Tag: holidays

CRANBERRY SAUCE

This homemade cranberry sauce is full of warm, fragrant spices with a hint of refreshing orange zest. One bite, and you’ll vow to never buy canned cranberry sauce again! The best part is, it comes together in under 30 minutes!

 

The classic Thanksgiving table tends to look pretty similar across America: a giant roasted turkey surrounded by mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, and, of course, cranberry sauce. Cranberries — along with concord grapes and blueberries — are widely known as the only commercially grown fruits native to the United States. So if you’re going to pick a fruit to represent the American harvest, this is it. 

Then the debate becomes canned cranberry sauce or fresh cranberry sauce? I will confess, for years, more than I care to admit, I bought canned cranberry sauce. I didn’t like it, so my husband was the only one that ate it. But then through a conversation that a friend and I were having, I realized how easy fresh cranberry sauce was to make, and for obvious reasons, tastes a whole lot better!! So began the process of developing my own, delicious cranberry sauce! I thought I just didn’t like cranberries since all I had tried was canned cranberry sauce – can you blame me? But once I tried fresh, homemade cranberry sauce, I was officially hooked! I now fully understand why cranberry sauce makes its way onto the table every Thanksgiving and often reappears at Christmas!

For this recipe:

This recipe really is easy! A few simple ingredients, 30 minutes of your time, and you’ll have an amazing cranberry sauce to impress everyone sitting around your table for the holidays!

All you need:

  • Orange juice
  • Sugar (white or brown)
  • Cinnamon Sticks
  • Cloves
  • Salt
  • Cranberries
  • Orange Zest

Start by bringing the orange juice, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and cloves to a boil and stir until the sugar is dissolved. **It is easiest to put the cloves in a spice bag or cheesecloth, so they can be easily removed. It is almost impossible to find and fish out the cloves at the end. Believe me, I’ve tried!

Once the mixture is boiling, add the cranberries and orange zest. Simmer over medium-low heat for 20 – 25 minutes, or until most of the cranberries have popped and are soft. Remove cinnamon sticks and cloves.

Let the cranberry sauce cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

That’s it! Super-easy, but so delicious!!

I love these little spice bags! They make it easy to remove the cloves:

 

Cranberry Sauce

This homemade cranberry sauce is full of warm, fragrant spices with a hint of refreshing orange zest. One bite and you'll vow to never buy canned cranberry sauce again! The best part is it comes together in under 30 minutes.
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Course Side Dish
Servings 8 servings

Ingredients
 

  • ½ cup orange juice
  • ¾ cup sugar (white or brown) **See notes
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 4 whole cloves, most easily retrieved if put into a spice bag or cheesecloth
  • ⅛ teaspoon salt
  • 12 ounces fresh cranberries
  • 1 teaspoon grated orange zest

Instructions
 

  • Bring orange juice, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and cloves to a boil, and stir until the sugar is dissolved. **It is easiest to put the cloves in a spice bag or cheesecloth so they can be easily removed.
  • Once the mixture is boiling, add the cranberries and orange zest. Simmer over medium-low heat for 20-25 minutes, or until most of the cranberries have popped and are soft. Remove cinnamon sticks and cloves.
  • Let the cranberry sauce cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate.

Notes

**Sugar – For this recipe, you can either use granulated white sugar or brown sugar. Brown sugar will give you a slightly richer favor because of the molasses in the sugar. This recipe is delicious either way.
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CHEWY CHOCOLATE GINGERBREAD COOKIES

 

Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies

These cookies are perfect for the holidays with warm spices like cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. But honestly, they are too good to eat just once a year!
*Adapted from Martha Stewart's Cookies
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Chilling Time 2 hours
Course cookies
Servings 2 dozen

Ingredients
 

  • 1 ½ cups + 1 tablespoon flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa
  • 8 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
  • ½ cup brown sugar, packed
  • ¼ cup molasses
  • 7 ounces chocolate chips, semisweet or dark chocolate

For Rolling Dough:

  • ¼ cup granulated sugar

Instructions
 

  • In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and cocoa. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and freshly grated ginger. Add the brown sugar, and beat on medium-low just until combined.
  • Add molasses, and beat just until combined.
  • Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and combine. Do not over mix.
  • Stir in the chocolate chips by hand.
  • Turn dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Pat the dough out to about 1 inch thick. Seal with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for about 2 hours.
  • Preheat oven to 325°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper, or use a silicone pan liner.
  • Roll dough into 1 ½ inch balls, then roll in sugar. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes.
    **If the cookies are too round for your preference, as soon as you take the pan out of the oven, take a drinking glass and press each cookie gently to flatten slightly.
  • Allow the cookies to rest for 3 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.
  • Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
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These cookies are perfect for the holidays with warm spices like cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. But honestly, they are too good to eat just once a year!

