Sweets for the swap: These cookies were made for the holidays

For a touch of holiday whimsy, Grinchy cookies serve up nostalgia.

Dr. Seuss’ “How The Grinch Stole Christmas” was published in 1957. The animated classic I’ve been watching since the early ’70s first aired in 1966. And the Jim Carrey live-action version appeared in theaters in the year 2000. This is a multigenerational charmer that shows up on the table in the form of a classic sugar cookie. There’s nothing not to love.

And for those of you who want something that looks and tastes gourmet, the Panettone cookies, based on the sweet, fruit-studded Italian Christmas bread (use it for bread pudding; it’s the best!), are holiday supermodels. 

It will neatly satisfy the urge to make something that looks incredibly gorgeous, whether on your own silver charger on the dessert table, in a beautiful gift tin, or out on a tray where fellow cookie swappers will ooh and ahh and grab them up like glorious, almond-flaked unicorns.

The recipe also is forgiving.

I was unable to find a few ingredients (candied orange peel, dried black currants), so I subbed in dried cranberries and finely chopped Medjool dates. They looked and tasted beautiful, half-dipped in white chocolate and studded with holiday color and texture. They’re also so incredibly buttery that, like the Grinch, your heart, too, may grow three sizes.

Eat accordingly. And the happiest of holidays to you all.

Grinchy cookies

Yield: 16 cookies

Ingredients

• 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 sticks butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Green food coloring
• Red heart sprinkles

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°. Line two baking sheets with parchment. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.

In another large bowl using a hand mixer, beat butter and sugar together until creamy. Add egg and vanilla and beat to combine. Add dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Add green food coloring until your desired color is reached.

Using a medium cookie scoop (about 2 tablespoons), scoop dough 2” apart onto prepared baking sheets. Place a heart sprinkle in the middle of each cookie.

Bake until edges are set and bottoms start to turn golden, 12 to 14 minutes. Let cool on baking sheets.

— Recipe by Makinze Gore, courtesy Delish.com (delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a37637852/grinch-cookies-recipe)

Panettone cookies

Yield: 28 to 30 cookies

Ingredients

• 2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 2 large egg yolks
• 2 ¾ cups 00 flour
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons whole milk
• ½ teaspoon orange extract
• 3 tablespoons almond slices, plus more for sprinkling
• 3 tablespoons candied orange peel
• 3 tablespoons dried black currants
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped dried apricots, plus more for sprinkling
• 3 tablespoons semisweet mini chocolate chips
• 10 ounces white chocolate

Instructions

In the large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and granulated sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.

Reduce mixer speed to medium-low. Add egg yolks and beat to combine. Scrape down bowl. Add flour and salt and mix on low speed just to combine. Add milk and orange extract and beat to combine. Fold in almonds, orange peel, currants, apricots, and chips.

Turn out dough onto a long piece of plastic wrap. Roll into 2 (16-ounce) logs about 9 ½ inches long and 1 ½ inches wide. Refrigerate at least 1 hour 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.

Arrange racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 350 F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Slice log into rounds a little more than ½-inch thick. Arrange on prepared sheets, spacing 1 inch apart.

Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges are golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool completely.

In a medium heatproof bowl, microwave white chocolate in 10-second increments, stirring in between, until melted and smooth. Dip one half of each cookie into chocolate and place on parchment. Sprinkle cookies with almond slices and dried apricots.

— Recipe by Francesca Zani, courtesy of Delish.com (delish.com/cooking/a41044937/panettone-cookies-recipe)