These Christmas Cowboy Cookies are an easy holiday cookie recipe made with oats, cranberries, coconut, pecans, and chocolate chips, then finished with a festive white chocolate drizzle.

These cookies look absolutely beautiful on a holiday cookie platter. They smell like Christmas while baking, taste incredible, and everyone will reach for them again and again. They are perfect for cookie exchanges, holiday parties, or gifting to friends and neighbors. Because this is the time of year to make extra and share!

OMG, this recipe is not only the perfect Christmas cookie, but one you will find yourself making all year long.

What goes into these cookies…

With easy swaps like dried cranberries or raisins, and coconut swapped for puffed rice cereal, you can customize them to what you love or what you have on hand. Every batch is full of flavor, chewiness, and that irresistible sweet and slightly savory combo.

To really deck these out for the holidays, drizzle them with melted white chocolate and top with extra dried cranberries, fresh rosemary, and even a tiny pinch of coarse salt. That sweet and salty vibe takes them over the top.

One of the best parts about cowboy cookies is that they are hearty and full of flavor. Add in your favorite, and leave out something if you prefer.

What makes these really Christmasy is the cranberries and rosemary, it’s one of my favorite flavor combinations.

Find more of my fun cranberry and/or rosemary treats:

• Rosemary Cranberry Toffee
• Lemon Rosemary Shortbread Cookies
• Rosemary Candied Walnuts
• Chocolate and dried fruit (Mendiant)
• White Chocolate Covered Pretzels with Pistachios and Dried Cranberries
• Fig Jam Dip
• Cranberry Pistachio Cookies
• Cranberry Sauce Scones

There is something insanely addictive about these cookies. One whiff and you instantly get that warm, cozy feeling.

The combination of brown sugar and cinnamon is always a winner, and the add ins make every bite exciting. Pecans, coconut, dried cranberries, and oats all come together for total deliciousness.

Don’t overcrowd the baking sheets, these cookies are big and they need room to spread out and bake evenly.

Crowding the baking pans with too much cookie dough prevents each cookie from having space to bake well.

One an 11×18 baking sheet I fit 6 cookies.

Let’s talk toppings, if you press in some of the add-ins you’ll see them on top of the baked cookies.

I like adding extra dried cranberries, pecans, and rosemary, so you see all the yumminess of what’s inside at a quick glance!

Finishing touches are what everyone notices about these…

the white chocolate drizzle,

the fresh rosemary

It gives these cookies that festive Christmas look, simply and easily,

while the red cranberries tie it all together beautifully.

Drop cookies recipes like these are great to have handy when you need something quick, impressive, and crowd-pleasing on a moment’s notice.

Christmas Drop Cookies:

Drop cookies are great cookies to have in your back pocket to make on a moments notice!

Everyone needs some easy Christmas cookies, add some fun, colorful sugar or sprinkles, or plate them up on a festive plate or package.

• Glaze chocolate Gingerbread Drop Cookies
• Glazed Almond Cookies
• Butter Pecan Cookies
• Oatmeal Maple Bacon Cookies
• Rosemary Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Peppermint Brownie Cookies
• Snickerdoodle Cookie
• Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Why are these called Cowboy Cookies?

Cowboy cookies are known for being hearty, bakery-style cookies packed with oats, coconut, chocolate chips, and nuts. This Christmas version adds dried cranberries, cinnamon, and a white chocolate drizzle for a festive holiday twist.

These Christmas Cowboy Cookies store beautifully in an airtight container for several days, making them a great make-ahead cookie for holiday parties. They also freeze well, which makes them perfect for holiday baking prep.

Put these holiday show stoppers at the top of you must bake list!

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Christmas Cowboy Cookies

Sweet and savory in every bite these cranberry chocolate chip cookies iwht oatmeal and nuts with a bit of rosemary a hint of salt is undeniably fantastic

Course Cookies, Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword chocolate, christmas cookies, cookies

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 27 minutes minutes

Servings 24 cookies

Author Diane Schmidt – createdbydiane.com

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups butter
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 large whole eggs
• 1 egg yolk, from 1 large egg
• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 3 cups old fashioned oats
• 2 cups chocolate chips (12 oz)
• 1 1/2 cups dried cranberries
• 1 cup sweetened coconut
• 1/2 cup pecans

optional items to add in, or on top of the cookies

• 1/2-1 cup white chocolate (for drizzle) Melt in microwave at 30-second intervals, stir well at each interval.
• 4-6 sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped Add in the cookie dough, or sprinkle on top of the cookies after they bake.
• 1/2-1 cup dried cranberries to place over the white chocolate drizzle
• pinch coarse salt

