"christmas cookies" news and stories

When it comes to sugar cookies and Christmas, the only thing left to be said is, "Make them. Now." Break out the cookie cutters in all the holiday shapes, and gather the kids, the old people, and even the middle-aged curmudgeons -- decorating cookies can make even a grinch smile a little.
Here's a sugar cookie recipe from KitchenDaily contributor Gina Marie Miraglia Eriquez that may be the only one you'll ever need.

More Christmas Cookie Recipes

• The holidays sure put you in the mood for blood sausage! Right? Anyone?
• Well, how about a beautifully decorated cookie, then? (Phew.)
• You can get anything in Manhattan. You can even get Brooklyn, via the new Manhattan pub The Brooklyneer. (Now you'll really never have to leave the island!)
• This lamb-braising technique cuts the usual cooking time from seven hours to five. Um...yay?

It's true that we're on a cookie jag; we can't help it. We love to bake them, eat them, and give them away in pretty boxes all tied up in bows. Well, ok, we try; no one will ever confuse us with Martha Stewart. December is the month to lay in the flour, sugar, and butter because we've got a lot of recipes for you to try, beginning with yesterday's Stained-Glass Sugar Cookie and today's Snickerdoodle.

Frankly, we just like saying "Snickerdoodle." But this buttery sugar cookie with the trademark cracked surface is more than just a nonsense name. It's fragrant with cinnamon. When you bake a batch of Snickerdoodles, your house becomes a comfort zone.

Sugar cookies get the decorative treatment in this recipe, which is a favorite with kids. Why? It has a melted hard candy in the middle, and we have yet to meet a kid who would turn down a candy in a cookie of their own free will. And for adults, the stained-glass effect of the melted candy is a visual treat (you can even hang them on your holiday tree as an ornament). KitchenDaily contributor Gina Marie Miraglia Eriquez (who created this beautiful and delicious sweet) hasn't been dubbed the Cookie Queen for nothing.

More Christmas cookie recipes, and decorating tips

• Someday, San Franciscans will find it -- the rainbow connection. (But not at the local pastry shop, sadly.)
• Forty years ago, a cultural revolution. Today, a cookie revolution?
• One of these cookies is not like the others -- because it's actually a pretzel.
• Marion Nestle reminds readers of the best way to eat healthfully. Hint: It's not a complicated process.
• But back to cookies. Le Boulange store-bought cookie dough takes the cake (as it were).