I sometimes go all out, but knowing that the season is getting on, and not feeling very creative in the kitchen, I was happy to take some shortcuts this year. However, I still wanted some nice festive cookies for giving to neighbors and friends, and to fancy up the table after dinner.
So...here are a couple tips to keep it simple.
By using colored sugars, candies and dough, you can have a nice variety of festive cookies without as much effort as making and decorating with frosting.
I used red and green MnMs in my chocolate chip cookies.
I put green food coloring to color one batch of chocolate chip cookie dough, this made the cookies green (my grinch cookies) and they look and taste good.
Using red and green colored sugar to top the peanut butter cookies gives them a nice holiday touch.
Not wanting the trouble of cutting out shapes, I added bits of peppermint (broken up candy canes) to the sugar cookie dough and simply baked them round. They smell and taste deliciously pepperminty, and have a nice Christmas feel to them.
Add in some colored candies and a bow, and you're all set for the holiday gift giving with only half the work and stress!