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°
• Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
• In the bowl of a mixer, beat the butter until smooth.
• Add in the granulated and brown sugar and salt, mix on medium to combine fully.
• Add in the whole egg and yolk, and blend the eggs into the mixture.
• Next, add in the flour, baking soda, cornstarch, cinnamon, oats, and mix to combine.
• Add in the chocolate chips, coconut, dried cranberries, pecans, and rosemary if adding it, then mix on a low speed to combine well.
• Drop by 3 tablespoons sized scoops onto the parchment paper.
• If you want items in the cookies on top of each cookie, save some or add additional ingredients to the tops before baking.
• Bake cookies for 15-18 minutes. The bottoms should be golden and firm, the tops will set up nicely as they cool.
• At this point, you can sprinkle the cookies with fresh rosemary or coarse salt. Allow the cookies to cool completely if you're adding some melted white chocolate drizzle. Drizzle them, then add some additional cranberries, rosemary, or salt.
• Allow the white chocolate to set up well for at least an hour, then you can stack or wrap the cookies.

The post How to Make the Best Cowboy Cookies for Christmas first appeared on Created by Diane.

The French call it Mendiant, which means scraps of chocolate with dried fruit and nuts, and it’s typically served around Christmas.

I am a huge dark chocolate fan and love Ghirardellis’s 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate, but use your favorite chocolate.

Other items to add are nuts and seeds, add some large Maldone sea salt flakes, which will give it a great contrast in flavor. I made a few varieties and the two I really liked are in this post.

Add fresh herbs like rosemary or other flavors. I’ve had spicy chocolate so add in some dried peppers, or add some pepper flavored spices, test 1 to be sure you like the flavor before adding spice to the whole batch,

Choose your favorite dried fruit, any combination will work well. The bright colors make it look like shiny jewels, they are tender to bite into and the chocolate will snap just a bit to give these a great texture.

Prep all the dried fruit by slicing it into bite-sized pieces so you will be able to fit the items you want on the size “disks” you’ll be making.

If you’re cutting sticky fruits like pineapple and mango, dust the fruit or your knife with powdered sugar so they will separate easily once cut.

Some favorite items to use:

• Banana chips
• dried pineapple
• dried mango
• dried pineapple
• dried apricots
• dried cranberries
• dried or dehydrated apples
• pepitas (roasted pumpkin seeds)
• add nuts like slivered almonds, cashews, walnuts, pecans, or peanuts.

There are lots of dehydrated fruits available like strawberries, raspberries which have pretty bright colors.

I have used dried blueberries as well with good results.

You can make chocolate bark by pouring the chocolate onto a rolled edge sheet pan, placing the fruit on top, and then allowing it to cool completely at room temperature. Then cut the chocolate into squares or triangles.

WHEN MELTED CHOCOLATE:

Tempering the chocolate is bringing it to the proper temperature so the chocolate will dry firm and not melt in your hand easily or dry and be soft and bendable.

It should be well melted, hot, and easy to stir and drizzle off a spoon easily.

Popular ways to heat chocolate and in a double boiler, in the microwave, or in a food processor I have used all three methods with great success.

Using a Microwave – At 20-30 second intervals mixing in between to ensure the chocolate melts evenly

Using a Double Boiler – with a stainless or glass bowl over a pot of simmering water (that does not touch the pot) melt the chocolate while stirring it in the bowl as the hot water heats from the chocolate from underneath the bowl. In a food process the heat that is created while mixing the chocolate will melt it, and the food processor will run for many minutes. I most often use the microwave when doing a small batch, I use a double boiled when I’m making more and find it easiest to heat a little more if needed since the water stays hot while I work.

Check out my post on Chocolate Covered Fruit HERE.

For added deliciousness: you can make a batch of toffee and pour the toffee onto the bottom of a rolled edge baking sheet, then add chocolate, then fruit for a delicious fruit topped toffee with chocolate.

Making toffee is just one more additional step by boiling butter and sugar… YUM! Check out my post on TOFFEE here.

