Holiday Season 2025

It’s a merry little Christmas celebrating our first holiday season with Annaliese!
We are wishing you and yours an abundance of love and laughter (and sleep LOL) as we roll into 2026!

❅

Merry everything and happy New Year!

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Baking Spirits Bright

2025 holiday cookies ♡

Fruit Thumbprint Cookies

    • 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour

    • ½ tsp baking powder

    • ½ tsp kosher salt

    • ¾ cup (1 1/12 sticks butter) softened

    • ½ cup granulated sugar

    • 1 large egg

    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

    • ⅓ cup assorted jams

    1. Preheat oven to 350 and line two baking sheets with parchment. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. 

    2. In another bowl, beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla, then add dry ingredients in two batches until incorporated. 

    3. Scoop 1” balls onto prepared baking sheets. Press a thumbprint into center of each ball, ½” deep. Fill with a small spoonful of jam. 

    4. Bake until edges of cookies are golden, 13 to 14 minutes. Cool on baking sheets before serving.

    NOTES

    • Keep thumbprints from cracking - This dough is firm, like a shortbread, so to make sure it doesn't crack, roll it into balls until smooth and firm, and then gently press your thumb in the center. The key word here is: gently.

    • You can use almond extract to replace vanilla, and refrigerate the dough for about 10 minutes to make it a little easier to handle. 

Chocolate Peppermint Thumbprints

    • 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

    • ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

    • ¾ tsp baking soda

    • ½ tsp kosher salt

    • 1 ¼ sticks (10 tablespoons) salted butter, softened

    • 1 cup sugar

    • 1 large egg

    • 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract

    • ¾ cup semisweet chocolate chips

    • 4 oz semi-sweet chocolate bar, finely chopped

    • 1/2 cup heavy cream

    • ⅛ tsp peppermint extract

    • ¼ cup crushed candy canes (2 Large candy canes)

    1. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl; set aside

    2. In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 min. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until combined.

    3. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture in two batches, beating until just combined after each addition. Mix in the chocolate chips.

    4. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop rounded tablespoonfuls of dough and roll into smooth round balls.Place 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.

    5. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or overnight

    6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the cookies until just set, 9 to 11 minutes (don’t overbake!) Let cool slightly, then press the handle of a wooden spoon into the center of each cookie to make a small indentation.

    7. Remove the cookies to a rack to cool completely

    8. Melt the milk chocolate in the microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring. Spoon about ½ teaspoon melted chocolate into the center of each cookie and top with crushed peppermints.Let set.

    Other tip:

    I added a little espresso powder and used Kahlua instead of vanilla. They’re very rich so I used a smaller cookie scoop.

Cranberry Spritz Cookies

    • ½ cup butter softened

    • ½ cup butter flavored shortening (crisco)

    • ½ cup sugar

    • ¼ cup cranberry gelatin powder (about 4 ounces)

    • 1 large egg room temp

    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

    • 2 cups all purpose flour

    • ½ teaspoon baking powder

    • ¼ teaspoon salt

    • Colored course sugar (optional)

    1. Preheat oven to 375

    2. In a large bowl, cream butter, shortening, sugar and gelatin until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes

    3. Beat in egg and vanilla

    4. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well 

    5. Using a cookie press fitted with the disk of your choice, press dough 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets

    6. If desired, sprinkle with coarse sugar

    7. Bake until set (do not brown) 6-8 minutes

    8. Remove to wire racks to cool completely

Oreo Rum Balls

    • 1 tsp instant coffee granules

    • ⅓ cup dark rum, warmed

    • 4 oz cream cheese, softened

    • 1 cup confection sugar

    • 1 cup ground almonds

    • 3 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted

    • 8 oreo cookies finely crushed

    1. Dissolve coffee granules in warm rum. Beat cream cheese, sugar, almonds and rum mixture until blended. Stir in melted chocolate. Refrigerate until firm enough to roll about 1 hour.

