22 tried-and-true recipes for Christmas cookies, plus lots of tricks, tips and tutorials. Get inspired!

Christmas is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful times of the year.

But before the whole family sits down at the Christmas dinner table, quite hectic weeks precede it.

Finding gifts, pre-Christmas cleaning, decorating the tree and also baking traditional Christmas goodies.

Make this year’s preparations easier and be inspired by our diverse recipes for Christmas cookies.

Nut, vanilla, chocolate, Line, coconut and gingerbread.

In addition, we also bring you some advice and tips for the individual stages of baking, including the often dreaded decorating.

Try it and enjoy not only the Christmas holidays, but also the waiting for them.

Christmas nuts with cocoa cream

Nuts are one of the most popular types of Christmas pastries in Czech households. Try our variant with delicious cocoa cream.

Ingredients:

• 600 g plain flour
• 250 g of butter
• 100 g of powdered sugar
• 4 eggs
• 10 g of baking powder

Cream

• 200 g of butter
• 200 g of sugar
• 200 g ground walnuts
• 2 Tbsp cocoa
• broken or failed pieces of candy
• a few drops of rum essence

Method:

1. Beat softened butter with icing sugar.
2. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix until fully incorporated.
3. Add salt and baking powder to the flour and add spoonfuls to the wet ingredients.
4. Work it into a dough, then wrap it in cling film and put it in the fridge for two hours.
5. Fill the nut molds with a small amount of dough.
6. Bake the nuts in a preheated oven until golden.
7. Then knock out the nuts and let them cool.
8. In the meantime, prepare the cream.
9. Beat the butter with the sugar to a creamy consistency.
10. Stir in cocoa and rum essence.
11. Add the nuts, pieces of candy and mix into the cream.
12. Subsequently, use the cream to glue the nuts together.
13. You can sprinkle the nut cookies with a small amount of powdered sugar before serving.

Drunk Christmas cookies with eggnog

Simple and very interesting in taste, for which you also need hard candies in addition to egg cognac.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups plain flour
• 2/3 cup butter
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1/4 cup eggnog
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup crushed hard candies, such as bon pari
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Glaze

• 3 cups powdered sugar
• eggnog

Method:

1. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg in a bowl.
2. In another bowl, beat the butter with the sugar until light and creamy.
3. Add the mixture to the flour mixture and mix until combined.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and eggnog.
5. Add all at once to the flour mixture to form a dough.
6. Cover the bowl with cling film and put it in the fridge for 2 hours.
7. Roll out the cooled dough into a sheet approximately half a centimeter thick.
8. Using the cutters you use for liners, cut out the desired shapes.
9. Place the Christmas cookies on trays lined with baking paper.
10. Fill the center of each cookie with a few pieces of hard candy that you have crushed with a blender.
11. Bake in an oven preheated to 170°C for approximately 12-15 minutes.
12. While the Christmas cookies are cooling, prepare the frosting.
13. Mix the powdered sugar with a small amount of egg cognac and mix to the desired consistency.
14. Decorate with a baking paper cone.

Tricolor Liners candy

Do you use only one type of marmalade to glue Linnaeus pastries? You are needlessly depriving yourself of a variety of flavors and colors! Get inspired by our recipe!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups plain flour
• 2/3 cup butter
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• zest of 1 lemon
• different types of marmalade, for example currant, raspberry, apricot or orange
• powdered sugar for sprinkling

Method:

1. Mix sifted plain flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a bowl.
2. Using a mixer, beat the butter with the sugar.
3. Add eggs and vanilla extract.
4. Gradually stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture and mix thoroughly until the dough comes together.
5. Divide the resulting dough in half and wrap both parts in cling film.
6. Then store them in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
7. Preheat the oven to 180°C and line the trays with baking paper.
8. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin to a thickness of approximately 3 millimeters.
9. Use cookie cutters to cut various candy shapes.
10. Proceed in the same way with the second half of the dough, use cutters with decorative centers for the top part of the Line candy.
11. Bake the trays with Linze sugar in the preheated oven for about 7-8 minutes until golden.
12. After it has cooled, cover the Linné using various types of marmalade.
13. Finally, sprinkle this Christmas cookie with jam with a small amount of icing sugar.