These rosemary and cranberry disks are a simplified version of the toffee I made last year that I find irresistible…

My favorite toffee recipe is this Rosemary Cranberry Toffee, it’s salted, and sweet, and the fresh rosemary tastes fantastic with the dark chocolate and buttery toffee.

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Chocolate and Dried Fruit

quick easy candy making with chocolate and dried fruit

Course Desssert

Cuisine American, French

Keyword candy, chocolate, christmas cookies, fruit

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

Author Diane Schmidt – createdbydiane.com

Ingredients

• 1 cup chocolate I prefer 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate (use your favorite chocolate)
• 1/2 cup dried fruit (any variety) sliced into bite sized pieces, use banana chips, dried pineapple, dried apricots, dried mango, dried apples, dried cranberries, or dehydrated fruit.

Instructions

• Use a baking sheet to place the melted chocolate so they dry and harden with a smooth bottom and you can easily move the candy.
• Prep all the dried fruit so it's ready to put into place as soon as you're chocolate is melted.
• Heat the chocolate in the microwave at 30 second increments until fully melted, stirring at each interval. Add a teaspoon of coconut oil to thin it if needed. Alternatively, you can use a double boiler, don't allow the boiling water to touch the bottom of the pot or it may scorch the chocolate and overheat it. Dark chocolate should be melted to about 115° milk or white chocolate to about 105° check post for more into.
• Drop dollops of melted chocolate onto the baking sheet.
• Top each dollop with dried fruit.
• Allow chocolate to cool at room temperarues.
• There are many options given in the post, how to turn this into bark, trays of toffee as well and other dried fruit options.

The post Chocolate and Dried Fruit first appeared on Created by Diane.

I have always been a huge fan of butter cookies. They are tender with a nice snap to them. They seem to melt in your mouth, which I find irresistable.

Now butter cookies are usually vanilla flavored.

But WOW… Chocolate Butter Cookies are just so irresistable.

I am a huge chocolate fan, how about you?

These are not only the cutest teddy bear cookies but they aren’t too hard to make. I find them easier than cut out cookies.

These cookies are piped in a piping bag with a large star tip #864.

I taped down the parchment paper to hold it steady when piping, but after I did more of them, I didn’t need to.

These can be piped directly onto a baking sheet, but don’t “grease” it, or the dough will slide and will brown too quickly when baked.

Tips on making the cookie dough

• Butter cookies are tender and delicate.
• Be sure the butter is at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, an hour would be better.
• Make sure the heavy cream is at room temperature, again… cold items will not help with cookie dough.
• If the cookie dough is cool, it will be harder to press out of the piping bag.
• Only fill the bag 1/2 full so you can manage pressing the cookie dough through the piping tip.
• You can mix this cookie dough by hand if necessary, but… Oh, how I love a mixer! Beat the butter, then add the sugar and mix for 1-2 minutes until light and fluffy. If the butter is just barely mixed, it will be thick and you want it to be light so that the cookie dough is soft.

To decorate these easily I made some glaze icing and tinted some black. I just pipe on some dots and they seem to come to life! Feel free to add as much detail as you’d like. I tried to keep them as simple as possible. (Add giant eyes and you’ll have Mickey Mouse cookies)

An alternative would be to use melted chocolate and white chocolate or royal icing.

These may just be my new favorites!!!

This cookie dough can be used in a cookie press as well.

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Chocolate Butter Cookies

Tender chocolate butter cookies piped into adorable teddy bear shapes

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 36 cookies

Author Diane Schmidt – createdbydiane.com

Ingredients

• 1 cup salted butter, room temperature or add a pinch of salt if using unsalted butter
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1-2 tablespoons heavy cream, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa I use Hershey's unsweetened cocoa
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar use more of less for desired consistency
• 1-2 tablespoons water use more of less for desired consistency
• 3 drops black food coloring
• 2 drops white food coloring if desired

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 375°
• Prepare baking sheets with parchment paper if desired.
• In the large bowl of a mixer, add butter and mix until smooth.
• Add in the sugar and beat until smooth and fluffy and the sugar isn't so gritty.
• On low speed add in the egg, heavy cream, and vanilla.
• Add the flour and cocoa and mix on medium until well combined.
• Add a large star piping tip to a piping bag I used a #864 piping tip. Fill the piping bag 1/2 full (don't overfill the bag or it will be hard to pipe the cookie dough).
• You'll start by piping the ears, two short bursts of dough in an open "V" shape. Then you'll add a large swirl on top of the ears.
• Bake at 375° 8-10 minutes. The cookies should feel baked, so they won't be chewy when cooled. Butter cookies often have a slight "snap" to them once completely cooled.
• Allow cookies to cool completely.
• Mix icing and separate it with a very small portion for black and a large portion for white. Use food coloring to achieve the desired colors. I used black and white food coloring.
• Place each color into piping bags, pipe on the ears, eyes, and mouth, then let the icing dry until firm. I kept the design simple, add more detail for the nose if desired.
• Alternatively, you can use white and dark chocolate melted in a piping bag if desired.

