Yule: Sharing Cookie Recipes As A Holiday Tradition

As a kid, one of my favorite activities during the holidays was rolling out cookie dough. My mother would make a huge batch of vanilla sugar cookies and it was my job to roll the dough (well, the small portion she gave me) then press into it with festive cutters.

We had Santas, Christmas trees, wreaths, angels, bells, and reindeer shapes. The cutouts would be transferred to aluminum sheets, then into the oven for baking. Decoration came later with colored sugars, frosting, and candies. I loved the whole process.

My husband had a similar experience with his mother, although they gifted many of their treats to friends and neighbors. My mother probably did the same (I remember watching her transfer cookies into wax paper-lined tins with one or two large containers left for our family) but the delivery wasn’t part of our tradition as it was for Car.

Cookie Traditions I Remember

In addition to making cookies (sugar, gingerbread, and date pinwheels), my mother would take part in Christmas Cookie Recipe Sharing Parties. Holiday events where you share a dozen and take a dozen with the cookie recipe included. As a teenager and then a married adult, I have baked and shared many holiday cookies for one reason or another. Even dropping a cookie tin in front of our neighbor’s door like a Yuletide Ninja.

However, this year baking cookies to share with others does not feel so festive. A rampaging epidemic tends to put a damper on the giving and receiving of home-baked goods. I mean, you don’t want my cooties either! But we can hold onto Yule-tide cheer by sharing our favorite cookie recipes (Christmas or otherwise).

So, with that in mind, I’m sharing my “go-to” chocolate chip cookie recipe. It is borrowed from Vegan with A Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz — the original cookbook, not the updated version. Yes, I did follow a plant-based diet once upon a time. And this recipe has been tweaked by me as I’ve baked it over the years. That’s what I will share here. But I recommend you get any or all of Isa’s books (whether you are a vegan or not. Good stuff!).

Don’t let the “vegan” part scare you. These cookies are awesome. And I’d like to consider this an online Holiday Cookie Recipe Exchange. All I ask is that you share a favorite cookie recipe with someone else this Yule. Maybe even bake a batch, snap a pic, and let them know what you think. And as you are baking your cookies, focus your intention by stirring goodwill and health into the dough as you add each ingredient. Put your magickal kitchen skills to work this Yule.

Chocolate Chip Cookies (vegan)

1 Cup Vegan Butter (non-hydrogenated). Try Earth Balance Baking Sticks,  room temperature.

1 Cup Sugar

1 TBSP Agave Nectar or Pure Maple Syrup

1 TSP Vanilla Extract plus 1 TSP Almond Extract (You can also choose to do 2 TSP Vanilla or 2 TSP Almond instead of 1 TSP each)

2 Cups Unbleached Flour

1 TSP Baking Soda

1 TSP Salt

1 Cup Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips (add 1/2 cup more chocolate chips or chopped nuts if desired)

Preheat Oven 350 Degrees F.

Cream Vegan Butter and sugar together. Then add the Agave Syrup/Maple Syrup (whichever you choose) and flavor extracts. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and salt. Add this to the butter mixture. Fold in the chips/chopped nuts until mixed.

Drop dough by the spoonful onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes or until golden around the edges. Cool and enjoy.