**Adapted from Martha Stewart’s Cookies.

These cookies are full of bold holiday flavors: cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger – lots of ginger! Not only does this recipe call for ground ginger, but also for freshly grated ginger, which gives these cookies a zing of flavor!

When I bake these chocolate gingerbread cookies, the entire kitchen smells of wintry spices. It’s impossible not to feel like the holidays have arrived! But I promise you are not breaking any rules if you decide to bake these at other times of the year. I do!

When I made these cookies this week, both my kids were skeptical but gave me an enthusiastic “YUM!” when they tried them. The combination of the sweet, earthy flavor of chocolate and the zing of fresh ginger are what makes these cookies a real winner!

These cookies have a few extra steps than some other “simpler” cookies, but I guarantee the extra work will be worth it in the end! Chilling the dough makes it much easier to work with and prevents the dough from spreading too much when baking.

You’ll notice that this recipe does not have any eggs – that is not a typo! This is the first cookie recipe that I’ve made that didn’t have egg in it – and I was skeptical. But hey, it works! They are soft and chewy, just the way a cookie should be!

Tips and Tricks:

  • Baking Sheets: After you have baked a batch of cookies and removed them from the pan, the tendency is to put another batch on the same pan right away, especially if you are short on time. For plump, soft cookies, it is important to allow your baking pan to cool to room temperature before adding more cookie dough. Adding cookie dough to a hot pan – or even a warm pan – will start the dough softening and melting before it gets into the oven. This will contribute to a cookie that spreads out too much in the oven. For a quick method of cooling your pans, run them under cold water for 20 to 30 seconds (or longer if needed) until cooled. Dry, and continue with your baking.
  • Cooling your Cookie: When you take your finished cookies out of the oven, let them rest for 2 to 3 minutes before attempting to remove them from the baking sheet. The cookies are way too soft to transfer right out of the oven. But don’t allow them to sit on the hot baking sheet longer than a couple of minutes; the heat from the cookie sheet will cause your cookies to flatten out even more! After 2 to 3 minutes, use a spatula and move the cookies to a cooling rack, allowing air to circulate around the cookie to cool them quickly and evenly.

 

Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies

These cookies are perfect for the holidays with warm spices like cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. But honestly, they are too good to eat just once a year!
*Adapted from Martha Stewart's Cookies
No ratings yet
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Chilling Time 2 hours
Course cookies
Servings 2 dozen

Ingredients
 

  • 1 ½ cups + 1 tablespoon flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa
  • 8 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
  • ½ cup brown sugar, packed
  • ¼ cup molasses
  • 7 ounces chocolate chips, semisweet or dark chocolate

For Rolling Dough:

  • ¼ cup granulated sugar

Instructions
 

  • In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and cocoa. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and freshly grated ginger. Add the brown sugar, and beat on medium-low just until combined.
  • Add molasses, and beat just until combined.
  • Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and combine. Do not over mix.
  • Stir in the chocolate chips by hand.
  • Turn dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Pat the dough out to about 1 inch thick. Seal with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for about 2 hours.
  • Preheat oven to 325°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper, or use a silicone pan liner.
  • Roll dough into 1 ½ inch balls, then roll in sugar. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes.
    **If the cookies are too round for your preference, as soon as you take the pan out of the oven, take a drinking glass and press each cookie gently to flatten slightly.
  • Allow the cookies to rest for 3 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.
  • Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Tried this recipe? Leave a comment and rating below.Follow me on Facebook and never miss a recipe!

SNICKERDOODLE COOKIES

What’s better than a warm, soft, cinnamony (Yes, I just made that word up) snickerdoodle?!?! I’ve got your perfect snickerdoodle recipe right here. These are plump and soft with the perfect amount of cinnamon. The best part, no need to chill the dough!

I think we have all heard of a snickerdoodle. But what exactly is a snickerdoodle? The Joy of Cooking claims that “snickerdoodle” comes from “Schneckennudel,” a German word that literally means “snail noodles.” Schneckennudels have nothing to do with snails or noodles; they’re actually delicious-looking German cinnamon rolls.

