Ryan and I are also really excited to be back in the US for an extended period of time. We’ve been making a list (and checking it twice) of all the American foods we want to eat – and most of them are pretty unhealthy. We want a cheeseburger, a bagel with cream cheese, a Philly cheese steak, a thick turkey club sandwich, and a chicken biscuit fast food breakfast sandwich. And as I’ve already mentioned, I can’t wait for refillable ice water.

Food is a big part of the holidays – although not usually including foods from our wish list. Still, cooking and sharing meals together is an important part of the holidays. I hope by this point you’ve got your Christmas dinner sorted, but maybe you still need some cookie recipes. Everyone bakes during the holidays therefore why not whip up an old favorite or try out a crazy new cookie? So, my gift to you is a Christmas Eve Cookie Round Up! Here’s a round up of 10 cookie recipes previously posted on Cooking is Messy. I hope you find something new, fun, and delicious! Happy baking and happy holidays!

1. Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies – So easy, only needs a few ingredients, and perfect for a gluten-free guest.
2. Brown Sugar Spice Cookies – A slightly different, but wonderful, take on classic sugar cookies. Perfect for using with your favorite cookie cutters.
3. Popcorn Cookies – Totally unusual cookies that are delightful tasting; adapted from a Smitten Kitchen recipe.
4. Sugar Cookies – The classic Christmas cookie, perfect for rolling out and turning into your favorite Christmas shapes.
5. Jam Thumbprint Cookies – If there was a cookie to have with breakfast, this is it. It’s light, buttery, and fruity.
6. Confetti Cookies – A bit of a challenging recipe from Momofuku Milk Bar’s Christina Tosi. The effort is worth it, the cookies are beautiful and have a nice snicker doodle quality.
7. Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies with Cranberries and Chocolate Chip – These cookies are hearty and have some really nice holiday flavors.
8. Gluten Free Chocolate Chip and Reese’s Pieces Cookies – Everyone loves chocolate chip cookies and this recipe will satisfy all your guests.
9. Bullseye Cookies – A mix of two classic Christmas cookies: gingerbread and sugar cookies. Together, they make lovely looking bullseye cookies.
10. Grapefruit Sandwich Cookies – Grapefruit might seem out of place during the holidays, but substitute in oranges and you’ve got a light citrus holiday cookie.

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Do you know what a sugar plum is? And if you do know what it is, have you ever had one? My knowledge of sugar plums totals two things. First, from ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, I know that children have “visions of sugar plums dance in their heads,” when they go to sleep. And second, in the Nutcracker ballet there is a dance called The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy. I know literally nothing else about sugar plums, but then last week Ryan and I received a jar of sugar plum jam as a Christmas present and I decided to do some research. I also decided to use that jam to make thumbprint cookies. 

First, I went to Wikipedia and the article was a little confusing.  Then I found this article from The Atlantic. And what I gathered is that traditionally sugar plums have no actual plums in them! Sugar plums where a type of candy – and possibly difficult to make, special, and expensive. The article speculates on reasons why it’s called a sugar “plum” but comes to no definitive conclusion. Alas. But, my jam does have real plums in it so obviously time changes things. The jam also has orange and lemon juices and “spices.” The ingredients list doesn’t specify the spices, but it tastes like your usual holiday suspects – cinnamon and nutmeg.

If you haven’t tried sugar plum jam, I recommend it. It’s sweet and just the slightest bit tart in a way that reminds me of cranberry sauce. It’s lovely. I wouldn’t put it on a pb&j, but I’d use the jam on toast or baked on top of a wheel of brie. It also goes really well on this very buttery thumbprint cookie. The heavier rich flavor of the jam is a good complement to the soft and flaky cookie. It’s so nice – but feel free to use whatever jam you have. We also used some raspberry jam and that was really good too.

I think these are good sharing cookies. They are easy to make, look nice even when a little bit messy, and they taste delightful. Plus it’s so easy, make the dough, make a ball, flatten with your thumb, plop some jam on, and bake.

The recipe for the cookies comes from FoodNetwork.com

Messy level: Two spoons. This is your basic drop cookies where you need just two bowls and a baking sheet to complete this recipe. If you get crazy with the jam you might get some drips and spills, but in this case I think it adds to the cookies’ charm and can’t be counted as a real mess.

Thumbprint Cookies

 

Print

Serves: 2.5 dozen

Ingredients

• 1¾ cups/ 224 grams all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup/ 171 grams unsalted butter, softened
• ⅔ cup/ 134 grams caster sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• sugar plum jam, or jam of your choice

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350/180°.
2. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. Using a stand mixer, or a handheld mixer with a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. This takes about 5 minutes.
5. Add half the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Mix until mostly incorporated. Then add the second half of the flour mixture and mix until just incorporated.
6. Using your hands, or an ice cream scoop, make 1 inches balls of dough.
7. Place the balls of dough 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. These cookies spread A LOT!!
8. Use your thumb, or the back of a spoon, to make an indentation in the center of the cookies.
9. Spoon a dollop of jam into the indentation you just made. I didn't measure the amount of jam I used but think somewhere between ½-3/4 teaspoon.
10. Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until the edges are just golden. Turn the baking sheet halfway through baking to ensure the cookies come out baked evenly.
11. Let them cool then eat with a cup of tea.

3.2.2925

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