Inspiration for how these cookies look came from foodie.yuki on Instagram.

The post Chocolate Butter Cookies first appeared on Created by Diane.

I wanted a cookie with a bright flavor and when I make Chai Cookies they have cardamom in them and was going to use lemon for these, but I decided on orange and…

Oh, my goodness! I’m glad that flavor combo worked out as delicious as it did.

These cookies have lots of orange zest and the warm cozy flavors of vanilla, nutmeg, and cardamom.

This year I wanted to simplify some of my Christma cookie baking and decided to drizzle glaze icing over most of my cookies and I’m so glad I did, it saved me a ton of time and to be honest no one seemed to miss the precise icing, so keep it simple is my new favorite cookie icing. My old favorite method was dipping cookies into glaze icing, no need for a piping bag for either method.

Check out my Simplifying Christmas post for more tips on how to enjoy by doing less!

Even the mixer is looking all pretty with the orange zest, cardamom, and fresh grated nutmeg.

It’s been said oranges were a popular item to receive in your stocking. As fresh fruit was such a treat, just as now… years later candy would be a welcome gift in a stocking now.

Orange Glaze icing:

Mix 2 cups powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons of fresh orange juice. Top with fresh orange zest. Add more orange juice or powdered sugar to achieve the thickness/thinness of the frosting desired.

Another great option to cut out cookies for this recipe is to use a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop, they bake up nice and plump, without any spread, and are fun to sink your teeth into, tender and delicious.

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Orange Cardamom Cookies

orange and cardamon flavor these sugar cookies with a warm cozy taste everyon will enjoy.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword christmas cookies, cookies, glaze icing, orange

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 9 minutes minutes

Total Time 19 minutes minutes

Servings 36 cookies

Author Diane Schmidt – createdbydiane.com

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, salted which is 2 sticks
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon orange zest, chopped from 1 softball size navel orange
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cardamom
• 1 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg this really gives the cookie a great flavor, I love fresh nutmet. Use dry if you cannot locate fresh nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
• 1/4 teaspoon salt I love salty sweets and yes use salted butter and a pinch more salt, omit the additional pinch if you prefer.
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375°
• In the bowl of a mixer beat butter with sugar until fluffy 1-2 minutes.
• Add in the egg and mix on medium-low to combine
• Next, add in the flour, orange zest, cardamon, nutmeg, and vanilla
• Scrape down the sides and be sure all ingredients are well-mixed.
• Roll out cookie dough with a little flour or between parchment paper, waxed paper, or plastic wrap.
• Cut into the desired shape with cookie cutters or use a knife and make squares or triangles. Alternatively, I 've used a 2 tablespoon scoop and the cookies bake into rounded mounds (they do not spread out) which I liked, biting into a thick cookie is fun.
• Bake cookies on parchment lined baking sheets for 8-9 minutes for cut out cookies, and 14-15 minutes for drop cookies until bottoms are golden in color and edges are firm.
• Allow the cookies to cool completely.
• Prepare the glaze icing by mixing the powdered sugar with orange juice until smooth, and adjust the proportions to get the consistency you want. Drizzle over cooled cookies and let the icing dry completely before moving or stacking cookies.

The post Orange Cardamom Cookies first appeared on Created by Diane.

Oh… the beauty of jewel tones, bright red dried cranberries and pretty green pistachios are the heroes of this recipe.

No Christmas cookie platter should be without some red and green!

This recipe can be made into balls, use a tablespoon size scoop to keep them all the same size. or roll and cut out the dough with a knife into squares or traingles (cookie cutters won’t work great since they re so full of cranberries and pistachios) and you can prepare the dough, shape it into a log, wrap it in parchment or waxed paper and keep it in the fridge for 3 days or freeze (up to 3 months placed in a plastic zipper bag, then place in the fridge for 12 hours, then slice and bake.

