Long live the Christmas cookie exchange, a sweet tradition that’s brought joy to generations.
We asked The Early Edition listeners to share their favourite recipes for our first cookie exchange, and maybe a story to wash it down with. You delivered — by the baker’s dozen.
From grandma’s tried and true sugar cookies to buttery shortbread, you’ll find comfort in the familiar treats and maybe some adventure in trying something new and delicious.
Pour yourself a cup of coffee, pull out your apron, pre-heat the oven and enjoy these favourite recipes from The Early Edition readers.
Classic shortbread
Let’s start with the basics: this simple cookie can be surprisingly delicious when made well, says Myra Maston, a baker at Ubuntu Canteen in Vancouver.
It starts with having good ingredients: the best butter you can get (and keep it cold) as well as good flour and cane sugar.
This sugar gives it a texture Maston finds appealing.
“In French, it’s called a ‘sablo,’ which means sand, so you have more of a gritty texture … it actually is quite pleasant to have a bit more toothsome [texture], I supposed you’d say,” Maston said.
No matter what you have on hand or how you mix it, you can’t really go wrong with shortbread, she said. Even overmixing will just lead to a denser cookie — but they’ll still taste good.
“You can’t really screw it up,” she said.
Maston says shortbread reminds her of her mother, who would make shortbread cookies every year with icing.
500 g flour 400 g butter 175 g cane sugar 10 g sea salt
Combine all ingredients together until just mixed, either by hand or in a mixer with a dough hook. Then form into logs and chill overnight or for four hours.
Once firm, cut to your desired thickness — about two centimetres — and bake at 340 F until golden brown.
Butter pecan crescents
Now that you’ve mastered the classic shortbread, take it up a level with Jean Wightman’s version.
Her favourite cookie recipe actually made it into a cookbook as part of a CBC cookie competition 19 years ago.
It was chosen as one of the top 10 cookies that year, but something went awry, and the recipe was printed wrong.
These buttery shortbreads are a nostalgic treat for Wightman and a favourite of her son, Ross. He has a new baby and won’t be coming home for Christmas for the first time in 40 years.
“It has sort of brought back a lot of memories,” Wightman said.
2 cups sifted flour 1/4 tsp salt 1/4 cup cornstarch 1 cup soft butter 1/3 cup sifted icing sugar 2 tsp grated lemon zest (optional, or add grated orange rind) 3/4 cup finely chopped pecans Icing sugar to sprinkle on cookies
Sift flour and salt; add and mix in cornstarch.
Cream butter and gradually blend in icing sugar. Add sifted dry ingredients to creamed mixture, part at a time, combining well after each addition. Add and mix in rind and pecans.
Use 1 tsp of dough for each cookie. Shape to form crescents.
Place on ungreased cookie sheets at 325 F for 12-15 minutes. (Wightman finds when using parchment paper, it takes a bit longer.)
Sprinkle sifted icing sugar over crescents while still warm.
Jean Wightman says her butter pecan crescents bring back many memories of time spent with her son over the years. (Submitted/Jean Wightman)Tone’s date balls
OK, so not really a cookie, but let’s bend the rules for this delicious-sounding holiday goodie.
Karen Schendlinger shared this recipe, which, like many family recipes passed down through the years, has not-so-straightforward origins, but is beloved nonetheless. This one comes from her friend’s grandmother, Tone.
“I really don’t remember how it came to me, though I imagine I ate the date balls at some point, and insisted on getting the recipe,” Schendlinger said.
“Since that time (at least 20 years ago now) I have made these every year, for my family, and until recently, for my friend as well (she passed away last year).”
Schendlinger’s “simple but delicious” recipe is now yours. She recommends using the red and green Rice Krispies for a festive touch.
Cook these ingredients to boiling, then cool:
1/2 cup butter 3/4 cup sugar 1 egg 1 tbsp milk 1/2 cup chopped dates 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp vanilla
Add to the cooled mixture:
2 cups Rice Krispies 1/2 cup chopped nuts
Roll into balls and roll in shredded coconut.
Rita Ourom’s sugar cookies
Julie Ourom and Kathy Dunster shared this holiday favourite from their late mother, who loved to bake.
Rita started her baking at the beginning of December and stored or froze them until the holidays, or until the kids got their hands on them.
“She could decorate to her heart’s content,” Ourom and Dunster said of these sugar cookies.
“Imagine angels with yellow-tinted coconut hair, pink pigs with beady eyes and snow people with co-ordinated outfits.”
Ourom and Dunster acknowledge this recipe is “time consuming,” but worth it. They say it works well to make the dough a day ahead, chill it, and cut and bake the cookies the next day.
4 cups all-purpose flour 1 tbsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 3/4 cup margarine, at room temperature 2/3 cup shortening, at room temperature 1-1/2 cups white sugar 2 large eggs 2 tbsp milk 2 tsp pure vanilla extract 1/2 tsp freshly grated orange peel
Sift flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. Cream margarine and shortening well. Add sugar gradually and beat until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, then milk and vanilla. Beat well. Stir in flour mixture and orange peel and mix to a smooth dough. Form into ball, wrap in wax paper and a sealed plastic bag.
Chill in fridge for a minimum of three hours (or up to three days). Work with a quarter of the dough at a time and keep the remainder wrapped in the fridge. Roll dough on a lightly floured surface with floured rolling pin to 1/8 to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut out with floured cookie cutters.
Place cookies on ungreased baking sheets, about a half inch apart. Bake at 375 F on top shelf of oven for about 10 minutes, until edges are very lightly browned.
Cool on wire racks.
A platter of Julie Ourom’s cookies, including her mother’s sugar cookies. (Submitted/Julie Ourom)