The holiday season is in full swing and there is no better way to get into the spirit than baking a batch of the best holiday cookies! At Flipp, we usually celebrate the holidays with a company-wide cookie exchange, so this year we thought it would be nice to share some of our favorite holiday cookie recipes with you!
Queen Anne Cookies (Oatmeal Dark Chocolate Chunk and Cherries)
Tyler, one of Flipp’s HR Business Partners, aka a cookie connoisseur, has come up with this mouthwatering recipe for Queen Anne Cookies and we can’t wait to try them!
Ingredients:
1 cup Unsalted butter (softened to room temperature)
1 cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs (at room temperature)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon molasses
1 and a half cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon of salt (just regular old table salt is fine)
1 and a half teaspoons of ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 cups rolled oats (Use what you like here, but try to avoid instant as it will just kind of dissolve with all of the moisture in the cookies. The bigger the oat flake, the more pronounced it will be in the final product.)
1 cup dried tart cherries (Use what you like here, but I like dried cherries as opposed to candied. If you have a tough time finding them look at a bulk speciality store, make sure you check Flipp for a coupon before you go!)
1 cup dark chocolate chunks (Use what you like – chips, chunks, milk, dark, etc…)
*Optional* 2-3 drops of cherry extract (If you really want that extra punch of cherry flavour, this stuff can get pretty strong, so if you go that route less is more. You can always adjust up next time.)
Directions:
Start by mixing the wet ingredients – cream butter and sugars together until it’s a smooth consistency.
Add eggs and continue mixing until incorporated.
Add molasses, vanilla, and optional cherry extract, and continue mixing until it looks like everything is well incorporated.
Next, mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl –whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon,and nutmeg.
Once all of your ingredients above are combined, bit by bit mix it into your wet ingredients. If you add your ingredients slowly it will be easier to mix.
Once the wet and dry ingredients above start to come together, it’s time to mix in the good stuff! Put your oats, cherries, and chocolate chunks into your batter, and continue to mix until incorporated, and the oats, cherries, and chocolate are evenly distributed throughout the dough.
Fight the urge to eat the raw dough, and cover the top of the mixing bowl with plastic wrap. Put it into the fridge for around 45 minutes. Chilling the dough helps it set and helps to make sure your cookies will keep their shape, turning out taller vs spreading out and flattening. About 5 to 10 minutes before your dough is finished chilling, preheat your oven to 350 F (177 C) and line your baking sheet or sheets with parchment paper.
Once your dough is done chilling and your oven is warmed up, roll your cookie dough into little balls (about 2 tbs of dough per ball, but hey if you want to make some giant cookies who am I to stop you?) and space the balls about 2 inches apart to give them room to spread out a little as they cook. If they have room to spread out as they cook, there is a much better chance that you will get those deliciously crispy brown edges on your cookies.
Bake for 12-14 minutes until the edges are lightly browned. The center might not look completely cooked, but that is fine! Take them out, let them cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, and they will continue to firm up. After 5 minutes, you can transfer them to a wire rack if you have one, if you don’t have one try to slightly angle them on your plate so that air can still get underneath, and the bottoms stay crispy.
Repeat steps 9 and 10 until you have used up all of your batter. Otherwise, you can ball it up and freeze it or keep it in the fridge for a couple days to bake whenever you want fresh cookies!
Irene, our Marketing Communications Specialist, makes these cookies with her family every year for Christmas, and it’s safe to say it has become their tradition. These nutty, crunchy cookies are delicious on their own, but she especially loves dipping them in her morning coffee.
Ingredients:
2 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup walnuts, chopped
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons (or 138 grams) unsalted butter, softened
3 eggs
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Zest from one lemon and one orange
2 tablespoons dark rum
Red and green maraschino cherries for decorating (optional)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400° fahrenheit.
In a large bowl, use a hand mixer to cream together the butter and brown sugar until incorporated.
Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix. Then, add the vanilla extract and dark rum.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, cinnamon, and chopped walnuts.
Use the fine edge of a cheese grater or a microplane to grate the zest of a lemon and an orange to taste, and add to your dry ingredients.
Combine the wet and dry ingredients gradually while mixing.
Form 1-inch size balls and place them on a baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches of space between each ball. *Pro tip: spread a bit of oil on your hands so they don’t get sticky while forming the balls.
Use a fork to flatten the balls and form a cookie shape.
Optional, decorate each cookie with a halved maraschino cherry at the center of each ball.
Bake for approximately 11 minutes on the middle rack.
With some inspiration from Sally’s Baking Addiction, Susan, another member of our operations team, baked these mouthwatering cookies that you will need to try! Both festive and delicious, these cookies are always a crowd pleaser!
Ingredients:
2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup (1.5 sticks or 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
½ cup (100g) packed light brown sugar
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 and ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
¾ teaspoon peppermint extract
¾ cup (135g) white chocolate chips
½ cup crushed candy cane pieces (5 candy canes)
4 ounces (113g) white chocolate, coarsely chopped
Directions:
Whisk the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl.
In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat the butter for 1 minute on medium speed until completely smooth and creamy. Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar and mix on medium speed until fluffy and light in color. Mix in egg, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
On low speed, slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until combined. The cookie dough will be quite thick. Add the white chocolate chips and crushed candy cane, then mix for about 5 seconds until combined. Cover dough tightly with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.
Remove cookie dough from the refrigerator and allow to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes, then preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. (Always recommended for cookies.) Set aside.
Once chilled, the dough will be slightly crumbly, but will come together if you work the dough with your hands as you roll into individual balls. Roll balls of dough, about 1.5 Tablespoons of dough each, into balls.
Bake for 12 minutes, until lightly golden brown around the edges. Allow to cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.
If using, melt the chopped white chocolate in the microwave in 20 second increments, stirring after each until completely melted. Drizzle over cooled cookies.
Combine all dry ingredients in one bowl excluding the confectioners sugar which will be used for coating later.
Combine all wet ingredients in a separate bowl.
Stir the dry mix into the wet mix until just combined.
Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours.
Preheat oven at 350° fahrenheit.
Place the confectioners sugar in a bowl. Roll dough into 1 tablespoon sized balls and place a few in the bowl with the confectioners sugar – gently shake to fully coat. Place coated dough balls on a cookie sheet. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
Bake for 10 minutes. Allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.
There’s nothing better than a unique spin on an all time classic. Adit, one of our Product Managers, loves whipping up a batch of these Bon Appetit cookies for the holidays.
Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks; 227 g) unsalted butter
2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup (packed; 215 g) dark brown sugar
⅓ cup (73 g) granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1.4-oz. (80 g total) chocolate toffee bars (preferably Skor), chopped into ¼-inch pieces
Cook butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring often, until it foams, then browns, 5–8 minutes. Scrape into a large bowl and let cool slightly., about 10 minutes (an instant-read thermometer should register 125°).
Meanwhile, whisk flour, baking soda, and kosher salt in a medium bowl.
Add brown sugar and granulated sugar to browned butter. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat until incorporated, about 1 minute. Add eggs and vanilla, increase mixer speed to medium-high, and beat until mixture lightens and begins to thicken, about 1 minute. Reduce mixer speed to low; add dry ingredients and beat just to combine. Mix in toffee pieces and chocolate wafers with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Let dough sit at room temperature at least 30 minutes to allow flour to hydrate. Dough will look very loose at first, but will thicken as it sits.
Place a rack in the middle of the oven; preheat to 375°. Using a 1-oz. ice cream scoop, portion out balls of dough and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing about 3″ apart (you can also form dough into ping pong–sized balls with your hands). Do not flatten; cookies will spread as they bake. Sprinkle with sea salt.
