Christmas cookie recipes and other holiday treats

Ready to roll up your sleeves and get baking this December? Stir It Up! has a list of Christmas cookies recipes, plus some bonus holiday treats sure to get your kitchen in the holly jolly spirit.

Snicker doodles

Whipped
Snicker doodles are just one of the great cookie recipes featured in 'Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy' by Alice Medrich.

By Caroline LubbersWhipped, The Blog
Makes about sixty 2 1/2-inch cookies 

Classic snicker doodles taste like delicately crunchy rounds of cinnamon-topped French toast.

3 cups (13.5 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups (10.5 ounces) plus 2 tablespoons sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Cookie sheets, lined with parchment paper or greased

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.

2. Combine the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and mix thoroughly with a whisk or fork.

3. In a medium mixing bowl with an electric mixer, beat the butter with the 1 ½ cups sugar until smooth and creamy. Beat in the eggs just until blended. Add the flour mixture and stir or beat on low speed just until incorporated. Gather the dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, at least 30 minutes.

4. Mix the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon in a small bowl. Form level tablespoons of dough into 1-inch balls. Roll the balls in the cinnamon sugar and place 2 inches apart on the lined or greased cookie sheets.

5. Bake for 10 or 12 minutes, until the cookies puff and begin to settle down. Rotate the cookie sheets from top to bottom and from front to back halfway through the baking time to ensure even baking. For lined pans, set the pans or just the liners on racks to cool; for unlined pans, use a metal spatula to transfer the cookies to racks. Cool the cookies completely before stacking or storing. May be kept in an airtight container for several days.

Upgrades

Nutmeg Snicker Doodles – Substitute 1 teaspoon lightly packed freshly grated nutmeg for the cinnamon

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