    2. Shape mixture into 1in balls; roll in crushed cookies. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator, separating layers with waxed paper

Fruitcake Cookies

    • ½ pound dried figs

    • ¼ pound raisins

    • 2 oz candied cherries, coarsely chopped

    • 2 oz dried apricots, coarsely chopped

    • 1 Tbsp honey

    • 2 Tbsp dry sherry

    • 1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

    • 6 oz chopped pecans

    • Salt

    • ½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temp

    • ½ teaspoon ground cloves

    • ½ cup superfine sugar

    • ⅓ cup light brown sugar, firmly packed

    • 1 extra large egg

    • 2 ⅔ cup flour

    1. Snip off the hard stems of the figs with scissors or a small knife and coarsely chop the figs. In a medium bowl, combine the figs, raisins, cherries, apricots, honey, sherry, lemon juice, pecans and a pinch of salt. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit overnight at room temp.

    2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, cloves, superfine sugar, and brown sugar on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the egg and mix until incorporated. With the mixer still on low, slowly add the flour and ¼ teaspoon salt just until combined. Don’t over mix! Add the fruits and nuts, including any liquid in the bowl.

    3. Divide the dough in half and place each half on the long edge of a 12x18 piece of parchment or waxed paper. Roll each half into a log, 1 ½ to 1 ¾ inch thick, making an 18-inch long roll. Refrigerate the dough for several hours, or until firm. 

    4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

    5. With a small sharp knife cut the logs into ½ inch thick slices. Place the slices ½ inch apart on ungreased sheet pans and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until lightly golden

Rainbow Cookies

    • Cooking spray

    • 8 oz almond paste

    • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened (2 sticks)

    • 1 cup sugar

    • 4 large eggs, separated

    • 2 cups flour

    • 20 drops red food coloring

    • 12 drops green food coloring

    • ¼ cup seedless raspberry jam

    • ¼ cup apricot preserves

    • 6 oz dark chocolate chips

    1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat 3 quarter-sheet pans with cooking spray. Line each pan with parchment paper and coat the paper with cooking spray as well. 

    2. Place the almond paste in the bowl of a stand mixer. Break it up into small pieces with a fork. Use the paddle attachment and add the butter and sugar to the bowl. Beat the mixture on high speed until light and fluffy, about 7 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium, add the egg yolks, and beat until incorporated. Turn the mixer off and stir in the flour with a wooden spoon until well combined. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl. 

    3. Clean the mixer bowl thoroughly and use the whisk attachment. Beat the egg whites on high speed until stiff peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the batter until thoroughly blended.

    4. Transfer 1 ½ cups of the batter to a medium bowl. Add the red food coloring to one of the bowls and stir until the batter is tinted throughout. Add the green food coloring to the second bowl and stir until the batter is tinted throughout. Scrape each of the three batters into one of the prepared pans, using the spatula to spread the batter to the edges. Bake, rotating and switching the positions of the pans halfway through, until the edges are golden, 12 to 14 minutes. Let cool in the pans for about 5 minutes then invert onto cooling racks and allow to cool completely.

    5. To assemble, place the green layer on a large cutting board or a large inverted baking sheet lined with wax paper. Spread the raspberry jam evenly over the top. Place the yellow layer on top and spread with the apricot reserves. If there are large chunks of apricots, remove and chop them up to make them more spreadable. Top with the red layer. Cover with plastic wrap and place a heavy cutting board on top to weigh it down. Refrigerate overnight.

    6. Place the chocolate chips in a microwaveable bowl and melt in the microwavable on low power about 2 minutes. Spread the chocolate on top of the cooled cake and let dry slightly. Trim the rim of the cake with a serrated knife to make clean edges. Cut the cake crosswise into twelve 1-inch wide strips then cut lengthwise into 1 ¼ inch strips. The cookies will keep covered up to 1 week. 

Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays