Merry Christmas, y’all!
When one of my sweetest friends, Sarah suggested we do a kids’ cookie decorating party for the holidays, there was no question that the event needed to be hosted at my house. After all, who else has drawers of sprinkles, cookie cutters for days, and loads of baking gizmos for any occasion? Having the “gear” is always helpful, however when baking with kids, there is one thing you must always have on hand…. patience. Patience with the house, patience with the kids, and patience for yourself. Once your mentally prepared for baking with little ones, you can deck the halls, even the walls, and certainly the kitchen floor with a mess, without losing your jingle bells along the way.
Fast forward a weekend, and I had 9 adults and 14 children laughing and decorating cookies in my kitchen. And while this level of disarray sounds understandably stressful, we ended up having such a fun time. The kids decorated cookies, the moms hung out and talked, and the dads lurked around closely, waiting for more toasty batches of cookies to come out of the oven.
With the easy recipes below, along with a dash of patience, you can bake the best holiday memories with the kiddos in your house this holiday season!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays,
Emily
For this party I baked the following cookies:
Chocolate Chip
Pink and white sugar cookie swirls
Chocolate, butterscotch, crunch cookies
For the decorations I used the following:
Royal Icing
Buttercream icing
Wilton, Celebakes, and Betty Crocker Sprinkles
“Reindeer Noses” and other Christmas decorations from Tom and Sally’s
Recipes:
Classic gingerbread cookie recipe that is perfect for cut out cookies or gingerbread house construction.
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/3 cup molasses
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 2 tsp ground cloves
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tbs water (if needed)
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In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together sugar and butter. Add remaining ingredients and gently combine.
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Dump dough out onto a floured surface. Gently knead into a ball and cover with parchment paper or foil.
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Place in the refrigerator and let chill for 20 minutes to one hour.
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
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Place parchment paper on a cookie sheet or grease with cooking spray.
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Remove dough from refrigerator and roll out cold dough with a floured rolling pin. Cut into shapes and place on cookie sheet.
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Bake for 10-12 minutes and allow to fully cool on a baking rack or cookie sheet before decorating.
Easy chocolate chip cookies that are hard to beat!
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips reserve 3/4 cup for topping cookie dough balls
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place parchment paper on a cookie sheet or grease with cooking spray.
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In the bowl of a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, cream together the sugars and softened butter on medium speed.
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Slow the mixer to low speed and add the eggs and vanilla extract.
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Add in the flour, salt, and baking soda and mix on low until combined.
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Add in the chocolate chips and combine.
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Using an ice cream scooper or tablespoon, scoop the dough into your hands and roll into a ball. Place dough balls onto the cookie sheet about an inch and a half apart, and continue until the cookie sheet is covered.
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Use your reserve of extra chocolate chips to cover the outsides of the cookie dough balls.
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Bake for 10 minutes.
Pink and white sugar cookie dough swirled together for a simply delightful party cookie.
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp milk
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
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Place parchment paper on a cookie sheet or grease with cooking spray.
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In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the sugar and butte.
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Slowly add in remaining ingredients (except the food coloring) and combine.
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Dump your cookie dough out onto a clean, floured surface. Break the dough in half. Gently knead one half of the dough into a ball, wrap in parchment paper or foil, and place in the refrigerator.
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Place 3-4 drops of pink or red food coloring onto the remaining dough. Gently knead the dough until the ball of dough is pink. Wrap in parchment paper or foil and place in the refrigerator.
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Remove the "white" dough from the fridge and roll out into a large oval with a floured rolling pin. Set aside. Repeat with the pink dough.
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Gently place the rolled out pink dough on top of the rolled out white dough. Roll together into a cylinder shape and cut into circles.
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Place the circle/pinwheels of dough on cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes.
- 1 cup room temperature butter
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp milk
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Combine sugar and butter.
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Add eggs and combine.
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Stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the mixture and combine.
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Add vanilla and milk.
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Place the cookie dough on wax paper and let sit in the refrigerator for a minimum of one hour.
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Once chilled, roll out onto a floured surface and cut into shapes.
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
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Place on a parchment paper covered cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes or until slightly golden brown.
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Once cooled, decorate with royal icing or glaze.
Chocolate chip cookies with butterscotch chips and a crunchy twist.
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup butterscotch chips
- 3/4 cup Original Life cereal, crushed
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
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Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper or grease with cooking spray.
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In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the sugars and softened butter.
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Add the egg and vanilla extract and slowly combine.
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Add the flour, salt, and baking soda, and combine on low speed.
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Add chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and crushed cereal. Mix on low until combined.
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Using an ice cream scoop or tablespoon, scoop out cookie dough and roll into a ball. Place onto a cookie sheet, spacing the dough balls about an inch and a half apart.
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Bake for 10-12 minutes.
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