These have been a huge hit and I will be putting these on my list to make every year. While the cookies may look unassuming, don’t dismiss them. I promise you, if you like brownies then you will love these cookies.

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The flavor seriously reminds me of fudge brownies. It must be the combination of the oil and butter in the cookie dough and makes the magic happen. These are seriously addictive and it’s hard to stop at just one. As a chocolate lover, these will satisfy any chocolate craving.

The best part of these Brownie Cookies with Walnuts? They only require one bowl and no mixer is needed. Sometimes you want to just be able to whip up a batch of cookies and not have to clean every bowl and mixer. These cookies come together in no time!

How to make the best brownie cookies

When you are measuring your flour, always use the scoop method. This is where you use a spoon or scoop to scoop flour into your measuring cup and then level it off. You want to avoid scooping your measuring cup directly into your flour as you will tend to get more flour per cup.

This may not seem like a big deal, but it can affect your end product. More flour could result in these cookies being dryer and crumblier. No one wants to have a dry brownie cookie!

I added a little bit of espresso powder to the cookie dough, coffee enhances the flavor of chocolate. You don’t taste any coffee flavor, but you can leave it out if you don’t want to use it. I love using these single serve packs so I don’t have to open a whole jar of espresso powder since I rarely use it.

I highly suggest using good cocoa powder. Since these are simple cookies and cocoa is the dominant flavor, you want to use the best you can find. I have linked my preferred brand, but you can certainly use what you prefer.

Walnuts, are one of those nuts that people either love or hate. I happen to love all nuts and feel that they add great texture to these cookies. I don’t bother toasting them before throwing them into the cookie batter. If you want to add more nuttiness then you can toast them.

Alternatively, if you don’t like nuts or just want to leave them out you can. I’ve made this both with and without nuts and they are good either way. If you leave out the walnuts, you can add additional chocolate chips.

Semi sweet chocolate chips are usually my go to and I keep large quantities of them around. Semi sweet chocolate chips work well with these cookies because they add some sweetness but aren’t overwhelming.

If you prefer. you can certainly use any kind of chocolate you’d like. These would also be great with mint chips for a mint chocolate brownie cookie. The base recipe is great so you can easily swap out some mix-ins to customize to your tastes!

When scooping out cookie dough, I always recommend using a cookie scoop. They are great and ensure that your cookies are all uniform in size. You can also use them for scooping muffins, meatballs or even ice cream.

More desserts with chocolate to try

Mini No Bake S’mores Tarts

Gooey Browned Butter S’mores Bars

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Blondies

Chocolate Chunk Skillet Cookie

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Brownie Cookies with Walnuts

Brownie Cookies with Walnuts are exactly what they sound like. Brownies that are in cookie form for when you want something a little different. They are packed with chocolate chips and walnuts, perfect for that chocolate craving.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword chocolate, christmas cookies, cookies, nuts, one bowl recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 24 cookies, approximately

Author Amy’s Delicious Mess

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, sugar, espresso powder, butter and vegetable oil.
• Add the egg and vanilla extract, mix until incorporated.
• Add the flour, baking powder, and salt to the bowl and mix until almost completely incorporated. Add in the chocolate chips and walnuts and mix until combined and there are no more streaks of flour. Do not over mix your dough.
• Using a cookie scoop or spoon, scoop out cookie dough balls about 1-2 tablespoon in size. Place onto the prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart. If you want flatter cookies, you can press them down.
• Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edges are set but the middle still looks slightly soft. Allow the cookies to cool for 2 minutes on they baking sheet and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
• Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to a week on the counter.

Notes

1. If you don’t like nuts, you can always add more chocolate chips.
2. These cookies do not spread because of the amount of nuts and chocolate chips, if you prefer you can decrease the amount of the mix-ins and they will spread a little more.  If you don’t want to decrease the mix-ins, you can decrease the flour to 1 cup.  I’ve done it this way as well and liked both versions.
3. You can freeze the baked cookies for up to 3 months.  Normally I like to eat cookies frozen, but with these you want to thaw before enjoying.  They are a little too thick to enjoy right out of the freezer.

 

The nutrition facts below are based on the recipe above.  This is only an estimation and intended for informational purposes only.

 

 

Recipe adapted from Cafe Delites

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I’m usually good after one or two cookies, but with these I could easily polish off a whole plate. These are small cookies so it’s not hard for anyone to do! They are crisp, buttery, flaky, and filled with sweet jam and crunchy nuts.

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Rugelach originated in the Jewish communities of Poland. Traditionally were made into crescent shapes but I’ve seen ones that are rolled into a log. I prefer the crescent shape because the edges get crispy while the inside is still soft.

How to make rugelach

Rugelach may look hard to make but really they are just made out of a few components. The cream cheese and butter dough is unsweetened and slightly tangy. Somehow with a few simple ingredients you end up with a flaky and crispy dough.

Once the dough is chilled, roll it out and add the filling. Raspberry jam and walnuts is my favorite, but you can switch up the jam or nuts if you like. I used raspberry freezer jam, which I made using my freezer jam recipe.