Simple machine Christmas cookies with vanilla and cocoa

These Christmas cookies can be made in many different shapes, it just depends on which attachment you put in the machine. There are no limits to imagination!

Ingredients:

• 3 and 1/2 cups plain flour
• 1 and 1/2 cups butter
• 1 cup of sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• toppings, sprinkles

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 175°C and line the trays with baking paper.
2. Beat butter with sugar in a mixer.
3. Add eggs and vanilla extract. Mix until everything is well combined.
4. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, cocoa powder and salt.
5. Slowly add the flour mixture to the bowl until a dough forms.
6. Use the machine to press out the individual cookie shapes on the baking sheet.
7. Bake for approximately 8-10 minutes.
8. Decorate with icing or sprinkles as needed.

Fragrant vanilla rolls

Mostly, this popular vanilla pastry is made from ground nuts. Try our variant with almonds, you will see that the rolls will be even softer and more delicious.

Ingredients:

• 300 g ground almonds
• 300 g plain flour
• 300 g of butter
• 140 g of sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• 3 bags of vanilla sugar
• pinch of salt

For wrapping

• 100 g of powdered sugar
• 2 bags of vanilla sugar

Method:

1. Mix two thirds of the amount of flour with both types of sugar, salt and egg yolk.
2. Add the butter and ground almonds, using a food processor, blend to form a smooth dough.
3. Finally, add the remaining flour by hand.
4. Work into a dough that you divide into four parts.
5. Wrap each portion in foil and refrigerate overnight.
6. The next day, remove the first part and shape the rolls by hand.
7. Place the vanilla rolls on a baking sheet lined with baking paper.
8. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
9. Bake for approximately 10-12 minutes until golden, depending on the size of the rolls.
10. Roll the still warm vanilla rolls in a mixture of powdered sugar and vanilla and leave to cool.

Unbaked cookies from nuts, almonds, seeds and coconut

Simple, quick and healthy cookies that will give you energy for Christmas fun.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 1 and 1/4 cup mixed nuts, almonds and pumpkin seeds
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/3 cup almond butter
• 3 tbsp dried cranberries
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons of maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder
• pinch of salt

Method:

1. Finely blend all the dry ingredients in a food processor.
2. Add the coconut oil, almond butter, maple syrup and vanilla extract.
3. Mix again until everything is well combined.
4. The result should be a sticky mixture.
5. Taste and add more maple syrup or salt if necessary.
6. Line the tray with baking paper.
7. Use a tablespoon, a small scoop, or your hands to create these no-bake Christmas cookies.
8. If desired, sprinkle with Christmas sprinkles or coconut.
9. Allow to freeze for 15-20 minutes before serving.

The best honey gingerbread

A simple recipe with which you don’t have to worry about your gingerbread not being fragrant and soft enough.

Ingredients:

• 5 cups plain flour
• 1 cup of honey
• 1 cup of butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of salt
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 4 teaspoons of ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves

Method:

1. Sift the flour, salt, baking soda and spices in a bowl.
2. Beat the butter and powdered sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy.
3. Beat in the eggs one at a time, followed by the liquid honey.
4. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture until well combined.
5. Divide the dough into thirds and wrap each in cling film.
6. Put in the fridge for an hour.
7. Preheat the oven to 170°C.
8. Roll out the first third of the dough to a thickness of approximately half a centimeter and use cutters to cut out the desired gingerbread shapes.
9. Place the cut Christmas cookies on trays lined with baking paper.
10. Do the same with the rest of the dough.
11. Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 12-15 minutes, depending on the size of the gingerbread.
12. After the honey gingerbread has cooled, decorate with icing.

Raw vegan Christmas cookies

Even those who have special requirements for sweets do not have to give up Christmas treats. This recipe contains no flour, no milk, no eggs, and it’s no-bake.

Ingredients:

• 80 g of dried apples
• 40 g ground hazelnuts
• 2 teaspoons of cinnamon
• a few PL of water

Glaze

• 6 tablespoons of coconut butter
• 1 tbsp agave syrup
• 5 tbsp of water

Method:

1. Blend the pieces of dried apples in a food processor and then transfer to a bowl.
2. Stir in ground hazelnuts and cinnamon.
3. Carefully add water, stirring constantly, until you get a dough. Very little water is enough.
4. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin and cut out the desired shapes with a cutter.
5. For the frosting, mix liquid coconut butter with agave syrup and water and spread the mixture over each raw vegan cookie.

