First, let’s set one thing straight, why are these called Amish cookies? Honestly, I have no idea, but these cookies are sure to be well enjoyed by almost anyone. These cookies are pretty similar to sugar cookies, but with a lighter texture that almost reminds me of shortbread. These cookies are super buttery, sugary, and super basic for any twelve-year-old boy or girl on Christmas day who doesn’t like all the extra flavor. The cookie pretty much is one to one for almost any step, so these are super easy and definitely my go-to when it comes to making cookies for anything.

Recipe

Serving Size: 3 dozen

Recipe Time: 15 min

Ingredients

• 4 ¾ cup Flour
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp Cream of Tatar
• 1 cup Unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup Vegetable oil
• 1 cup White sugar
• ¾ cup Powdered sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract
• Optional: ½ tsp Almond extract

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Prepare Baking Sheet by spraying with non-stick spray.
2. In a bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda, and cream of tatar.
3. In another bowl, mix together softened butter, oil, white sugar, and powdered sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
4. Add eggs, vanilla, and optional almond extract, and mix until just combined.
5. Slowly incorporate dry mixture until fully incorporated and scoop out onto a baking sheet
6. Bake for 7-8 minutes and let rest.

Chocolate Crumble Cookies

Imagine chocolate chip cookies, but mixed with brownies. These cookies have it all! They are a very simple chocolate chip recipe, but with the addition of cocoa powder, it adds a touch of bitterness which perfectly balances and counteracts the sweetness. Rolling them in powdered sugar is recommended because the dough includes less sugar. If you skip the powdered sugar decoration, add ½ cup of sugar to cookie dough.

Recipe

Serving Size: 3 dozen

Recipe Time: 30 min

Ingredients

• 2 cups Flour
• ⅔ cup Cocoa powder
• ¾ tsp Baking soda
• ¼ tsp Salt
• ¾ tsp Ground coffee
• 1 cup Butter, softened
• 1 cup White sugar
• 1 tbsp Vanilla
• 2 Eggs
• 2 cups Chocolate chips
• 1 cup Powdered sugar

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Prepare baking sheet by spraying with non-stick spray.
2. In a bowl, mix together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and ground coffee.
3. In another bowl, add 1 cup softened butter, and 1 cup white sugar, and mix until fully incorporated(about 3 minutes).
4. Add eggs, and vanilla, and mix until just combined.
5. Slowly add in dry mixture while mixing until dough is fully incorporated. Add chocolate chips and fold in until combined.
6. Bake for 8-10 minutes, and let cool for 2 minutes.
7. Take the cookie, and dip in powdered sugar to add a snow-covered effect to the cookie. (You can skip this step, but it adds a lot to the original cookie recipe)