Today is National Cookie Day!
To celebrate the return of the cookie season (not that the cookies season ever goes out of style for me) some of my favorite authors are sharing their favorite holiday cookie recipes AND their holiday-themed books!
Read to the bottom to find the list of authors and read more of their sweet, sweet delights! You’ll find great ideas for your holiday baking…and in the 10 minutes or so between batches, you can read!
Mom’s Spritz Cookies
These are some of my absolute favorite cookies. They are easy to make and I always have the ingredients. Plus, their delicately sweet and comforting flavor is perfect for short, cold days accompanied by a cup of tea.
Butter, 1 cup softened
- Sugar, 2/3 cup
- Vanilla, 2 teaspoons
- Flour, 2 1/4 cups
- Salt 1/2 teaspoon
Preheat oven to 400. Cream butter, sugar and vanilla. Add salt and flour. Beat until just mixed. Use a cookie press or cookie cutters. Sprinkle with sugar-in-the-raw or colored sugars for decoration. Bake 8-10 minutes until lightly browned. (The browning brings out the flavor). Cool on racks. Keeps well for days…if you don’t eat them 🙂
For more holiday spirit, check out the new Marked Souls Christmas novella:
THE DARKEST NIGHT
A Marked Souls Christmas Novella
Possessed by a divine entity, Cyril Fane fought rampant evil and the pain of more private losses with a fiery golden sword…until he was beaten and left for dead by a malevolent force. Now exiled from his angelic brethren, he reluctantly joins the Chicago league of talyan—immortal warriors possessed by repentant demons—as his only chance to reclaim his sword and his place in the holy sphericanum.
Bella McGreay, mysterious mistress of the Mortal Coil night club, has also danced around an uneasy affiliation with the talyan. She has secrets of her own to keep, and as the days shorten toward the winter solstice, shadows are deepening all around. Even as she barricades herself against the joys—and terrors—of the Christmas season, she’ll have to decide whether the shadows or her secrets are more dangerous.
Bella and Cyril have good reason to fear evil when an old enemy returns to torment them and the Chicago league. But only together will they find a way to the light after the darkest night.
Find THE DARKEST NIGHT online
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords | All Romance eBooks | Kobo
Find more Holiday Delights from these fabulous authors:
Do you have a favorite holiday cookie? Leave a link to your recipe in comments. The more cookies, the merrier!
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I remember making these cookies until I couldn’t press any more out! That was in the days when the press wasn’t battery operated or whatever way its done now….the the pain was definitely worth it-those are some of the best cookies ever!
Wait, there are battery operated cookie presses?! I got rooked! Mine is the old-fashioned gun style. I like to try all the different shapes, although some work better than others with this batter. Which can result in eating Halloween bat cookies in June 🙂
Great minds or tongues think a like! I have spritz cookies on my blog. But my recipe calls for almond and vanilla extract. Your cookies must be the demon version. LOL Happy National Cookie Day!
Happy National Cookie Day! You can never have enough butter and sugar in your life 🙂 I’m just proud of myself for leaving chocolate out this time.
I love spritz cookies! I agree, Jessa–they’re perfect with a cup of tea! 🙂
After a hard day of baking, I think we can be excused for putting something a little strong in the tea, too 😉
My favorite cookie is snickerdoodles.
My XY looooooves snickerdoodles, but I haven’t found the perfect recipe yet. The ones I’ve tried are just a little too crispy. I like the snickerdoodles with the chewy center. I do like baking with cinnamon; the whole house smells so good!
I would be happy to give you my recipe. I like them moist as well. The bigger you roll them the less crispy they’ll be 😉
You I sure would love the recipe too! I haven’t had them in years.
Here’s the Snickerdoodle recipe I use:
3 3/4 cups all purpose flour, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/2 ts1 tsp. baking soda, 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar, 1 cup butter, 2 eggs, 1/4 cup milk, 1 tsp. vanilla, 2 cups sugar….
Stir together dry ingredients except sugar. Beat the butter for 30 seconds and add the sugar, eggs, milk, vanilla. Add this to the dry ingredients and mix well. Grease a cookie sheet. Form 1-2 inch balls and roll them into a mixture of 3 tablespoons sugar and 1 tsp. cinnamon. Place them on the cookie sheet about 2 inches apart and slightly flatten with a drinking glass. Bake in a 375* oven for 8 minutes. Makes about 60 cookies.
I usually tweak them by adding some more cinnamon to the sugar and cinnamon mixture and I don’t flatten them a lot because it makes them fatter and less likely to get crispy. But if you like them crispy then flatten them more. I usually don’t cook them a full 8 minutes so that they are not as done.
Enjoy 🙂 HAPPY HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!
It’s not letting me comment very easily. Hope this goes through. 🙂
This recipe sounds yummy! I love spritz cookies…especially with tea.
I think I like spritz cookies because there is a Z in the name. I don’t use the letter Z enough. That’s it; next hero’s name will have a Z!
I love spritz cookies, especially at Christmas.
Linda, this is my mom’s recipe (mostly) and she only makes them at Christmas, but I’ve started making them too often LOL. They are just so nice. They’re great for pulling out when guests stop by because they look so elegant with tea or coffee cups. I feel very grown up :0)
I would like to share the world’s most delicious almond cookie. This is a sophisticated and delicate cookie to make anytime of the year. 🙂
Almond cookies
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare cookie sheets with baking parchment.
INGREDIENTS:
¾ c. butter (1 ½ sticks)
2/3 c. sugar
8 oz almond paste.
2 t. almond extract
2 eggs
2 ½ c. flour
2 ½ t. baking powder
¼ t. salt
METHOD
Cream together the butter, sugar, and almond paste. Then gradually mix in the eggs and almond extract. Slowly add the dry ingredients.
Either use a small scoop or your hands to roll the dough into walnut sized balls. Bake for 14-17 minutes until a light golden brown.
Cool on a wire rack.
Delicious!
Thanks, Linda. Sound Yummy.
Great idea for blog posts. I will vicariously look at all the recipes but not make any of them. Jim and I do not want lots of cookies in our lives during a season when it is already hard not to eat too much. 🙂
That’s a new cookie to me. I may have to copy the recipe and send to mom. She loves collecting new recipes to try.
Yum! I don’t think those would last for gift giving or holiday parties here, Jessa 🙂 They look too delicious.
Not sure what a cookie press is. I’ll use my imagination and Google later. LOL about measurements – we don’t measure butter in cups down this way. Your cookies sound delicious BTW
Thanks for the recipe. I like chocolate chip cookies.
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