Christmas coconut snowmen

Coconut candy doesn’t always have to be in the form of the popular unbaked Rafaelo balls. These Christmas cookies in the shape of a snowman will easily convince you of that.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups plain flour
• 1 cup coconut flour
• 1 cup of butter
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt

Icing and decorating

• 1/2 cup butter
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 2-3 tablespoons of milk
• 1 and 1/2 cups shredded coconut
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips
• sprinkles

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C. Line a tray with baking paper and set aside.
2. Beat the butter and sugar in a mixer.
3. Add the eggs and continue mixing until combined.
4. Change the mixer speed to low and add the baking powder, salt and flour.
5. Mix until the dough comes together.
6. Divide the resulting dough in half and roll it out on a floured work surface to a thickness of approximately half a centimeter.
7. Using a large round or snowman cookie cutter, cut out the coconut candy.
8. Bake for 8-10 minutes until golden.
9. While the cookies are cooling, prepare the frosting.
10. Beat the butter in a mixer to a creamy consistency.
11. Turn the mixer to the lowest setting and add the powdered sugar and two tablespoons of milk.
12. Blend for 1-2 minutes until creamy, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
13. If you want a creamier frosting, add another tablespoon of milk.
14. Spread the frosting on each piece of candy.
15. Pour the coconut onto the plate and wrap the Christmas cookies in it, pressing while wrapping so that the coconut sticks to the icing.
16. Then decorate the coconut snowmen with chocolate chips and sprinkles.

Healthy cookies with oatmeal

A simple recipe for very tasty oatmeal Christmas cookies. To cut out, you can use the same cutters as for gingerbread.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 2 and 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 6 tablespoons of butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon of ginger
• cinnamon sugar for sprinkling

Method:

1. Beat butter and sugar in a bowl, add eggs, vanilla, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and ginger and beat until smooth.
2. Stir in the flour and oatmeal.
3. Work into a dough that you divide into two parts and wrap in food foil.
4. Place the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 170°C and line the trays with baking paper.
6. Roll out the cooled dough with a rolling pin and cut out any shapes using cutters.
7. Bake for 8-10 minutes depending on the size of the cookies.
8. Remove the Christmas cookies from the oven and while they are still warm, sprinkle them with cinnamon sugar.

Irresistible balls made of real chocolate

Can’t resist a piece of good chocolate? In that case, you certainly won’t be able to resist this unique delicacy, where chocolate is almost the only ingredient.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 200 g of chopped dark chocolate
• 1 and 1/2 tbsp rum

Glaze

• 170 g of chopped dark chocolate
• 1 Tbsp coconut oil
• sprinkles

Method:

1. Add the chopped chocolate to a heatproof bowl and set aside.
2. Pour the cream into a saucepan and heat over a low flame.
3. When steam begins to rise from the surface, remove the whipped cream from the heat and pour it over the chopped chocolate.
4. Let stand for a few minutes, then stir well until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth and shiny.
5. Once the chocolate is melted and smooth, add the rum and stir until well combined.
6. Place cling film over the bowl and refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours or preferably overnight.
7. Line a tray or tray with baking paper and set aside.
8. Take the chocolate mixture out of the fridge and use a spoon to scoop a small amount and quickly form it into a ball before the mixture starts to soften.
9. Place the ball on the lined tray and repeat with the remaining mixture.
10. Place the tray in the refrigerator to set the balls.
11. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate and coconut oil for the glaze in a water bath.
12. Then dip the individual balls into the glaze using a stick or skewer needle.
13. Place the wrapped balls back on the tray or tray.
14. Let it harden again in the fridge.

Snow meringues in the shape of trees

A simple and visually very original candy. If you want, you can use a few drops of food coloring to give the trees a fresh green color.

Ingredients:

• 4 egg whites
• 1 cup granulated or powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• sprinkles

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 100°C and line the trays with baking paper.
2. Use a mixer to whip the egg whites until stiff.
3. Gradually add sugar while whisking.
4. When the snow is almost done, add the vanilla extract.
5. Place the resulting mixture in a piping bag with a star tip.
6. Press individual snow cookies onto the baking sheets.
7. Sprinkle with multi-colored sprinkles before placing in the oven.
8. Bake this Christmas cookie in the preheated oven for approximately 90 minutes.