Other experts say that the word doesn’t actually mean anything and it’s just a product of New Englanders’ tendency to call cookies whimsical names. Either way, it’s a delicious cinnamon-covered cookie that I can’t get enough of!

Some people like a flat, crispy snickerdoodle, and others, like myself, prefer a plump, soft cookie. Both are good and acceptable ways to make a snickerdoodle. I fiddled with this recipe until I got a cookie that was plump and soft on the inside and crispy on the outside. So, if you are on team “soft snickerdoodle,” I’ve got your perfect recipe right here! The best part about this recipe is that you do not need to chill the dough, so you will get your snickerdoodle fix sooner.

What makes for a soft snickerdoodle?

Several things…

  • The standard snickerdoodle recipe calls for cream of tartar, which gives the cookie its unique tangy taste. Not only that, the cream of tartar, along with the baking soda, gives the cookie a chewy, soft texture.
  • I changed the recipe to one egg + one egg yolk instead of 2 whole eggs. It’s a simple change that I use in some of my other cookie recipes, but it can make a big difference to the outcome. Egg whites are mostly water, and as the water evaporates during the baking process, it can leave baked goods dry; for a cookie, that can mean a crispier cookie. On the other hand, because it contains a higher percentage of fat, the yolk adds moisture to the cookies and gives lift and more of a cake-like texture to the cookie.
  • One of the rules I follow for all my cookies involves how I cool them. When you take your cookies out of the oven, let them rest for 2 minutes on the baking sheet before moving them to a cooling rack. They will be too soft to remove right away. But do not leave them on the hot baking sheet any longer than 2 minutes. They will continue to bake and spread out on the hot pan, and you will end up with flatter, crispier cookies instead of soft ones.
  • Another rule I always follow is to allow my baking sheets to come to room temperature before adding more cookie dough. Adding cookie dough to a hot or even warm pan will cause the fats in the dough to begin to soften and melt, resulting in cookies that spread out more and that end up flatter. If you do not want to wait for your pans to cool, run your pan under cool water for 20 to 30 seconds, dry, and continue with your baking.

I hope these yummy cookies make it onto your baking list and into your kitchen.

Snickerdoodle Cookies

What’s better than a warm, soft, cinnamony (Yes, I just made that word up) snickerdoodle?!?! I’ve got your perfect snickerdoodle recipe right here. These are plump and soft with the perfect amount of cinnamon. The best part, no need to chill the dough!
4.50 from 4 votes
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Course Dessert
Servings 32 cookies (about)

Ingredients
 

  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1½ cups granulated sugar
  • 1 egg + 1 egg yolk
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 3 cups flour
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoons cream of tartar
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt

For Rolling Cookies:

  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 3 teaspoons cinnamon

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 375°. Prepare baking sheets by lining with parchment paper or silicone mats.
  • In a standing mixer, cream together butter, 1 ½ cups sugar, eggs, and vanilla.
  • Whisk together flour, cinnamon, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined.
  • Mix together sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl for rolling cookies.
  • Shape dough into 1½ inch balls, and roll in sugar and cinnamon mixture. Place on a baking sheet, 2 inches apart.
    *I recommend using a 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop then rolling the dough into a ball for nice uniform cookies.
  • Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. The cookies may be puffy when they come out of the oven; they will flatten some as they cool. Rest for 2 minutes before moving to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
  • Allow the baking sheet to return to room temperature before adding more cookie dough to the pan. (see notes).
  • Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days. These cookies freeze well. If you freeze them, it is best to eat them within 6 months.

Notes

After you have baked a batch of cookies and removed them from the pan, the tendency is to put another batch on the pan right away, especially if you are short on time. However, for plump, soft cookies, it is important to allow your baking pan to come to room temperature before adding more cookie dough. Adding cookie dough to a hot pan or even a warm pan will start the dough softening and melting before it even gets into the oven. This will contribute to a cookie that spreads out too much in the oven. For a quick method of cooling your pans, run them under cool water for 20 to 30 seconds (or longer if needed, until cool), dry, and continue with your baking.
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MOLASSES CRINKLES

This cookie has a perfect mix of spices that give it a burst of flavor. Baked to perfection, it is crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, not to mention covered in beautiful cracks. I dare you to eat just one!

