These Slice-and-Bake Cookies could not be easier to make- they are such a delicious addition to any Christmas cookie platter and freeze so well! Perfect for holiday gatherings or to keep on hand for last minutes guests, with a similar texture to shortbread.
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While I enjoy sweets I wouldn't say I have a tremendous sweet tooth. I'd say I have more of a savory tooth. With the exception of Crème Brûlée, which I cannot seem to turn down, I rarely order dessert at restaurants. Of course when I'm pregnant, all bets are off and I generally enjoy dessert. Then second dessert. And sometimes even third dessert (which I'm ashamed to admit, but this did happen a couple times. I was the mayor of FATTIEville.).
A few years ago, I perused the some of my favorite blogs for Christmas cookie inspiration. One of my go-to blogs for delicious recipes and mouthwatering food porn is Smitten Kitchen. This is actually one of the first blogs I ever even started reading (many moons ago) and I just love it.
One of the recipes I came across was Deb's adaptation of Dorie Greenspan's Slice-and-Bake cookies. The first thing that appealed to me was how easy this recipe looked. The next thing was the fact that the base recipe is like a blank canvas with a variety of different avenues you can take in terms of flavors to suit your tastes. I won't be spelling out all of the different variations (though I encourage you to check out Deb's post containing the recipe and all sorts of flavor options which will be listed in the recipe below).
These are some pretty delicious cookies. They're simple and they have a texture like shortbread and are super quick easy to whip up (though they do require a small amount of time in the refrigerator). I used orange zest and dried cranberries to flavor mine, and in the past have used chopped pistachios and dried cranberries. But I think the thing I like most is that they aren't overly sweet. They have just enough sweetness to fulfill that craving while not overwhelming your palate.
Some of my other favorite Christmas Cookie recipes are:
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These Slice-and-Bake Cookies could not be easier to make- they are such a delicious addition to any Christmas cookie platter and freeze so well! Perfect for holiday gatherings or to keep on hand for last minutes guests, with a similar texture to shortbread.
1 hrPrep Time
14 minCook Time
1 hr, 14 Total Time
Yields 2 dozen
Save RecipeIngredients
- 2 sticks of softened, unsalted butted (I used salted)
- ⅔ of a cup of confectioners sugar, sifted
- 2 egg yolks
- A pinch of salt
- 1 tsp. of vanilla extract
- 2 cups of flour
- The zest of 2 oranges
- ½ a cup of chopped dried cranberries
Instructions
- Cream the butter until smooth and then mix in the sugar until fully combined.
- Add the remaining ingredients except the flour which you will add slowly until everything is just combined. The mixture will look a little "crumbly"; this is ok (you'll press it together in the next step).
- On a wax paper covered surface, form two logs with your dough, around 1 ¼ inches thick. Wrap them in wax paper. Chill these in your refrigerator for a couple hours (I got impatient and did one hour).
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Unwrap your logs and slice to a desired thickness (I did around ⅓ of an inch) and place them on a parchment lined baking pan (I used wax paper, which can get quite smokey but I was out of parchment).
- Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until they are done, but not quite browned.
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