I always use walnuts, but I imagine pecans, hazelnuts, or almonds would also be delicious. Don’t like nuts? Feel free to leave them out and add dried fruit or chocolate instead.

Roll the pieces up and then place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with additional cinnamon sugar on top for a little extra sweetness. It’s as simple as that!

Tips for homemade rugelach

Make the dough the day before you want to bake your cookies, it needs to be well chilled before rolling. Otherwise the dough is quite sticky and would be impossible to work with.

Once you are ready to roll the dough, make sure you have enough flour on your surface so it won’t stick. I like to pick up the dough and rotate it as I’m rolling to ensure it’s not sticking.

Don’t worry if your dough is not a perfect circle, mine never are and they still turn out great. It makes them look homemade and rustic!

These are simple cookies so you want to make sure you are using the best ingredients. I recommend a good quality jam as the filling is the most prominent flavor.

You want your nuts to be chopped fairly fine, so they will be evenly distributed in the filling. Since these are fairly small cookies, it leads to a better ratio in the cookies as well.

You can easily adjust the sweetness of these cookies based on how much cinnamon sugar you add to the filling. I prefer mine to be a little less sweet, so I tend to use less cinnamon sugar. You can store cinnamon sugar in an empty spice jar with a shaker to easily sprinkle the sugar over the dough.

To spread out the jam, I like to use an offset spatula (not necessary but very handy). I also prefer to use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into triangles. A sharp knife would work perfectly fine as well, it’s just fun finding another use for a pizza cutter.

The rugelach dough can be made ahead of time and frozen for up to 3 months or baked cookies can be frozen up to one month. I like to freeze my dough ahead of time during the holidays so I can just roll and bake cookies when needed.

Have you tried Raspberry Walnut Rugelach? What’s your favorite type of rugelach?

More holiday recipes to try

Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake

Cranberry Cheesecake Pie

Jam Filled Thumbprint Cookies

Pumpkin Pie Bars with Shortbread Crust

Made this recipe? Be sure to comment below and rate the recipe. I’d love to hear what you thought about it!

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Raspberry Walnut Rugelach

These Raspberry Walnut Rugelach are crispy, buttery, flaky, and lightly sweetened. Cream cheese really makes this dough unique and memorable.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Jewish

Keyword freezer jam, nuts, pastry

Prep Time 1 hour hour

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Chilling time 12 hours hours

Total Time 13 hours hours 25 minutes minutes

Servings 32 2 cookies each

Author Amy’s Delicious Mess

Ingredients

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup finely chopped walnuts, or nut of your choice
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup raspberry jam, or jam of your choice

Instructions

Make the dough

• In the bowl of a stand mixer or using a hand held mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until well blended together.
• Add in 1/2 of the flour and mix until incorporated, then add in the remaining flour and mix until fully incorporated. Scraping down the sides as needed. The dough will be soft and sticky, but don't add any additional flour.
• Divide the dough into 4 pieces (I just like to roughly divide it in the dough with a rubber spatula) and place each piece of dough onto a piece of plastic wrap. Fold over half of the plastic wrap and press down into a 1-inch thick circle. Then wrap up with the remaining plastic wrap.
• Continue until you have all of the dough wrapped. Place in the fridge to chill overnight.

Making the rugelach

• Preheat the oven to 325°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a small bowl, mix the sugar and cinnamon together.
• Lightly coat your dough circle with flour and on a lightly floured surface (I like to use parchment paper), roll out one disk of dough to a 11-inch circle. Use more flour as necessary as you don't want the dough to stick to your surface.
• Spread 1/4 cup of raspberry jam over the surface of the dough and sprinkle on about 1 tablespoon of the cinnamon sugar mixture. Sprinkle on 1/4 cup of the chopped walnuts.
• Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut each circle into 16 wedges. Roll up each wedge starting from the outer edge in towards the middle.
• Once rolled, place on the prepared sheet pan with the point side down. Continue rolling the remaining rugelach until you have enough to fill your pan. Once the pan is filled, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar over the rolled rugelach. (I like to keep extra cinnamon sugar in an empty spice jar with a shaker top)
• Bake for 20-25 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Rotate the tray 1/2 through baking. Transfer to a wire cooling rack once they come out of the oven to cool completely.

Notes

1. I’ve used both regular cream cheese and light cream cheese for the dough, I’ve never noticed a difference so you can use what you prefer.
2. My favorite combination for these have always been raspberry jam and walnuts, however you can customize this to whatever jam and nut combination you like.
3. You can freeze the dough for up to 3 month or freeze any extra baked cookies.
4. These cookies are not overly sweet, but that depends on how sweet your jam is.  If you want your cookies a little sweeter, you can increase the cinnamon sugar in the filling to 1/2 cup.

 

The nutrition facts below are based on the recipe above.  This is only an estimation and intended for informational purposes only. 