Bake similar sized cookies together. If you make balls they will take longer to bake then thinner sliced or cut cookies.

These cookies are baked when they get a little golden on the edges or bottom and feel “light” when lifted not heavy, if they feel dense they will need another minute or two, and the moisture inside the cookie will be chewy. These cookies are not chewy inside, think similar to shortbread, buttery, tender, with a mild crubleflavorful,

How does the powdered sugar stick to the cookies?

The warmth of the cookie allows the powdered sugar to cling on, I prefer them rolled in powdered sugar twice.

Coating the cookies in powdered sugar is best done when the cookies are warm, as the powdered sugar will stick well. If the cookies cool off too much, place them in the microwave for 30 seconds to just warm them up, and then roll them in powdered sugar. Don’t forget giving the cookies 2 coats will make them white and well coated with powdered sugar.

You can coat any of the shapes of these cookies in powdered sugar.

What other flavor options can be added to these cookies?

Add in 1/2 teaspoon almond extract or orange extract, lemon or orange zest will give these cookies a bright citrusy flavor.

Tip for chopping dried cranberries:

Chop the dried creanberres so they are in small pieces, a similar size as you are chopping the pistachios, use a tablespoon or two of powdered sugar so the stickiness of the dried cranberries won’t stick to the knife or themselves and will help them be evenly distributed in the cookies.

Can this recipe be make without the egg?

This recipe can be made more as a shortbread style: eliminating the egg and baking powder. Use 1/2 cup powdered sugar instead of brown sugar. And use only 2 cups of flour. If the dough doesn’t come together easily add a tablespoon of heavy cream.

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Cranberry Pistachio Cookies

Deliciously crunchy sugar cookie with dried cranberries and pistachios. 3 baking options roll into balls, cut out, or rolled into a log, refrigerated and sliced.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword christmas cookies, cookies, cranberries, nuts

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 8 minutes minutes

Total Time 13 minutes minutes

Servings 5 dozen

Author Diane Schmidt – createdbydiane.com

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup dried cranberries, chopped (use a tablespoon of powdered sugar coating the cranberris so the knife doesn't stick to them) they should be plump and moist, the color should be a pretty red (if they are orange-ish and dry, they won't taste as good)
• 1 cup shelled pistachios, chopped they should be a pretty green color
• 1 cup powdered sugar (for rolling cookies into after baking) more powdered sugar can be used to chop the dried cranberries so the knife won't stick to them.

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°.
• In the bowl of a mixer beat butter with sugar and mix until fluffy 1-2 minutes.
• Add in the egg and vanilla mix on medium-low to low to combine.
• Pour in the flour, baking powder, and salt and mix until the dough is mixed until the flour is absorbed.
• Add in the cranberries and chopped pistachios and mix on medium until well blended.
• Pour dough onto work surface and roll into a ball until the dough is smooth and not crumbly. Make one big ball or 2 smaller balls if it's easier to handle.
• I offer 3 ways to bake these cookies
• Roll them into 1 tablespoon sized balls.

  Roll out 1/4" thick and cut with a knife into squares or triangles.

  Roll into parchment paper or waxed paper and shape into a log, refrigerate at least 1 hour and slice and bake.
• Bake at 350° for 7-8 minutes lightly golden on the edges and bottoms, the balls take 9-10 minutes and should feel "light" not heavy when they are fully baked".
• Roll the balls into powdered sugar warm so the sugar sticks. Then roll again once cooled for better coverage.

The post Cranberry Pistachio Cookies first appeared on Created by Diane.

Chocolate and gingerbread make a delicious combination, it’s the warmth of Christmas in every bite. It’s cookie season after all and there is no better time to try this cookie.

Now onto the glaze: I first made them with a bourbon glaze and WOW the flavor was wonderful. If you’re not a bourbon fan, vanilla glaze, maple glaze or add a touch of cinnamon are all delicious options.

Drop cookies are always a great cookie to add to a Christmas cookie box or tray, these would be fabulous for a cookie exchange.

The texture of these cookies is just PERFECT. Both crispy on the outside, and chewy on the inside, they have a rich almost fudgy warmth inside, and the crackle on top is perfect for creating nooks and crannies to hold that glaze icing on top!