Christmas cookies without sugar

Sugar can be replaced in Christmas pastries with a variety of ingredients, one of which is certainly stevia.

Ingredients:

• 1 and 1/2 cups plain flour
• 2 and 1/2 cups almond flour
• 1 cup stevia
• 1 cup of butter
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt

Method:

1. Using a mixer, beat the butter with stevia into a fluffy cream.
2. Stir in the egg and vanilla.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together the flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
4. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter and stevia mixture.
5. Beat well after each addition.
6. Divide the dough into two parts and put them wrapped in cling film in the fridge for 30 minutes.
7. Preheat the oven to 170°C.
8. Roll out the cooled dough to a thickness of approximately half a centimeter and cut out using cutters.
9. Place the Christmas cookies on a baking sheet lined with baking paper.
10. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
11. Allow the sugar-free cookies to cool completely, then decorate as desired.

Soft almond rolls

Vanilla rolls are a classic of Czech Christmas, but this recipe will easily convince you that replacing nuts with almonds is a very good idea.

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup slivered and toasted almonds
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 cup of butter
• 1 and 2/3 cups plain flour
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar for coating

Method:

1. Place the almonds and sugar in a food processor and process until the almonds are finely ground.
2. Cut the cold butter into small pieces and add to the food processor.
3. Process until the mixture resembles coarse flour.
4. Add the sifted flour and salt, process until a dough forms.
5. Wrap the dough in cling film, put in the freezer for 30 minutes and then in the fridge for 30 minutes.
6. Preheat the oven to 160°C.
7. Divide the dough into four parts and work with each part separately, leave the rest of the dough in the refrigerator to keep it cold.
8. Then break off small pieces of dough and shape them into the shape of a roll or half moon.
9. Place on a baking sheet lined with baking paper and gradually process all the dough in this way.
10. Bake for approximately 12-15 minutes until golden.
11. Roll the still warm Christmas cookies in icing sugar.

Glued cocoa candy

Are you one of those who have a weakness not only for cocoa, but also for chocolate? In that case, this recipe is just for you!

Ingredients:

• 1 and 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 and 1/2 cups plain flour
• 1 cup of butter
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup melted dark chocolate
• 2 Pl milk
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt

Filling

• 3/4 cup melted dark chocolate
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 100 g of cottage cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp of milk

Method:

1. Place the butter and both sugars in a blender. Beat until creamy.
2. Add cocoa powder, melted chocolate, baking powder and salt.
3. Mix until thoroughly combined.
4. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then mix in the milk and vanilla extract.
5. At the end, add flour and work into a dough.
6. Divide the dough into two parts and wrap each separately in cling film.
7. Place in the fridge and chill for at least an hour.
8. Preheat the oven to 170°C and line two trays with baking paper.
9. Dust the work surface with flour and roll out the first part of the dough with a rolling pin into a sheet approximately 3 mm thick.
10. Cut out the desired shapes with a cookie cutter and place on a baking sheet.
11. Process the other half of the dough in the same way, but use a line cutter with an empty center.
12. Bake the Christmas cookies for 7-8 minutes.
13. While the cocoa cookies are cooling, prepare the filling.
14. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the melted chocolate, cottage cheese, icing sugar, vanilla extract and milk. Blend until the filling comes together and reaches a creamy consistency.
15. Then glue the candy with the resulting filling.

Excellent wasp nests

Traditional unbaked Christmas pastry, which is loved especially by the male part of the family.

Ingredients:

• 500 g crushed sponge cake
• 200 g of powdered sugar
• 200 g of butter
• 6 tablespoons of milk
• 6 tablespoons of rum
• 3 Tbsp cocoa
• 1 packet of biscuits for the bottom of the wasps’ nests

Filling

• 200 g of powdered sugar
• 200 g of butter
• 3 egg yolks
• 3 drops of rum penalty

Method

1. Using a kitchen mixer, prepare a dough from the crushed biscuits, sugar, butter, milk, rum and cocoa.
2. Beat the ingredients for the filling with a mixer to a creamy consistency.
3. Sprinkle wasp nest molds with a small amount of powdered sugar.
4. Then press the dough into them by hand.
5. Then make a hole in the center of each hive with your finger or the end of a wooden spoon.
6. Fill this well with the cream filling.
7. Close the wasp’s nest with a whole sponge.
8. Turn it out of the mold and let it harden.

