Cookie Hobby

Get into the cookie hobby fun and make all sorts of treats for any and every occasion. Working with royal icing? No problem! Want some tried and true recipes? Keep reading for more!

Get the Recipes

Some people choose painting. Some choose model airplanes. We choose cookies!

I think there's something truly satisfying about taking on a hobby, especially when that hobby revolves around the delightful world of food... and it turns out exceptionally well in the end. Not only do people become genuinely impressed by your culinary skills, but the treats also taste delicious and perfectly suit the occasion! In this particular instance, we're talking about cookies that embody the festive spirit of the holidays. As I guide you through this process via Grace of @thegracefulbaker, you'll learn not just how to make the cookies themselves but also how to whip up a delectable icing to complement them. Finally, we'll explore the fun and creative aspect of decorating these holiday treats to make them truly shine! Read on for more tips and techniques that will elevate your cookie-making experience to new heights!

Recipe Card

Ingredients

  • 480 g all-purpose flour
  • 30 g cornstarch
  • 7 g salt
  • 1 cup butter
  • 200 g sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 12 g vanilla bean paste or extract


*Recipe from The Graceful Baker. Check her out for great seasonal classes!

Method

  1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. Mix together AP flour, salt, and cornstarch until combined.
  3. With paddle attachment of a stand mixer, cream butter & sugar until light and fluffy.
  4. Add vanilla extract & eggs, one at a time, mixing on low until incorporated. Return to a fluffy texture.
  5. Add in flour mixture all at once, mixing on low at first, and then increase to medium speed until dough is tacky and holds together. Do not over mix.
  6. Bake for 8-12 minutes until bottoms are slightly browned.
  7. Roll dough out to 5/16" inch using wood dowels as guides. Using a 3 to 3.5" cookie cutter, cut out cookies and place on silpat liners on cookie sheets. You should get about 18-20 cookies.

"You can be miserable before you have a cookie and you can be miserable after you have a cookie, but you'll never be miserable while you are eating a cookie."

–Ina Garten 

Making the Icing

Recipe Card

Ingredients

  • 2 lb confectioner's sugar
  • 1/2 cup + 2 T bottled lemon juice
  • 45 g meringue powder
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

  1. Mix the meringue powder and lemon juice in a stand mixer using the paddle attachment on medium speed until foamy. Scrape down the sides.
  2. Add in the powdered sugar and mix on low at first, then speed up to medium. Scrape down the sides.
  3. Mix on medium speed for 2-4 minutes until glossy and fluffy and stiff or medium peaks form.
  4. Now decide on your consistency needs. Divide icing into separate bowls.
  5. For a single flood, use extra thick flood, add water until the icing falls off the spatula in a steady stream (not glug, glug, glug).


Note: Grace uses the following consistencies:


Piping consistencies-

-Soft peak

-Medium peak

-Stiff peak


Flood consistencies-

-Thick

-Thin

Decorating

This is where patience kicks in. Once you've gotten to the extra thick flood consistency, use your gel colors and mix in the bowls. The colors used here are green, red, yellow, black. Make sure to have enough white on hand. You can include more colors for additional designs.


For more help, head over to the Graceful Baker for classes and more how-to videos! Just click the button below to get started.

The Graceful Baker

Cookie Party Recipes

The Graceful Baker's Sugar Cookie

Ingredients

  • 480 g all-purpose flour
  • 30 g cornstarch
  • 7 g salt
  • 1 cup butter
  • 200 g sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 12 g vanilla bean paste or extract


*Recipe from The Graceful Baker. Check her out for great seasonal classes!


For royal icing, see above.

Method

  1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. Mix together AP flour, salt, and cornstarch until combined.
  3. With paddle attachment of a stand mixer, cream butter & sugar until light and fluffy.
  4. Add vanilla extract & eggs, one at a time, mixing on low until incorporated. Return to a fluffy texture.
  5. Add in flour mixture all at once, mixing on low at first, and then increase to medium speed until dough is tacky and holds together. Do not over mix.
  6. Bake for 8-12 minutes until bottoms are slightly browned.
  7. Roll dough out to 5/16" inch using wood dowels as guides. Using a 3 to 3.5" cookie cutter, cut out cookies and place on silpat liners on cookie sheets. You should get about 18-20 cookies.

