For the cold days and long nights of winter call for warm, oven-fresh cookies. While a basic chocolate chip or sugar cookie can really hit the spot, these recipes offer more intriguing and flavorful ways to get your sugar fix this season.

For an easy and festive way to fill an empty afternoon, each of these confections will be sure to get you in the holiday spirit. 

Forgotten Cookies

 

These cookies are my grandmother’s recipe. Named for the action of “forgetting” them in the oven overnight, they’re deliciously simple to make and end up looking much fancier than they actually are. Beating the egg whites takes time and can be tricky, but it’s essential to get those stiff peaks for the perfect meringue texture. 

Here’s what you’ll need: 

  • Whites of 2 eggs
  • ¾ cup white sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Food coloring (optional)
  • 6 ounces chocolate chips (optional)

Steps: 

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
  2. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form
  3. Add sugar and cream of tartar
  4. Beat until very, very stiff
  5. Add vanilla and food coloring gently to avoid disturbing the dough’s structure
  6. Fold in chocolate chips if desired
  7. Drop by tablespoon onto parchment paper-lined baking tray
  8. Put into the pre-heated oven, immediately turn the oven off and leave the tray inside overnight 

Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies

A blend of classic wintertime flavors, these cookies are fudgy and decadent with notes of peppermint to balance them out. The dough is fairly sticky, but once it’s chilled, it becomes easier to handle. If you love these cookies at Yahentamitsi Dining Hall, you’ll love them 10 times more homemade.

[UMD students reflect on a changing holiday season landscape]

Here’s what you’ll need: 

  • 1 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 ¾ cup white sugar
  • ½ cup neutral oil
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½  teaspoon peppermint extract 
  • 2 cups flour
  • ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 cups powdered sugar

Steps: 

  1. Combine sugar, cocoa powder and oil in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer
  2. Add the vanilla and each egg one at a time
  3. Mix flour, salt and baking powder in a separate bowl, slowly combining with wet ingredients until dough forms
  4. Cover dough in plastic wrap and stick in freezer for 45 minutes to one hour
  5. After dough is chilled, preheat oven to 350 degrees
  6. Scoop dough into rough one-inch balls and roll in powdered sugar before placing on parchment-lined baking sheets
  7. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes and let cool on wire rack

Gluten-Free Butterscotch Snowballs

These gluten-free cookies are just as tasty as any other recipe on this list. The dough comes together and bakes quickly for a sweet and savory snack. A favorite of my mom’s, this recipe is great to give out this holiday season, because its flour substitution makes the cookies easy for many people to enjoy.

[‘Wake Up Dead Man’ lacks the classic ‘Knives Out’ magic]

Here’s what you’ll need: 

  • 1 cup butterscotch chips, chopped into small pieces 
  • 1 cup powdered sugar, divided
  • 1 cup softened unsalted butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 ¼  cups gluten-free flour
  • ½  teaspoon salt

Steps: 

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
  2. Combine butter, ½ cup of powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer until fluffy and incorporated 
  3. Stir together salt and flour in a separate bowl. Slowly add dry ingredients to the butter and sugar mixture using the electric mixer until the dough forms
  4. Gently fold in chopped butterscotch chips 
  5. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and place on a lined pan 
  6. Bake for 9 to 14 minutes until bottoms are slightly brown. Remove from the oven and cool until they are cool enough to touch
  7. Fill a small bowl with the remaining powdered sugar and roll each cookie until completely coated
  8. Set on a rack to cool