Christmas stars with anise and cinnamon

Fragile Christmas pastry that has a unique taste and intense aroma thanks to the combination of anise and cinnamon. Try it, you will see that you will like it!

Ingredients:

• 3 cups plain flour
• 1 cup of butter
• 3/4 cup + 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup rum or brandy
• 1 egg
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of aniseed
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt

Method:

1. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl.
2. Beat the butter in another bowl with an electric mixer.
3. When the mixture is very creamy, add 3/4 cup sugar, egg, anise and vanilla and beat again.
4. Add the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
5. With the mixer still on low, beat in 1/4 cup rum or brandy.
6. Divide the dough into 2 equal parts and wrap each in cling film.
7. Place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
8. Preheat the oven to 170°C and line the trays with baking paper or spray them with baking spray.
9. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out one portion of the dough at a time to a thickness of approximately half a centimeter.
10. Use a cookie cutter to cut out the star shapes and place the Christmas cookies on the baking sheets.
11. Depending on the size of the cookies, bake for 10-15 minutes until golden.
12. Mix in the remaining 1/3 cup sugar with the cinnamon. And sprinkle this mixture over the hot aniseed candy.

Delicious rum balls

This treat is a delicious blend of liquor, chocolate, nuts and cookies. Easy, quick and very tasty cookies that you can prepare even at the last minute.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of melted dark chocolate
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup rum
• 3 cups crushed vanilla wafers or “failed” and broken vanilla cookie pieces
• 1 cup ground walnuts
• 3 tablespoons of corn syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1/3 cup assorted Christmas sprinkles

Method:

1. First melt the chocolate in a water bath.
2. Pour powdered sugar into the melted chocolate through a sieve or colander and mix it thoroughly into the chocolate.
3. Then pour the rum, corn syrup and vanilla into the mixture.
4. Mix everything together and mix until the mixture is smooth.
5. In a separate bowl, mix the crushed vanilla wafers or candy with the ground walnuts and salt.
6. Stir their mixture into the chocolate mixture.
7. Cover the mixture and place the mixture in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
8. Form the cooled mixture into balls about one and a half centimeters in size.
9. Place each rum ball in the sprinkles and then put it back in the fridge to harden.

Christmas stars without flour

The flour is replaced with ground almonds and coconut in this recipe. You will see that you do not recognize anything at the first taste.

Ingredients:

• 2 and 1/2 cups ground almonds
• 1/2 cup ground coconut
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon of almond extract
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt

Method:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter, coconut oil and sugar.
2. Add the egg, vanilla and almond extract and mix until combined.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together the baking soda, salt, ground almonds and coconut.
4. With the mixer on low, gradually add the flour mixture to the cream ingredients, beating well after each addition.
5. Wrap the resulting dough in cling film and put it in the fridge for an hour.
6. Preheat the oven to 170°C, line the trays with baking paper.
7. Roll out the dough to a thickness of half a centimeter and use cutters to cut out stars.
8. Place the flourless Christmas cookies on a baking sheet.
9. Bake for approximately 12-15 minutes until golden.
10. After cooling, decorate with any frosting and Christmas sprinkles.

Spiced snowflakes with coconut glaze

Unusual Christmas pastries with a mixture of interesting flavors that will add the right atmosphere to your Christmas holidays.

Ingredients:

• 2 and 1/2 cups plain flour
• 3/4 cup butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• rind and juice of one orange
• 1 teaspoon cardamom
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon of almond extract

Glaze

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
• 3 tablespoons of orange juice
• 1 teaspoon of almond or vanilla extract
• 1 and 1/2 cups shredded coconut

Method:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, orange zest, baking powder, salt, and cardamom. Shut down.
2. Beat the butter and sugar in a mixer.
3. Gradually beat the eggs into the mixture.
4. Stir in the vanilla and almond extract.
5. Slowly add the dry ingredients and beat on medium.
6. Wrap the resulting dough in food foil.
7. Place the dough in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
8. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll it out on a floured work surface to a thickness of approximately half a centimeter.
9. Cut snowflakes of different sizes from the rolled out dough.
10. Place the Christmas cookies on a baking sheet lined with baking paper and put them in the freezer for at least an hour.
11. Preheat the oven to 170°C.
12. Depending on the size of the flakes, bake for 12-15 minutes until golden.
13. While the cookies are cooling, prepare the frosting.
14. Mix the icing sugar and cardamom.
15. Then add the orange juice and vanilla extract and beat until smooth.
16. If the frosting is too thick, add a small amount of water. If it is too thin, add more powdered sugar.
17. Dip the cooled spiced cookies in the frosting and then sprinkle with coconut.
18. Let it harden.

