Like many others, Christmas is my absolute favorite time of the year. Between the Christmas lights, gift giving, spending time with family and friends and even (dare I say it) the snow, it is one of the most magical times of the year for good reason. But, one of the best parts of this time of year (in my opinion, of course) is the food, specifically a good cookie plate.
Cookie plates are always a staple in my house during the holiday season. My mom makes at least 20 types of Christmas cookies each year, some gluten free and some gluten full. She’s the gluten free cookie expert, and my favorite of her recipes are below:
Reese’s Cup Oatmeal
You may see a theme in some of these Christmas cookie favorites… peanut butter and chocolate. This combination is a classic and one of my favorites of all time. My aunt was the
one who gave us the recipe for this cookie, and it’s been a staple in my house ever since. You need a tassie pan for this recipe, and each ball of peanut butter oatmeal cookie dough is placed in each spot. After they’re baked (and still warm), you place a mini Reese’s cup in the center of each. Follow the recipe below:
Ingredients:
½ c butter, softened
¾ c peanut butter
½ c sugar
½ c packed brown sugar
1 c gluten free oats
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
48 mini Reese’s Cups
Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and peanut butter until light and fluffy. Add sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla. Beat well.
Stir together flour, baking soda and salt. Blend into peanut butter mixture. Stir in oats.
Cover dough, refrigerate for several hours.
When you’re ready to bake, heat the oven to 350°.
Shape dough into 1 inch balls and place in tassie (mini muffin) cups.
Bake for 9-11 minutes.
Remove wrappers from Reese’s (while the cookies are baking!) and press into cookies upon removal from the oven.
Remove cookies from the tassie pans when set.
Peanut Butter Blossoms
Lots of people I know absolutely love peanut butter blossoms, and I’m not afraid to admit
that I’m one of them. Peanut butter cookie dough rolled in sugar, baked. Then a Hershey’s Kiss is placed at the center of the cookie as soon as it comes out of the oven. What’s not to love? They’re super easy to make and even easier to enjoy. Here’s our recipe:
Ingredients:
48 Hershey’s Kisses
½ c shortening
½ c creamy peanut butter
½ c granulated sugar
½ c packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 ¾ c gluten free 1:1 flour
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
Extra granulated sugar
Directions:
Mix wet ingredients in a large bowl.
Add dry ingredients to mixed wet ingredients.
After all ingredients are combined, refrigerate dough for multiple hours or overnight.
After refrigerating, roll dough into 1 inch balls.
Roll each ball in sugar before placing it on a cookie sheet.
Bake for 7 ½ minutes at 350°.
After removing cookies from the oven, press unwrapped Hershey’s Kiss on top.
Turtle Thumbprints
This recipe is a newer one in our repertoire, and it came from my cousin! If you’re not aware,
Pittsburgh weddings have what’s called a Cookie Table. Traditionally, all the women in the two families work together to create a large table of homemade cookies for the wedding. From grandmothers to aunts to cousins, everyone typically pitches in. For one of my cousin’s weddings recently, my cousin Steph made these delicious Turtle Thumbprints. They’re time-consuming, but absolutely worth it:
Ingredients:
½ c butter
1 c gluten free flour
â…” c sugar
â…“ c cocoa powder
¼ tsp salt
1 egg
2 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 ¼ c chopped pecans
4 Tbsp heavy cream
2 oz chocolate chips (or measure with your heart)
Directions:
Combine gluten free flour, cocoa and salt.
Beat butter and sugar. Add egg yolk, milk and vanilla. Blend into the flour mixture.
Cover dough and chill for at least one hour.
Roll dough into 1 inch balls, roll in pecans.
Bake for 8-10 minutes until set.
While baking, microwave caramels and cream until melted.
Upon removal from the oven, press ½ tsp in the middle of each warm cookie. Fill with caramel mix.
After they’re cooled and set, put melted chocolate in a ziploc bag and cut the corner off the bag. Drizzle each cookie with melted chocolate.
Optional: sprinkle with kosher salt to make it chocolate sea salt!
7-Layer Bars
These are super simple to make gluten free! 7-Layer Bars are a super sweet bar cookie that
are a good addition to any cookie plate and a perfect bite if you want a sweet treat during the holiday season. They have certainly grown on me over the years, and I’m so thankful that they’re so easy to make gluten free. Here’s our recipe:
Ingredients:
½ c margarine, melted in pan, then add
1 c walnuts, coarsely chopped
1 c chocolate chips
1 c butterscotch chips
1 â…“ c flaked coconut
1 â…“ c (15 oz can) Eagle sweetened condensed milk
Directions:
Spray a 9x13 pan. Press butter and crumb mixture into the pan.
Scatter chocolate and butterscotch chips over graham cracker crumb base.
Sprinkle coconut over chocolate and butterscotch chips.
Scatter walnuts over mixture.
Pour sweetened condensed milk over walnuts.
Bake at 350° for ~25 minutes or until lightly browned.
Cool in pan for 15 minutes before cutting into bars.
Chocolate Chip
Simple, but a tried and true cookie that everyone will adore! I am usually the one in charge of making the gluten free chocolate chips cookies each year, and I don’t mind because these
cookies when they just come out of the oven are absolute perfection. This is a recipe that I found online a few years after going gluten free, and I have adjusted it over the years for my texture and consistency preferences! Here’s the original recipe, and below is the version that I use:
Ingredients:
1 c 1:1 gluten free flour
1 c almond flour
¼ c brown rice flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 oz cream cheese, room temperature
¾ c butter, melted
1 c packed brown sugar
½ c sugar
1 ½ tsp vanilla
2 egg yolks
Chocolate chips (measure with your heart)
Directions:
Place the cream cheese in a medium bowl, pour melted butter over it. Add brown sugar and sugar and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes.
Add vanilla extract and egg yolks one at a time until well-mixed.
Add each type of flour, mixing after each addition.
Add chocolate chips and mix by hand.
Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.
Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Form dough into 1 inch balls. Bake for 9 minutes at 350°.
Remove cookies from the oven when the edges are set and just browning. They will continue to bake while they cool.
And just like that, you have 5 new cookie recipes to try this holiday season! I hope cookie plates are a bit less stressful now that you have a few tried and true gluten free recipes to try from the cookie experts themselves: my mom and I! :)
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