Crumbl Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

  • 333 g salted butter, softened
  • 173 g granulated sugar
  • 369 g brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 684 g all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 400 g Guittard milk chocolate chips

Method

  1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. Cream together the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar.
  3. Add the eggs and vanilla. Mix until light in color and creamy.
  4. Add in the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt), mix into the dough. Mix until completely combined. 
  5. Fold in the chocolate chips.
  6. Portion out the dough into 1/2 cup portions. Roll into a ball, break the ball in half and squish the two halves together, leaving the rough edges up. Arrange 6 onto each cookie sheet. Add extra chocolate chips to the top if desired.
  7. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the cookies are turning golden brown. 
  8. Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for 20 minutes before serving or transferring to a wire rack. 

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie

Ingredients

  • 16 tablespoons (227g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup (213g) light brown sugar, packed
  • 1/2 cup (99 g) granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg, at room temperature
  • 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon (14 g) King Arthur Pure Vanilla Extract
  • 2 cups (240 g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 cup (89 g) rolled oats, old-fashioned or quick-cooking
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt or 3/4 teaspoon table salt
  • 3 cups (510g) semisweet chocolate chips


Modifications by the baker: I don't stick to King Arthur brand for all the ingredients. I used dark instead of semisweet and added a bit more than the recipe called for. And I added about a cup of chopped walnuts.

Method

  1. Pre-heat oven to 325° F.
  2. In a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugars until smooth.
  3. Beat in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla.
  4. Whisk together the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and add to the butter mixture in the bowl.
  5. Mix until everything is thoroughly incorporated. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl, and mix briefly.
  6. Stir in the chocolate chips.
  7. Decide what size cookies you want to make. A muffin scoop (1/4 cup) will make 20 large, palm-sized cookies. A tablespoon cookie scoop (4 teaspoons) will make 50 medium (2 3/4" to 3") cookies; and a teaspoon cookie scoop (2 teaspoons) will make 100 small (2 1/2") cookies.
  8. Scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 1 1/2" to 2" between cookies.
  9. Bake the cookies for 12 to 17 minutes, until they're a light golden brown, with slightly darker edges. Their middles may still look a tiny bit shiny; that's OK, they'll continue to bake as they cool on the pan.
  10. Remove the cookies from the oven, and as soon as they're set enough to handle, transfer them to racks to cool.

Cranberry Pistachio Cookie

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (8 oz or 225 g) butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup (85 g) powdered sugar
  • Zest of two oranges
  • 1 3/4 cups (247 g) all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup (30 g) cornstarch
  • 3/4 cup (105 g) dried cranberries, finely chopped
  • 3/4 cup (105 g) shelled, salted pistachios, chopped

Method

  1. Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar, and orange zest of medium until light and fluffy - 3 minutes.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and cornstarch, then switch the mixer speed to low and stir in the flour mixture until well mixed.
  4. Fold in in the cranberries and pistachios until evenly combined.
  5. Divide the dough in half and roll each half into a tightly packed log that is 2-inches (5 cm). Wrap well in cling wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to firm but up to 2 days. It also can be frozen at this point for up to 8 weeks.
  6. When ready to bake, preheat the oven on the convection setting to 300°F (150°C) and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
  7. Slice the log of dough in ¼ inch (6 mm) thick cookies and arrange on the baking sheets 2 inches (5 cm) apart.
  8. Bake the cookies for 15-17 minutes, until lightly golden on the edges but still pale on top.
  9. Let cool completely before storing in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Saltine Cracker Toffee

Ingredients

  • 4 oz saltine crackers
  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 cup dark brown sugar
  • 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
  • 3/4 cup chopped pecans

Method

  1. Gather all ingredients and pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. Line a rimmed baking sheet with saltine crackers in single layer.
  3. Combine butter and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil; boil for 3 minutes.
  4. Immediately pour over saltines and spread to cover crackers completely. Bake in the preheated oven for 5 to 6 minutes.
  5. Remove from the oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over top. Let sit 5 minutes.
  6. Spread softened chocolate evenly. Sprinkle with pecans. Allow to cool completely, about 25 minutes.
  7. Break toffee into pieces. Enjoy!

