I grew up with them, as many of you probably have, and when my wife and I first got married, I realized that they were one of her favorite holiday cookies. That is big news as many of my wife’s cousins bake up and amazing plate of cookies during the holiday season. I’m not kidding when I say this, but they probably have twenty different types of cookies, that they have baked, on a large holiday platter, that they typically deliver during the holiday season. So the Russian tea ball is one of my wife’s favorites? I can see why, as when you bite into these cookies, they are tender, have a bit of texture, and just a nice balance of sweetness. A cookie that just reminds you of the holiday season.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 1/4 cups of all purpose flour
• 3/4 cups of chopped walnuts

Begin by adding the butter, vanilla extract, and 1/2 cup of the powdered sugar to a mixing bowl. Mix well until it is nice an creamy. To another bowl, combine the salt and flour, and gradually add this to the butter mixture. When everything is combined, fold in the walnuts.

Roll these into about 1-2 inch balls, depending on your preference, and place on an ungreased baking sheet, in a preheated 350 degree oven,  for approximately 10 minutes. They should be firm, but not golden brown. Carefully remove them from the pan, let them cool down for  a few minutes, then with the remaining cup of powdered sugar, roll the balls to coat. Place them on a plate to let cool. Before you want to serve them, roll them in more sugar for an added holiday bonus.

Enjoy.

But there is a catch to the chocolate chip offering. I had to put something special in this blondie I was making. A surprise, if you will.

A traditional blondie is basically a brownie like bar, that focuses on the wonderful flavor of brown sugar, however, as I am, I have to put a little twist on the blondie, and add chips and nuts, to give it a bit more flavor and texture. Don’t get me wrong, a classic blondie is so terribly addicting, much like these chocolate chip blondies, and really simple to make, that your kids will be coming back for more, and more, and …

Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup of unsalted butter, melted
• 2 1/4 cups of light brown sugar, packed
• 3 whole eggs
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups of all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup of chocolate chip morsels
• 1/4 cup of chopped walnuts
• 1 tbsp butter

Begin by preheating your oven to 350 degrees. To a large mixing bowl, add the butter and brown sugar, and mix well until it is nice and creamy. Your mixer can be set on medium-low. Drop in one egg at a time, until it folds into the mixture, and repeat with the remaining eggs. Add in the vanilla extract.  Turn the mixer to low, and to another bowl, add in your dry ingredients, and mix with a fork.

Bring the mixer back to a medium-low speed, and slowly mix in your dry ingredients. Scrape down the sides, and mix well until everything is nicely incorporated. Now, slowly fold in the chocolate chips and the walnuts.

Take your one tablespoon of butter, and lightly grease a 9×13 baking dish. Pour the batter into the baking dish, and smooth it out so it is nice and even.

Place the dish into your oven, and cook for roughly 25-35 minutes, depending on your oven. You can check the blondie at about 25 minutes into it. I poke a knife or toothpick down the center to make sure it comes out clean. You will also notice the edges begin to pull away from the sides.

Once cooked, remove from the oven, take in the wonderful aroma, and then wait until it cools down; about 25 minutes or so. Cut them into bars, and enjoy.

Once my kids noticed the chocolate chips in and around the bars, they quickly asked for one. At first, my oldest, and probably the pickiest eater, asked “what is in here?”. I gave him the ingredient breakdown, and after I slowly said the word walnuts, he replied “these rock, can I have another!?”. The blondie was sold to the kids, nuts and all, but now I am curious if they never saw the chocolate chips in the bar, would they have ever wanted one?  Enjoy, and happy holidays.

So probably for the past five years or so, I began making different types of holiday cookies. Everything from bark, to mint something or another, to amaretto balls, but there is always one or two that stand out, and one of them is the thumbprint cookie filled with raspberry jam.

These cookies are really easy to make, and are packed with enough sugar and butter to keep your kids happy after every meal!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of granulated sugar
• 3 sticks of unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 tsp of pure vanilla extract
• 3 1/2 cup of sifted all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp of sea salt
• raspberry jam

Begin by adding the sugar and butter to your mixing bowl, and mix to cream it. Add in the vanilla extract then slowly add in the sifted flour and salt to form your dough. Once everything is incorporated, remove from the mixing bowl and combine it together to make a ball, then flatten it a bit. Take enough plastic wrap and wrap up the dough. Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Once you are ready to make the cookies, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and get your cookie tray out. Take a small amount of dough, roughly the size of a meatball or golf ball for that matter, and form it into a ball. Make an indention with your thumb into the center of the ball, and push down a bit, being careful not to split the dough. Shape as necessary.

Take a small spoonful of the jam and place in the indention. Repeat. Bake for 23-25 minutes until golden brown around the edges. When they are finished cooking, let them sit on the sheet for a few minutes before removing with a spatula. Let them cool for about 15 minutes before diving into them.

The dough alone is very amazing, however when you added the jam, it adds this great texture and flavor that keeps you going back to that plate of cookies. Hope you enjoy!

What is your favorite holiday cookie?

Ingredients:

• 2 egg whites, room temperature
• 1/2 cup of superfine sugar
• 1/8 tsp of cream of tartar
• 1/2 cup of M&Ms

Begin by add your egg whites to your mixer, or to a large bowl if you are using a hand mixer. Beat the egg whites on medium until they reach a stiff peak, roughly a few minutes. You will notice that the egg whites become frothy then begin to form some peaks. Once they are formed, add in the cream of tartar, then gradually add in the superfine sugar. You could use regular granulated sugar, however it will not dissolve as quickly, so using superfine is the way to go. Beat the egg whites and sugar until they form really stiff peaks. You will see. Lightly fold in the M&M’s.

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet, and lightly sprinkle flour on top of the baking sheet. Using a spoon, spoon a large tablespoon onto the baking sheet, separating each by about 2 inches.

Place in your oven, and cook for about 45 minutes. You probably notice the very low temperature on this one. The goal by cooking the meringue slowly is to remove any moisture from the meringue. The end result is an extremely light cookie that is crisp on the outside and airy and chocolaty on the inside. These meringue cookies did not last long and were gone within about one hour. A big winner in my house.

Lately, I broke. I couldn’t take the look anymore, and decided on something easy to make to keep them occupied until I was truly ready to bake. So, lets bring on the ever so easy and delicious shortbread Christmas cookie.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 2 1/2 cups of flour
• colored sugar (optional, but fun)

That’s it.

To your processor, add the butter and sugar and mix to a nice cream. Slowly add in your flour. Now keep in mind when you bring this together, it doesn’t really form a dough like you have in mind. You have to, in my opinion, work it with your hands a bit. My hands are always warm, which is probably helpful in this recipe, as they warm the butter and bring the dough together.

Get your cookie cutters ready and preheat your oven to 300 degrees. I used Christmas trees and some sort of snowman shape.

Lightly flour your surface, and take the dough and mold into a nice ball. Slice it in half and work with one half at a time. Lightly flour a rolling pin, and roll the dough out to about a 1/4 inch thickness. Then dip your cutters in flour and get to work. Carefully remove the excess dough, and place the cutouts onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Take the excess dough and repeat the process. Sprinkle the colored sugar on top of the cookies.

Bake in a 300 degree oven for roughly 20-30 minutes (depending on oven) until light golden brown. Remove and place on a wired rack.

Continue this process with the second half of the dough. These shortbread cookies come out sweet and flaky and are a sure hit, plus it buys me some time until I get the next look, probably two days. Enjoy, and Merry Christmas.