With the trees lit, phase two of holiday-zation has begun. Initiate cookie sequence. Matt Powell of Cooking With Bwog is here with a triple whammy of festive treats that will make you and anyone you decide to share them with jolly. 

Coming from California, I associate the holidays with about 60 degree weather. Even though I’ve moved back East, my body is still programmed to 60 degree winter. Therefore, I started baking Holiday Cookies back in October. If you don’t believe me, check out these cookies.

Double Gingersnap Cookies:

For my first cookie, I improved on my gingersnap recipe, adding in more spice and of course, a white chocolate drizzle.

Yields: 24

Ingredients:

  • 1 ½ C flour
  • 1 ¼ tsp. ground ginger
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • ½ tsp. cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp. cloves
  • ¼ tsp. salt
  • Pinch of Nutmeg
  •  ¼ C (1/2 stick) butter
  • ¼ C vegetable shortening
  • ½ C light brown sugar
  • ¼ C molasses
  • 1 egg
  • 1/3 C crystallized ginger, chopped
  • 6 oz. white chocolate, melted

Directions:

  1. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices.
  2. In a separate bowl, combine the butter, shortening, and sugar. Cream until fluffy, about 3 minutes on medium speed. Lower speed to low and add in molasses, egg, and crystallized ginger. Mix until incorporated. Add dry ingredients and carefully blend together until incorporated. Place the dough in the refrigerator covered with plastic for 30 minutes.
  3. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove dough from the fridge. Scoop out 1 tbsp. of dough for each cookie and roll into a ball. Space apart on the baking sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart.
  4. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-13 minutes, until the tops are crinkled. Let cool on racks after baking.
  5. Using a fork, drizzle the white chocolate on top of the cookies. You can drizzle as much (or as little) as you like. I typically allow the white chocolate to cool and harden before serving, but you can serve them when the chocolate is still gooey.
Chocolate-Dipped Peppermint Meringues:

Meringues are easy! Just check out the basics of dessert:

Too add some holiday cheer to these classic cookies, I added some peppermint extract.

Ingredients:

  • 1 large egg white
  • 1 pinch of cream of tartar
  • ½ C superfine sugar (or regular granulated blended until fine)
  • 1/8 tsp. mint extract
  • 8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, melted

Directions:

  1. Whisk the egg white on medium speed until it is foamy. Add in cream of tartar and whisk on high speed until soft peaks form. Add in sugar and whisk on high speed until stiff peaks form. Add in mint extract and mix until incorporated.
  2. Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line a baking sheet or two with parchment paper. Pipe the meringues in small dollops onto the pan. If so desired, you can use different tips on the piping bag.
  3. Bake for 1.5-2.5 hours depending on your oven. The meringues should be completely dry and light when finished.
  4. Dip meringues in the chocolate. Again, you can use as much as you like.

Peppermint Chocolate Cookies

And finally, I couldn’t resist making these once again…

Ingredients:

  • 1 C Flour
  • 1/2 C cocoa powder
  • 1/2 tsp. baking soda, 1/2 tsp. baking powder, and 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 5 tbsp. butter
  • 3/4 C sugar
  • 1 egg + 1 egg yolk
  • 3/4 tsp. peppermint extract
  • 1 lb. white chocolate
  • 6 crushed candy canes

Directions:

  1. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  2. In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add the egg and blend. Add the yolk and blend. Blend in peppermint extract. Blend in dry ingredients.
  3. Wrap half of the dough in a disk shape in plastic wrap. Wrap the remaining half in a disk shape as well. Refrigerate both disks for an hour.
  4. Roll out each disk with a rolling pin on a well-floured surface. Roll to about 1/8 inch thickness. Use a cookie cutter to cut to desired shape. Place cut-out dough on a plate and place in the freezer for 15 minutes.
  5. Place cut-outs on a baking sheet that is covered with parchment paper. Bake for 12 minutes at 325 degrees. Transfer cookies with the parchment paper to a cooling rack.
  6. Melt white chocolate in a double boiler. Dip cookies in white chocolate and place back on the parchment. Sprinkle with peppermint candy pieces. Set in the fridge for three hours until hardened (or next to an open window).