Poppy Christmas cookies with marzipan

Traditional German candy, in which the taste of marzipan, poppy seeds and plum jam are mixed.

Ingredients:

• 350 g of marzipan
• 150 g of butter
• 75 g of powdered sugar
• 200 g plain flour
• 50 g cornstarch
• 50 g of ground poppy seeds
• 1 egg
• 1/4 teaspoon of almond essence
• pinch of salt
• 200 g of plum jam
• 2 tablespoons of rum

Method:

1. Grate 50 grams of marzipan.
2. Beat the butter with the grated marzipan in a mixer for about 3 minutes.
3. Add powdered sugar, almond essence and salt. Beat for about 2 minutes.
4. Add the eggs and mix until combined.
5. Mix the flour, cornstarch and poppy seeds.
6. Add the dry mixture to the butter mixture and mix until combined.
7. Work it into a dough, then wrap it in cling film and put it in the fridge for two hours.
8. Preheat the oven to 170°C and line the trays with baking paper.
9. Roll out the dough to a thickness of about 3-4 mm and cut out with a round cookie cutter.
10. Bake for approximately 8 minutes.
11. While the poppy seed cookies are cooling, mix the plum jam with the rum.
12. Roll out the remaining marzipan on a surface sprinkled with powdered sugar and cut out circles with the same cookie cutter you used for the cookie dough.
13. Spread a small amount of marmalade on one poppy seed cake, place a marzipan wheel on top, spread a little more marzipan on the marzipan and cover with another poppy seed cake.

Christmas flowers made of egg yolks

A delicious and very tasty Christmas pastry that everyone will love right away! The original recipe comes from Italy.

Ingredients:

• 3 hard-boiled egg yolks
• 2/3 cup butter
• 1 and 1/4 cup flour
• 2/3 cup powdered sugar
• 2/3 cup cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• powdered sugar for sprinkling

Method:

1. In the bowl of a mixer, beat the butter and powdered sugar.
2. Stir in the vanilla, salt and lemon zest.
3. Place a fine sieve over the bowl.
4. Add the hard-boiled yolks and press the yolk through a sieve with a spoon to create a fine yolk dust.
5. Beat the egg yolks into the butter mixture on low speed.
6. Add the cornstarch and flour to the bowl.
7. Beat on low speed until a crumbly dough forms.
8. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and shape into a ball.
9. Wrap in cling film and put in the fridge for an hour.
10. Lightly dust the surface with flour and roll out the dough to a thickness of approximately half a centimeter.
11. Use the cutters to cut out the shapes of flowers or any other.
12. Place a tray lined with baking paper and bake at 160°C for 14-17 minutes.

When to start baking?

Baking Christmas cookies usually begins together with Advent. Due to the workload of most of us, part of the Advent weekends is most often devoted to baking. Before actually baking, it is of course important to plan the types and quantity of cookies we want to bake. We then plan our “baking schedule” accordingly. Don’t forget to make your baking more enjoyable by listening to Christmas music or the smell of Christmas cookies, all of this will help you create the right pre-Christmas atmosphere.

• On the first weekend of Advent, those types are usually baked that subsequently require longer time for the necessary laying down and softening. A typical example is above all various recipes for gingerbread.
• The second Advent weekend is usually associated with baking the largest amount of sweets. This includes, for example, classic types such as vanilla rolls, Linnaeus, walnut candies, coconuts or meringues.
• The third Advent weekend is more often associated with decorating already baked pieces than with baking. Individual Christmas cookies are thus glued together using various creams and jams or chocolate toppings. The most time-consuming part is usually decorating the gingerbread with egg white icing.
• On the last weekend of Advent, usually only unbaked types of sweets are prepared, such as wasp’s nests, and possibly decorated sweets that require butter cream.