Just look at those beautiful cracks (aka crinkles)! They are almost too beautiful to eat…almost. This is another cookie I grew up on and has remained one of my favorites. When I had surgery a couple of years ago, my mom, remembering these as one of my favorites, mailed me a whole box of homemade molasses crinkles! I’m not sure my family even knew I got them…shhh…No, I didn’t share. But when I make them myself, I usually make a double batch. Half goes in the freezer, a good amount are eaten while warm, and some go in the cookie jar. These cookies even pass the “stay soft” test, as they are still soft on day 4! The last time I made these, my youngest said that I should make them every time! All this to say, these cookies are a “must make”! You need these cookies in your life! You can thank me later.

These cookies are pretty straightforward. But you must chill the dough for at least 2 hours. I will even make the dough the night before and bake the cookies the following day. If you chill the dough that long, let your dough sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. You don’t want the dough so cold that the cookies don’t spread out while baking.

I will admit that I am old school when it comes to molasses crinkles. I have always used the method of dipping two fingers in water and touching the sugary tops of each rolled ball. This wets the sugar and aids in giving the cookies beautiful cracks on top. Unfortunately, most recipes omit this step. Maybe I’m just a creature of habit, but my cookies have such beautiful tops with this method, and honestly, it doesn’t add much time to the whole process.

Some tricks to getting plump, soft cookies:

  • For this recipe, you must chill the dough. Chilling the dough before baking solidifies the fat in the cookies. As the cookies bake, the fat in the chilled cookie dough takes longer to melt than room-temperature fat. And the longer the fat remains solid, the less the cookies spread.
  • The recipe calls for 10-12 minutes. As a test, I did my first pan at 10 minutes, my second at 11 minutes, and the third at 12 minutes. I found that 11 minutes was the perfect time for plump, soft cookies with beautiful cracks. So don’t be afraid to play around with the baking times, as ovens slightly vary in how they bake. I would keep it to 1-minute adjustments.
  • One of the rules I follow for all my cookies involves how I cool them. When you take your cookies out of the oven, let them rest for 2 minutes on the baking sheet before attempting to move them to a cooling rack. They will be too soft to remove right away. But do not leave them on the hot baking sheet any longer than 2 minutes. They will continue to bake and spread out on the hot pan, and you will end up with flatter, crispier cookies instead of soft ones.
  • Another rule I always follow is to allow my baking sheets to come to room temperature before adding more cookie dough. Adding cookie dough to a hot or even warm pan will cause the fats in the dough to begin to soften and melt, resulting in a cookie that spreads out more and is flatter. If you do not want to wait for your pans to cool, run your pan under cool water for 20 to 30 seconds, dry, and continue with your baking.

With molasses, cloves, and cinnamon, these cookies would make a perfect addition to your holiday baking, whether it’s Thanksgiving or Christmas. I make them year-round because I can’t only have these once a year!

Molasses Crinkles

This cookie has a perfect mix of spices that give it a burst of flavor. Baked to perfection, it is crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, not to mention covered in beautiful cracks. I dare you to eat just one!
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 48 minutes
Chill Time 2 hours
Total Time 3 hours 8 minutes
Course cookies
Servings 3 dozen

Ingredients
 

  • ¾ cup shortening
  • 1 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1 egg
  • ¼ cup molasses
  • 2¼ cups flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ginger
  • ½ cup granulated sugar, for dipping cookies

Instructions
 

  • In a standing mixer, cream together shortening, brown sugar, egg, and molasses thoroughly.
  • In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, salt, cloves, cinnamon, and ginger until evenly incorporated.
  • Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until just combined. Do not over-mix.
  • Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill. Chill for at least 2 hours, but it can be refrigerated overnight.
  • Preheat the oven to 375°F. Prepare baking sheets by lining them with silicone mats or parchment paper.
  • Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Roll the cookie in the granulated sugar.
  • Place dough balls on prepared baking sheets. Dip two fingers in a small bowl of water and touch the top of each cookie.
  • Bake for 10-12 minutes (or until cookies are golden brown and nicely cracked on top but still soft in the center). I find 11 minutes is the perfect amount with my oven.
  • Allow the cookies to rest on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to completely cool.
  • Allow the baking sheet to return to room temperature before adding more dough. For a quicker method, run your pan under cool water for 20 to 30 seconds, dry, and continue with your baking.

Notes

Store in an airtight container for 4 to 5 days.
These cookies freeze well. If you freeze them, it is best to eat them within 6 months.
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