I have been baking Christmas Cookies for the holidays since I had my children. I used to do a huge production of cookie baking for the holidays, often starting back in September and then freezing everything ahead of time ready to crack open for the holidays.
My house is pretty much empty of children now, and I am watching my sugar, so not as much holiday baking goes on these days. When I do have kids about, it is usually the grandchildren and it is only for a few days, so not a lot of baking is require.
I do like to try something new every Christmas however and this recipe I am sharing with you today was adapted from one I found on A Bountiful Kitchen. They looked so pretty and festive. Like the perfect cookie to leave out on Christmas Eve for Santa Claus!
- 1/2 cup (115g) butter at room temperature
- 6 1/2 TBS (75g) granulated sugar
- 6 1/2 TBS (75g) soft light brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 large free range egg
- scant 1 1/2 cups (175g) plain all purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
- 3/4 cup (135g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 4 ounces (142g) Christmas M&M candies (red and green) (Reserve a few for poking in top of the hot cookies when they come out of the oven.)
- Use a 2 1/4 inch cookie scoop for perfectly round cookies. You can also juju them with a round pastry cutter when you first take them out of the oven to give them a perfectly round shape. I find that rolling them into balls before baking makes for a very uniform shaped cookie.
- I do not recommend freezing these cookies prior to baking. The M&M's will bleed and they won't be as brightly colored.
- Do save a few M&M's out to push into the finished cookies while they are still warm. This adds to their prettiness. The ones baked in the cookies tend to crack.
- Use only M&M candies. Other candies will not work as well. You can use any kind of chocolate chip as you wish, but I do recommend the dark ones as they will keep these cookies from being too sweet.
Christmas M & M Cookies (small batch)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (115g) butter at room temperature
- 6 1/2 TBS (75g) granulated sugar
- 6 1/2 TBS (75g) soft light brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 large free range egg
- scant 1 1/2 cups (175g) plain all purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
- 3/4 cup (135g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 4 ounces (142g) Christmas M&M candies (red and green) (Reserve a few for poking in top of the hot cookies when they come out of the oven.)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375*F/190*C/ gas mark 5. Line a large baking tray with baking parchment. Set aside.
- Cream the butter and both sugars together thoroughly until light and fluffy. There should be no visible chunks of butter.
- Beat in the egg and vanilla until well amalgamated.
- Sift the flour and soda together and then stir into the creamed mixture, until well incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips and most of the candies, reserving a few for the end.
- Mix together well. If you think your dough is too sticky, you can add an additional TBS of flour.
- Divide the dough into 9 equal portions and roll each into a ball. Place onto the baking sheet, well-spaced apart. Flatten slightly with your fingertips.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes at which time they should be nicely puffed and golden brown around the edges and on the bottoms
- Push a few candies into the top of each warm cookie and leave to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.
Did you make this recipe?
When I lived in the U.K. I always made my own Eggnog. It was not something which was commercially available over there, and it was not a popular Christmas drink over there either! Most people didn't even know what it was.
And if you mentioned it to them, they would wince in disgust at the thought of drinking something so close to custard in texture and flavor. (DO note that they neverminded brandishing their puddings with copious amounts of custard!)
Anyways, I made my own and my very British husband quite enjoyed it. In fact, he wanted me to make it every year, it is that good.
This is an eggnog recipe which I have been making for many, many years now. It is foolproof so long as you follow the directions and was adapted many moons ago from a recipe I found on Eating on a Dime. I could not believe that I didn't already have it on here.
- 6 large egg yolks
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated white sugar
- 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream
- 2 cups (480ml) milk
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- pinch of salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- more grated nutmeg to garnish
- alcohol optional, see note
TO ADD THE OPTIONAL ALCOHOL
Add 1/4 cup (60ml) brandy, bourbon or rum at the same time as you add your vanilla.
Taste and adjust as necessary.
Easy Homemade Egg Nog
Ingredients
- 6 large egg yolks
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated white sugar
- 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream
- 2 cups (480ml) milk
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- pinch of salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- more grated nutmeg to garnish
- alcohol optional, see note
Instructions
- Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl until very light in color, and creamy, using an electric whisk.
- Combine the milk, cream, nutmeg and salt in a medium saucepan. Place over medium heat and heat just barely to a simmer. It should be hot to the touch, but not boiling.
- Remove from the heat. Add one cup of the warm mixture to the egg mixture, whisking it in continuously. (This is called tempering the eggs.) Continue to whisk in the warm mixture until it has been thoroughly amalgamated.
- Pour back into the saucepan and return to the stove top. Continue to whisk and cook until the mixture reaches 160*F/71*C. The mixture should be coating the back of a metal spoon.
- Remove from the heat. Whisk in any alcohol (if using) and the vanilla.
- Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a glass container, cover with plastic wrap and chill thoroughly. If you think it is too thick (once chilled) you can whisk in a few more tablespoons of milk or cream to get it to the consistency you desire.
- Serve in chilled glasses with a fresh grating of nutmeg on top. This will keep for up to one week in the refrigerator.
Notes
TO ADD THE OPTIONAL ALCOHOL
Add 1/4 cup (60ml) brandy, bourbon or rum at the same time as you add your vanilla.
Taste and adjust as necessary.
Did you make this recipe?
- 6 slices of bread (I used sour dough)
- 1/4 cup (75g) softened butter for spreading
- 2 cups (470g) grated cheddar cheese
- 1/3 cup (80ml) condensed tomato soup, undiluted (in the UK use Batchelor's)
- 4 slices of streaky bacon, cooked until crisp and crumbled
- pinch of salt and black pepper as desired
I used sour dough bread as I felt it would fit into the baking dish better and wasn't too thick. I used regular softened butter. The original poster used margarine.
I used a mix of strong orange grated cheddar and a combo of grated mild and medium cheddars white and orange mix. It is okay to use ready grated cheeses for this.
Condensed soup is soup which you need to add either water or milk to in order to make it edible. You cannot just dump it into a saucepan, heat it up and eat it that way. In the U.K. the condensed soup that you would want to use is the Bachelor's brand. I think they are the only ones who make condensed soups.
The original poster used ready-made bacon bits. I preferred to use my own home-fried bacon. I keep fried bacon in my freezer for just this purpose. It is very easy to just take out and chop up to use for recipes.
Tomato Soup & Bacon, Grilled Cheese Casserole
Ingredients
- 6 slices of bread (I used sour dough)
- 1/4 cup (75g) softened butter for spreading
- 2 cups (470g) grated cheddar cheese
- 1/3 cup (80ml) condensed tomato soup, undiluted (in the UK use Batchelor's)
- 4 slices of streaky bacon, cooked until crisp and crumbled
- pinch of salt and black pepper as desired
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/gas mark 6. Have ready a casserole dish large enough to hold 3 slices of the bread in a single layer.
- Measure the soup, crumbled bacon and grated cheese into in a bowl and combine well together.
- Butter all of your bread slices on one side. Cut them all in half through the middle.
- Place 3 of the halved slices of bread in the casserole dish, buttered side down. Divide the cheese mixture between them. Top with the remaining halves of buttered bread, butter side up, pressing them down gently over the cheese.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until the cheese is all melty and gooey and the bread has toasted.
- Serve hot, two sandwich halves per person. Enjoy!
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