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Christmas Cookies From the Pantry

Imagine always having an ample supply of baking ingredients for cookies. These three delicious recipes for cookies are made from your pantry staples.

With the exception of fresh butter, all of the ingredients for our Christmas baking came right from the pantry this year. My little Rosie has an egg allergy, which has caused me to seek egg-free baking options. One of the benefits to this is a lack of reliance on refrigerated items for baking. Shortbread is an exception though, because those cookies must have butter! (At least in my world!!!)

Basic “Chip” Cookie Recipe

We have used all sorts of goodies in this recipe – for Christmas baking this year we used white chocolate chips and dried cranberries. This recipe makes the best light, soft chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had, too!

1 cup of muscavado or other brown sugar
1/2 cup of melted coconut oil
1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt
2 tsp vanilla extract
1- 3/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups of chips (chocolate, white chocolate, Skor – whatever!)

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
  2. Grease cookie sheets (I use coconut oil for this)
  3. With a fork, mix the sugar, vanilla, coconut oil and yogurt until light and fluffy.
  4. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt and then stir into the creamed mixture until incorporated.
  5. then mix in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.
  6. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until the edges begin to brown. Cool for a minute on the cookie sheets before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

Ginger Molasses Cookies

2 cups of flour
1/2 cup of turbinado or white sugar
2 Tbsp ginger powder
1/3 cup molasses
1/3 cup of applesauce
1/3 cup melted coconut oil ( you can’t taste the coconut at ALL – don’t worry!)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp of powdered cloves
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F/ 190 degrees C.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients with a fork: flour, sugar, ginger powder, cinnamon, salt, baking soda/powder.
  3. In a second bowl, combine the melted coconut oil, applesauce, molasses, and vanilla extract.
  4. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until you have a moist dough. If you need to, add a tsp of water at a time in order to reach a consistency that feels like playdough.
  5. Optional step – you can put the dough in the freezer for half an hour, then roll it out and use cookie cutters.Otherwise, roll the dough into balls, roll the balls in sugar and place on a greased cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart.
  6. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes. They will come out of the oven looking as though they aren’t done – but they are! Let them cool on the cookie sheet for a minute, then use a spatula to move them to cooling racks for at least 15 minutes for best results.
  7. Note: this procedure makes a nice soft ginger cookie – if you want a crisp ginger snap, roll them out thin and bake for 10-12 minutes.

Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

1-1/8 cups of flour
1 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup of salted butter, softened
2/3 cup of icing sugar

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/175 degrees C.
  2. Sift together flour, cocoa, and salt.
  3. Using a hand mixer, beat butter and sugar until combined.
  4. Pat dough into an ungreased pan. The dough won’t really hold together and you will think that it needs more moisture – but it doesn’t! Trust me!
  5. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Allow it to cool for 5 minutes, then remove from the pan and cut into squares.
  6. Sprinkle with icing sugar and allow the cookies to cool.

VARIATION:

Instead of patting the cookie dough into a pan, squeeze together small balls of dough and place them on a cookie sheet.
Press your thumb into the cookie ball.
Fill the thumbprint with raspberry jam.
Bake for 20 minutes.
Remove from the pan and place on a rack to cool. You can sprinkle the cookie lightly with icing sugar if desired.

This article was originally published at Ready Nutrition™ on December 6th, 2013