What not to forget before your own baking or Ingredients, cutters and molds

Planning is very important when it comes to baking Christmas cookies. It will save you a lot of stress and possible problems if you find out in the middle of baking that you are missing some important ingredients.

• A few days before you plan to bake, check your pantry and refrigerator and buy all the ingredients that the Christmas cookie recipes call for. It is usually recommended to buy a little more as a spare.
• In addition to raw materials, also pay attention to checking the necessary baking tools, i.e. especially various cutters and molds. This will save you time looking for them and washing them at the last minute.
• It is also worthwhile to think about what and how you want to store the baked sweets afterwards, and look for suitable boxes, cans or containers.
• Also prepare frequently used ingredients such as nuts or almonds in advance. By shelling, peeling or chopping them, you will also save valuable time.
• If you want nuts or almonds to have a more intense flavor and aroma, it is worth lightly roasting them in a dry pan before use.

You don’t always need original ideas for non-traditional cookie shapes or cookie cutters

Do you think that beautiful cookie shapes can only be made with cookie cutters? In the following video, you can be inspired by various ideas on how to use things that we normally have in the kitchen when baking, and with their help create very unconventional patterns and shapes not only for Christmas cookies.

10 Cookie Shaping Hacks to Impress All the Cookie Lovers!! So Yummy

Tricks and tips for preparing the dough

A wide variety of kitchen appliances nowadays make it much easier and faster for us to prepare a variety of doughs compared to our grandmothers. Nevertheless, it is worth knowing a few tricks that are related to the preparation of the dough and can have a relatively large effect on the result.

• Smooth or semi-coarse flour is most often used in recipes for Christmas cookies, sift both of them through a fine sieve before use. The dough will then be fluffier.
• You definitely won’t make a mistake if, in addition to flour, you also sift other dry ingredients, such as cocoa powder, which likes to form lumps, baking powder or sugar.
• Butter and most other fats used in baking should be at room temperature. So don’t forget to take them out of the fridge in time. Otherwise, there is a risk that the dough will be much more difficult to process. Of course, there are also recipes for Christmas cookies that require melted fat.
• In addition to fats, other ingredients that we usually store in the fridge should also be at room temperature, typical examples being eggs or milk.
• If the recipe for Christmas cookies does not say exactly what sugar to use, prefer powdered sugar or semolina.
• In terms of time efficiency, it is much better to first prepare all the doughs that we want to bake that day or weekend at once. Then just wrap them in foil or cling film and store in the fridge. Preparing each individual dough just before baking wastes time.
• It is also easier to work with dough that has been previously stored in the refrigerator. It sticks less to the roll and the individual shapes are easier to cut out.
• If you want your batter to be more yellow in color, a simple way to achieve this is to add two tablespoons of vanilla custard.
• If the recipe for Christmas cookies contains lemon peel as one of the ingredients, give preference to organic lemons whose peel is not chemically treated, or replace the peel in the recipe with lemon juice.

When you don’t have time or One universal dough for many different types of sweets

Sometimes it can happen that we don’t have as much time to bake as we would like. Nevertheless, we want to bake at least “something”. In such a situation, you will appreciate this recipe for Christmas cookies. You can create an incredible amount of diverse pastries from one type of dough. You can watch the individual preparation steps and the result via the video below.

Ingredients

• 220g of butter
• 300 g plain flour
• 150 g of powdered sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• grated zest of 1 lemon (for light dough)
• 25 g cocoa powder (for dark dough)

100 Biscotti semplici e veloci con un solo impasto

What to use when baking Christmas cookies?

All Christmas cookie recipes usually include a baking time, but in practice always respect the experience of your own oven. A gas oven also behaves differently, an electric one otherwise.

