Christmas Cookie Season 2023!

And I have got you covered!

Cookie season, I mean Christmas season, is finally here!

For YEARS I have been pushing (more like begging) for Christmas to become a fully fledged cookie based season and it finally looks like it’s happening. If you're In the US you might be thinking, I’m going a bit loopy, because Christmas has always been a cookie season, and you’d be right. In the US there is a grand tradition of food publications putting out an annual holiday cookie collection, each and every year. These issues were the biggest of the year, a collectors item almost. Being in the UK I have loved these magazines from afar, collecting old issues of Gourmet and Bon Appétit, falling in love with this tradition, and wishing we were getting in on the action back home in the UK. Beyond the magazines, there is of course a concurrent tradition of gifting and exchanging boxes of festive cookies in the real world. Every American Christmas movie is seemingly filled with scenes of families making cookies over the Christmas season and after visiting the country many times and having friends there now, it’s clear that cookies are a big deal at Christmas.

Here, in Blighty, the mince pie rules supreme and many other things follow in their wake. We might have Christmas cakes and yule logs but nothing really comes close to the popularity of the mince pie. Cookies have, in the past been relegated to, rather run of the mill, tins of biscuits sold at supermarkets, the same old biscuits that no-one really gets that excited about. I am on a mission to give cookies a chance at Christmas and encourage you all to jump on this campaign and bake up a storm this Christmas, making your favourite festive favourites.

I have been doing this job for a long time now and editors, some of whom I have worked with for years, can attest to my longing for a similar festive cookie issue of a UK magazines to work on (I have contributed more Christmas cookie recipes to American publications than I have UK publications by a factor of 5 to 0). Maybe its because I just love cookies (more of that in 2024) but the idea of writing a big joyous celebration of cookies, for the Christmas season, seems like a great idea, I also love the general tradition of celebrating with cookies, they’re so easy to make and perfect for sharing, perfect for Christmas parties when feeding a crowd. This year BBC Good Food published, what I believe is, the first UK Christmas cookie issue of a magazine and I, for one, hope it becomes an annual trend like it is across the pond. I would also love it if also becomes a tradition at home, with everyone baking and sharing cookies over the Christmas season, it could be wishful thinking but I do feel like is also starting to happen, albeit slowly. Over the last few years more and more bakeries have also started joining in on this tradition, selling amazing cookie boxes in December. The first I remember seeing was Nova Bakehouse in Leeds, a favourite spot of mine. I have bought this annual tin every year and most often send it to my parents as a pre-christmas treat. Whilst I haven’t fully committed to making boxes of cookies and sending them out to friends and family, next year I think I need to get myself organised and put my money where my mouth is and get the cookie factory going.

For my part, this year, I have a fun selection of cookies for you to bake, three different recipes to celebrate the season and to make for friends and family. First up is a twist on oreos, homemade of course, but inspired by another American festive fav, peppermint bark. The oreos are filled with a peppermint buttercream, coated in white chocolate and sprinkled with crushed peppermint candy canes. Second, is a take on the Linzer cookie. Normally these cookies are made with a simple rolled out nut infused cookie dough and filled with jam. The difference in my version is the cookie dough is made with browned butter and pistachios, making for a richer, deeper flavour. The third and final cookie is inspired but a cookie I had last year when I was in NYC, a spiced gingerbread coated in pine nuts served at Mel The Bakery. The spicing on the cookie adds a multitude of flavours and the pine nuts add both texture and a great, complementary, flavour.