There are so many reasons I love this recipe:

• The cookie dough comes together quickly and easily.
• The dough does not need refrigeration (as long as your butter is at room temperature- cool to touch about 65°)
• The flavors scream Christmas, but they are delicious any time of year. Gab a glass of milk, coffee, or tea, and enjoy.
• These cookies pack well, ship well, and freeze well. Remove any air after putting the cookies in a zipper freezer bag (use a straw- suck out the air).

Can I add different flavors to this cookie?

Yes, use 1/2 teaspoon maple extract instead of vanilla extract or use both :).

Add fresh grated nutmeg for a warm flavor… 1/2- 1 teaspoon.

Want to brighten up the flavor, add 1 teaspoon orange zest.

I had a hard time saving some of these to share… every time I walked by them on the bakign sheets inthe kitchen. I grabbed one. a short walk around the kitchen and I’d grab another. It’s a good thing I had to leave the house at some point or they’d all be gone!

If you’re a glazed cookie fan, give some of these a try:

• Lemon Glazed Cake Cookies
• Glazed Poppy Butter Cookies
• Glaze Icing on Sugar Cookies
• Glazed Almond Cookies
• Shortbread Balls
• Chai Sugar Cookie

And I also have a Chocolate Gingerbread Cut Out Cookie

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Glazed Chocolate Gingerbread Drop Cookies

Crispy and chewy chocolate gingerbread cookies with a glaze icing

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword christmas cookies, cookies

Servings 36 cookies

Author Diane Schmidt – createdbydiane.com

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa I used Hershey's unsweetened cocoa
• 1 tablespoon molasses
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground clove

Glaze Icing- Whisk ingredients until smooth and adjust thinness with a drop or two of water if needed

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 3-4 tablespoons water or bourbon
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1/4 teaspoon maple extract if desired.

Instructions

• Preheat teh oven to 350°
• In the bowl of a mixer, beat butter with brown sugar until fluffy 1-2 minutes on medium-high speed.
• Add one egg at a time, mix on medium-low speed until each is combined.
• Add molasses, vanilla and mix until just combined.
• Place the flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and clove in a medium bowl and whisk the dry ingredients together, pour that into the mixer and mix on medium speed until well combined.
• Use a 2 tablespoon scoop, portion out the cookie dough onto parchment lined baking sheets leaving 2 inches in between each portion of cookie dough.
• Bake each baking sheet for 10-11 minutes. Don't overcrowd the oven, bake one tray of cookies at a time.

The post Glazed Chocolate Gingerbread Drop Cookies first appeared on Created by Diane.

I don’t know about you but I love a good tip, sometimes it’s the simplest thing that can make all the difference.

You’ll find tips, recipes and information on baking delicious cookies easily and so much more!

Lots of cookie recipes require common requirements…

Let’s Chat:

Butter

Bring butter and eggs to room temperature, what temperature is that exactly?

The butter should be cool to the touch and not so soft that your finger would sink to the counter when gently pressed.

There would be resistance and the butter would be firm enough to just allow your finger to make a 1″ mark.

The butter would cut easily without squishing. If you use a thermometer it should ready about 63-65°.

If you’re kitchen is really warm, pop it back in the fridge until it’s firmed up.

Warm butter in baking when the recipe calls for “room temperature” will have the cookies spread more than what would be expected.

Some recipes may call for melted butter, that means it’s soft and smooth and in a liquid form, but don’t boil it.

Eggs

Make sure you are using Large sized eggs unless otherwise noted. Extra Large or Jumbo eggs will have too much liquid and the cookie batter will be thin and the cookies will spread and not hold their shape.

Eggs should be at room temperature so they will blend into the cookie dough easily and evenly. The protein in the eggs can hold air when mixed and will help create a nice texture in cookies otherwise the cookies may be too dense.

Allow eggs to sit on the counter for 30 minutes, or place them in a glass of lukewarm water for about 10 minutes.

The cookies above and the cookie dough in the first photos are my Italian Cookie Recipe– it’s cut 3/8″ thick and resembles the not overly sweet cookies you’d find in an Italian bakery.

And they are iced with Royal Icing.

Oven

Preheat the oven well, for at least 15 minutes.

To ensure it will be hold enough to hold the temperature you need even after you open the door and put a tray of cookies into the oven and close it.

An additional oven thermometer is a great item to have to make sure the temperature of your oven is accurate.