• One of the typical problems that can be related to baking is that after baking, the cookies cannot be turned out of the molds, for example pracna or nuts. If this happens, place these molds on a wet cloth while they are still hot, they will easily pop out after a while.
• If you plan to fill baked goods that you bake in molds, such as cupcakes, then pierce the dough slightly before putting it in the oven. Thanks to this trick, the dough will not run out during baking and it will be easier for you to fill it later.
• If for some reason the dough sticks to the rolling pin when rolling, it is better to roll it over a plastic bag or baking paper.
• Today’s ovens allow you to bake three trays at once without any problems. However, it is advisable to change the trays occasionally during baking, as the position of the tray can of course affect the intensity of the baking.
• Always line the trays with baking paper or grease them lightly to prevent the cookies from burning. Oil in a spray is also great, you just need to lightly spray them on the tray or molds.
• Always insert the trays into the fully preheated oven.
• During baking, open the oven door as little as possible.
• After baking, remove the hot pastry from the tray onto trays or plates, if possible in only one layer.
• Sometimes it can happen that some pieces of candy break or otherwise fail. No problem, they can be used very easily in the preparation of various unbaked types.

How to properly store and store sweets?

Considering that baking takes place gradually over several weeks, it is important to think about how and where to store it appropriately.

• Always store the candy only when it has completely cooled down.
• Boxes lined with aluminum foil or various plastic and glass jars or containers are most often used to store sweets.
• Proper storage is important so that the candy softens and its flavors develop properly. In this case, breathability is important, so a paper box is more suitable, and coolness, for example a balcony or a pantry.
• When storing on the balcony or outside the window, it is important to store the box in plastic and in a place where it does not rain.
• It is advisable to have a separate box or jar for each type, it is a must for spicy types of candy. Otherwise, there is a risk that other species will also smell its scent.
• Use a paper towel to separate the individual layers of cookies.
• The refrigerator is usually only suitable for storing unbaked sweets.

How to freeze leftover Christmas cookies?

Did you bake more cookies than needed? No problem, Christmas cookies are very easy to freeze and eat later. You can see the correct freezing and thawing procedure in the following video guide.

How to Freeze Cookies and Cookie Dough

Inspiration for decorating, filling and gluing cookies

For Christmas cookies, it is not only important how it tastes, but also how it looks. It is often one of the “decorations” that we constantly see during the holidays and that we also offer to various visitors. In addition to a variety of toppings, creams or jams, we can also decorate sweets with various sprinkles and decorations. You can choose from many shapes, colors and sizes.

• We only fill and glue the types of sweets that are filled or glued with butter creams just before Christmas and then store them in the refrigerator.
• When preparing creams, it is important that all the ingredients we are going to use are at room temperature and that we add them in small portions during the process. Otherwise, there is a risk that the cream could curdle.
• If the cream still curdles, try heating the bowl with the cream over steam and mixing the cream again.
• To decorate gingerbread cookies, as well as other types of cookies, with egg white icing, use a cone made of baking paper or a small plastic bag, with which you cut off the tip.
• If you want to decorate the cookies with icing or cream on the day of baking, wait until the cookies have cooled completely.
• A metal needle, such as the kind you use for skewers, can make dipping the cookies in the chocolate glaze a lot easier. The smaller the diameter, the better, of course. You will especially appreciate it if you have to dip the entire candy into the frosting. However, you can also decorate only the bottoms, tops or ends of certain sweets.
• Don’t let chocolate-coated candies harden in the refrigerator, as the result may be that the coating turns gray. It is better to wait longer, but let it harden at room temperature.
• If you have leftover frosting, you don’t have to throw it away. Most toppings can be reused. Just heat the chocolate coating in a water bath, dilute the powdered sugar coating with a little water or rum and stir.
• If you don’t just spray the icing in the form of thin lines, but apply a larger layer, decorate the icing afterwards with a piece of almond, walnut or coconut.

Decorating Christmas cookies a little differently

Traditionally, Christmas gingerbread is decorated mainly with egg white icing, but this is not the only option. Get inspired by the following video, children in particular will be delighted with this decorated candy.

DECORATED CHRISTMAS COOKIES

Try other original ways to make your sweets irresistible at first glance.

Christmas Cookies | Yummy DIY Christmas Treats by So Yummy

In some families, gingerbread is also used as a decoration for the Christmas tree or branches in a vase. Snowflakes are very popular shapes. Get inspiration for decorating them from our video tutorial.

How To Decorate Snowflake Cookies!

How to serve Christmas cookies?

It is often said that one eats with one’s eyes. Just as important as the candy itself is the way you serve it to your guests. Nowadays, there is a very wide range of various trays or plates with Christmas motifs, which are made of porcelain or glass. Whether you place the individual species on them in rows, sections or circles depends on the shape of the tray or plate and of course also on your imagination.