December is a busy month. In the middle of all the shopping, planning, and traveling, I want to bake Christmas cookies.
How on earth can I find time to bake Christmas cookies? I use every shortcut I can think of! I save the complicated recipes for snow days when I have nowhere to go and all day to bake. In December, I run around nonstop. Here are my favorite quick and easy recipes for Christmas cookies.
Decorated Sugar Cookies
My family has a tradition of baking and decorating sugar cookies for the holidays. If I have time, I make my own sugar cookie dough. If I don’t have time, I just buy some cookie dough from the store. If you’re really short on time, go ahead and buy sugar cookies from the bakery. Next, add icing to your cookies. If I have the time and patience, I make my own icing by mixing powdered sugar and milk. If I’m in a hurry, I just buy the icing from the store. You can use food coloring to add a festive touch if you wish.
The best part of these Christmas cookies is the decorating. I give my kids bowls of candy and let them decorate the cookies however they want. I usually just use whatever candies I happen to have on hand. M&Ms are favorites with my kids, as are sprinkles and mini chocolate chips. You can use whatever you want, though. My goal is for the children to have fun!
Cornflake Wreath Cookies
Is your oven full? No problem! Cornflake wreath cookies are prepared on the stovetop. The recipe melts butter and marshmallow together, much like Rice Krispies Treats. Add some green food coloring to the marshmallow mixture and stir in some cornflake cereal. Shape the mixture into wreath shapes and add some red cinnamon candies for decoration. If your children don’t like the candies, simply leave them off.
I won’t lie to you. These cookies are messy. Make sure to put the cookies onto waxed paper so they don’t stick to the plate. Also, adding butter to your fingers when working with the cookies will help cut down on the stickiness. Finally, make sure to clean up right away. Cleaning dried-on marshmallow from your cookware and countertops is the worst!
M&M Cookies
M&Ms come in red and green over the holidays. They are the perfect colors for Christmas cookies! Simply add M&Ms to your favorite sugar cookie dough and bake. Or you can use your favorite chocolate chip cookie dough. Either add the M&Ms to the chocolate chip dough or replace the chocolate chips with the M&M’s. The cookies will taste amazing either way. Again, if you’re in a hurry, just add M&Ms to store-bought cookie dough. If you don’t feel like baking, slap some icing on store-bought cookies and stick the M&Ms on top. These cookies are a kid favorite no matter how you make them.
Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
Start these cookies with your favorite chocolate cookie dough. Again, you can buy dough or prepared cookies at the store to save time. Add some icing to the tops of the cookies. I like plain white on these, but you can add food coloring to the icing to make whatever color you want. Finally, crush up some candy canes. I usually do this by putting them in a bag and smashing them with a rolling pin, but you can use your imagination here. My kids enjoy helping with this step! Add your crushed candy canes on top of the icing and you’re done!
If all else fails, just buy some Christmas cookies from the store. As long as they taste good, everyone will be happy!