Gingerbread Cookies

Baking Sheets

Use thick baking sheets for even baking. Test how the batch of cookies you will be making in your oven. Place two portions of cookie dough into the center of a baking sheet and bake them.

Allow them to cool completely, then give them a taste, and adjust the temperature, time, or thickness of the cookie if needed. Don’t overbake cookies, firm, brown cookies will be dry and hard once cooled.

Do not overcrowd your cookies, allow 2 inches between each cookie. Otherwise, there will be too much cool cookie dough and and not enough space for the cookie sheet to warm up evenly around each cookie…

THIS IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST problems when baking cookies, they will not bake evenly, the won’t rise, they will spread, cookie should NOT touch when they are baked, if they do. There is not enough room between each cookie.

Don’t overcrowd your oven, only bake 1 baking sheet at a time (unless your oven can evenly bake more than one baking sheet at time- most cannot) Don’t leave cookies unattended in the oven and walk away. Most times by the time you smell cookies, they’re already done.

Rosemary Chocolate Chip Cookies– the perfect decked out chocolate chip cookies that everyone will LOVE!

I do not transfer my cookies to cooling racks, it’s messy and the risk of breaking the cookies is too great.

I make sure the cookies are baked, firm on the outer edges, and have an extremely light golden color on the bottom for cut out cookies or a warm golden color for drop cookies, as the cookies cool the centers will firm up as they cool completely.

This is why testing 2 cookies ahead of baking a whole tray full is so important, so you’ll know exactly the time to bake and what they will look like, to take them out of the oven and cool them on the baking sheet for the result you want.

Parchment Paper

Line the baking sheet with parchment paper, don’t butter baking sheets, and don’t reuse warm baking sheets.

Bake cookies in the middle of the oven or slightly above (as the heating element is usually below- the closer the baking sheet is to the bottom the more browned the bottoms of the cookies will be)

Bake the same size cookies on each baking sheet, be sure they are the same thickness. So each baking sheet will produce evenly baked cookies.

Baking Powder and Baking Soda

Baking powder most often allow the cookies to rise, and baking soda allows the cookies to get a nice crunch on the outside. But that will also depend on the cookie recipe itself (there are always exceptions)

Red Velvet Cut Out Cookies

These tips for baking cookies will help you make beautiful cookies.

Be sure to check out my other posts on baking cookies. You’ll find tips, recipes, and so much more.

• Cookie Baking Must See Posts
• How to Bake the Perfect Cut-Out Cookies
• Cookie Tips
• Christmas Cookie Recipes
• Easy Cut Out Sugar Cookie Recipe– no spread cookies!
• Italian Cut Out Cookies– less sweet than traditional sugar cookies
• Spritz Cookies

You can search my RECIPE INDEX here

Christmas Recipes are located here

Find more cookie recipes here

• Snowball Cookies
• Sugar Cookies with Glaze Icing
• Gingerbread Boy holding a candy cane

Peppermint Brownie Cookies

Royal Icing

Glaze Icing without a piping bag…

and glaze icing with a piping bag

Watch my VIDEO to see more Christmas cookies HERE.

WANT TO MAKE TREATS… but don’t want to bake try these 3 no bake items and HERE is one more.

I’m happy to help with any cookie questions you might have. Leave me a message in the comment section and I’ll message you back!

Sign up for my emails and reply to any email I send and it’ll land in my inbox! You won’t miss any recipes I post, I’m sure you’ll find some new recipes to LOVE!

The post Cookie Baking Tips first appeared on Created by Diane.

I haven’t always been a fan of fruit in everything, but OMG this will change anyone’s mind.

This toffee is the epitome of sweet and savory, it’ll wow your taste buds.

This flavor combination took toffee to the next level. Sweet and savory toffee tastes outstanding. I had it on my idea list for a while, and the holidays got busy but as soon as I had a spare moment before the New Year, I made a batch and I made another batch the next day and another about a week later. 

Needless to say,

it’s amazing!

One bite in and every person said Oh My… this is amazing.

Continue reading: Rosemary Cranberry Toffee

The post Rosemary Cranberry Toffee first appeared on Created by Diane.

Making fruit syrup is simple and there are so many uses.

I love making drinks with fresh syrups.

And the color cannot be denied as gorgeous and festive.

Add in a sprig of rosemary and whamo… it’s the perfect drink.