Bake cookies until edges are golden brown and firm but centers are still soft, 9–11 minutes. Let cool on baking sheets for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough and a fresh parchment-lined cooled baking sheet.
No holiday is complete without some Snickerdoodles! Annita, a member of our Continuous Improvement team, has been testing out some recipes and finally found a winner from i am a food blog.
Ingredients:
1.5 cups all purpose flour
¾ tsp cream of tartar
½ tsp baking soda
⅛ tsp salt
½ cup unsalted butter plus 1-2 tablespoons
⅓ cup granulated sugar
⅓ cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
Directions:
Whisk together the flour, salt, cream of tartar, and baking soda in a bowl and set aside.
Brown ½ cup butter in a saucepan, swirling, until butter foams and starts to turn brown and smells nutty. Immediately transfer butter to a liquid measuring cup and see how much water content you lost. You want to have ½ cup of butter, so stir in the remaining 1-2 tablespoons of butter if you need it – the butter should just melt, not foam.
When the butter is mostly cool, whisk in both ⅓ cup of brown and white sugar until incorporated with no lumps. Whisk in the egg until smooth and glossy. Stir in the vanilla and use a rubber spatula to fold in the dry ingredients until just combined and no dry spots remain. Do not over mix.
Mix the cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl. Use a 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop and scoop out two balls of dough, so that each cookie is 3 tablespoons large. Smoosh the two balls on top of each other – they should kind of look like a 2 ball snowman (see photo) and you should get about 8-10 cookies. Roll the logs/tots generously in the cinnamon sugar, being sure to coat evenly. Place the cookies on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet, cover with plastic wrap and let chill in the fridge for 15-30 minutes
Heat the oven to 325°F and bake on a parchment paper lined baking sheet for 12-15 minutes or until the edges are just set, rotating and moving trays halfway if browning unevenly. Remove from the oven and bang the pan down against the counter top (this helps create a couple of ripples like you see on Instagram) Let cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then move to a rack to cool completely.
This may not technically be a cookie but it was too good not to share. This Christmas Crack is a go-to for Colin, one of our Sr. Managers on our Agile Delivery team. Thanks to Little Dairy on the Prairie for the inspo!
Ingredients:
1 cup butter no substitutes
1 cup brown sugar
48 saltine crackers
1 ½ cups semi sweet chocolate chips
Sprinkles chopped almonds or walnuts (optional)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400° fahrenheit.
Line baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray.
Line foil with saltine crackers, touching salt side up. You probably won’t need quite two sleeves of crackers.
Over medium heat, while constantly stirring, bring butter and sugar to a gentle, yet rolling, boil. If you turn the heat too high the mixture might separate. I like to use a whisk for stirring.
Once it’s boiling remove the spoon and boil for exactly 3 minutes. You want the heat to be as low as possible while maintaining a boil. It’s important for the mixture to be completely boiling for the entire three minutes or the candy will turn out soggy.
Pour over saltine crackers. Spread with the back of a spoon if necessary.
Bake for 5 minutes.
Immediately after removing them from the over sprinkle with chocolate chips. Let sit for a few minutes. Spread with the back of a spoon.
Decorate with sprinkles, chopped nuts or colored dipping chocolates.
Did you really think we were going to share a cookie recipe post without a recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies? One of our Sr. Product Managers, Paul, swears by this recipe by Allrecipes and always bakes a batch to enjoy for the holidays. Soft, chewy chocolaty goodness…YUM!
Preheat oven to 350° fahrenheit (175 degrees C). Sift together the flour and baking soda, set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Beat in the instant pudding mix until blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips and nuts. Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Edges should be golden brown.
Our Flipp family hopes you enjoyed being part of our holiday cookie recipe exchange this year! Be sure to tag us on Instagram (@getflipp) and Facebook so we can see what recipes you’ve decided to explore. Remember to check the Flipp app to get the best deals on ingredients. Wishing you a happy and safe holiday season, from our Flipp family to yours.
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