Orange Cardamom Cookies

Ingredients

Cardamom Shortbread

  • 226 g (1 cup) salted butter, softened
  • 60 g (1/2 cup) powdered sugar
  • 2 g (1 tsp) freshly ground cardamom
  • 228 g (1 3/4 cups) all-purpose flour


Orange Glaze

  • 120 g (1 cup) powdered sugar
  • 1 Tbsp orange juice
  • 1 Tbsp milk
  • Orange zest, to decorate (optional)

Method

  1. Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment.
  2. Prepare Cardamom: If using fresh cardamom pods, grind them into a fine powder to release their aromatic flavor fully.
  3. Cream Butter and Sugar: Beat the softened butter with powdered sugar on low speed until the sugar is incorporated, then increase to medium speed and continue beating for about 30 seconds until the mixture is light and fluffy. Scrape the sides of the bowl to ensure even mixing.
  4. Add Dry Ingredients: Mix in the flour and freshly ground cardamom on low speed until the dough forms medium-sized chunks with no visible flour streaks—be careful not to over mix to maintain a tender texture.
  5. Chill Dough: Gather the dough together using a spatula or your hands, shape it into a disk using plastic wrap, then wrap tightly and refrigerate for 30 minutes to firm up the dough for easier rolling.
  6. Roll and Cut Dough: Remove the dough from the refrigerator, unwrap it, and place between two sheets of parchment paper. Roll out to ½-inch thickness, then use cookie cutters to cut shapes. Arrange the cookies on a parchment-lined plate and freeze for 10-15 minutes to help them hold their shape while baking.
  7. Bake Cookies: Transfer the chilled cutouts carefully to the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until the edges are very lightly golden. Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
  8. Make the Orange Glaze: Once cookies are cooled, whisk together powdered sugar, orange juice, and milk until smooth and pourable.
  9. Glaze Cookies: Dip the top side-down of each cookie into the orange glaze, then remove and position top-side up on a plate or cooling rack. Sprinkle with orange zest if desired. Allow the glaze to set fully before serving.

Jalapeño Macadamia Cookies

Ingredients

  • 265 g (2 cups + 2 Tbsp) all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp cornstarch
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 170 g (3/4 cup or 12 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
  • 150 g (3/4 cup) packed light or dark brown sugar
  • 150 g (3/4 cup) granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • 1 egg yolk, room temperature
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 210 g (1 heaping cup) white chocolate chips
  • 120 g (1 cup) roughly chopped macadamia nut
  • 1 cup dried cranberry
  • 1 jalapeño, deseeded and finely chopped

Method

  1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Combine flour, starch, baking soda, salt, and set aside.
  3. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until slightly pale.
  4. Gradually add dry ingredients to wet mixture until just incorporated. Do not overwork.
  5. Stir in white chocolate, macadamia nut, cranberries, and jalapeño.
  6. Scoop 1.5 oz. balls onto a cookie sheet and bake until lightly golden, 15-17 minutes.

Gramma Olson's Sugar Cookie

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup butter or oleo (margarine)
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 Tbsp milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla or almond extract (the maker of this recipe prefers almond)
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • Sanding sugar, sprinkles or preferred topping

Method

  1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. Cream together butter and sugar, egg, milk and extract.
  3. Sift and add flour, baking powder, and salt, and cover.
  4. Chill for 20-30 minutes.
  5. Roll out to 1/8" thickness and cut to desired shape.
  6. Sprinkle with sugar and bake 5-7 minutes.

Related Projects