 

 

Recipe adapted from Kraft

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Truthfully, we generally just buy scones or buy scone mixes. There’s a local company in Seattle that has the best scones. They can be found at the state fair or you can buy their mixes in local grocery stores. They are so good that I never needed to make my own, but I decided to try my hand at them.

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These scones are simple to put together and once you get scone making down, the possibilities can be endless.  There are so many flavor combinations that you can come up with for scones, but my first thought was cranberry orange. 

I have been on a cranberry orange kick and the flavors remind me of the holiday season.  I’ve made cookies, a bundt cake and a pie, so why not add scones to that list! These would be perfect for a holiday or weekend brunch.

These simple cranberry orange scones are adapted from a recipe I found on Allrecipes. I made some adjustments based our preferences and comparing it to other scones recipes I found. I definitely learned some things and after a few rounds of testing I was finally happy with the results!

How to ensure success with scones

First of all, you want to make sure that your ingredients are cold.  The butter should be cubed and chilled. The buttermilk, orange juice, and egg should also be cold. 

Having cold ingredients means that there should be less chilling time needed for the scones before baking. Why do you need to chill scone dough? Chilling the dough is important because you don’t want your scones to spread too much while baking. 

There’s no guarantee that they won’t spread, but this should help ensure they don’t spread as much. You also want to make sure that you don’t over mix the dough. You want the scones to be soft and tender.

I really like the addition of the orange juice to these scones, I think they amp up the orange flavor. I highly recommend using the orange juice, but you can also just use additional buttermilk instead.

What’s your favorite type of scone?

More brunch recipes

Mushroom Crust Quiche with Ham

Homemade Turkey Sage Breakfast Sausage

The BEST Banana Oatmeal Pancakes

Simple Banana Oatmeal Waffles

Pumpkin Waffles

Cheater “Cinnamon Rolls“

Made this recipe? Be sure to comment below and rate the recipe. I’d love to hear what you thought about it!

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Simple Cranberry Orange Scones

These Simple Cranberry Orange Scones are bright and tart. Fresh orange juice plus dried and fresh cranberries really make these scones stand out. They would be the perfect addition to any brunch.

Course Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword citrus, Cranberry, holiday baking, one bowl recipe, Orange, simple

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Chilling time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour

Servings 8 scones

Author Amy’s Delicious Mess

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour, plus additional for dusting
• 3 tbsp granulated sugar
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp orange zest, from a small orange
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cubed and cold
• 1/4 cup orange juice, 1 small orange
• 1/4 cup cold buttermilk, or milk of your choice (see notes)
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh cranberries, roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp milk, to brush on the scones

Instructions

• In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and orange zest.
• Add the cubed butter and using a pastry cutter or fork, cut the butter into the flour mixture until you have pea sized crumbs.
• Add the buttermilk, orange juice, and egg to the flour mixture and mix just until the dough starts to come together.
• Add in the dried and fresh cranberries, mix until evenly distributed and there are no large streaks of flour. Do not over mix as the scones can become tough.
• On a lightly floured surface, turn out your dough and lightly flour the top of the dough as well. Shape into a circle with your hand and then roll with a rolling pin to about 1-inch in thickness.
• With a sharp knife cut into 8-10 wedges, depending on how big you'd like your scones to be. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet, making sure to space 2 to 3-inches apart.
• Chill the scones for at least 15 minutes prior to baking, you want them to be as cold as possible so they don't spread too much.
• Preheat oven to 400°F and brush the chilled scones with milk right before baking. Bake for 22-25 minutes, or until golden brown on top.
• The scones are best served fresh, but you can store any leftover scones in an airtight container on the counter for 2 to 3 days.

Notes

1. To make your own buttermilk, add 3/4 tsp of lemon juice or white vinegar to a measuring cup and fill up to the 1/4 cup line with milk.  I used 1% milk and it worked just fine, I have not tried this with a milk alternative but I would imagine that it would work as well.
2. We prefer to reheat any leftover scones in the air fryer to get them crispy again but you can also enjoy them as is.
3. You can freeze any leftover scones as well, simple wrap in plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag.  The scones can last up to 3 months in the freezer.  

 

The nutrition facts below are based on the recipe above.  This is only an estimation and intended for informational purposes only. 

 

If you make any of my recipes, be sure to tag me on Instagram @amysdeliciousmess and use #amysdeliciousmess.  I’d love to see all of your pictures!

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This recipe was from an old co-worker. Once I tried them I had to have the recipe. It was ages ago and so I’m not sure where she got the recipe from. The name of the original recipe was Polish Tea Cakes, but from what I can tell, they are very similar to thumbprint cookies.

Honestly, I’ve held onto this recipe for years before finally making them. I don’t know why I waited so long but I know that it won’t be that long until I make them again.

I love how pretty these look and they would make a great addition to a holiday tray of cookies. The jam adds a pop of color and they are not a cookie you see every day.

How to customize these thumbprint cookies

The cookies are reminiscent of a shortbread cookie and slightly crumbly. The cookie base is not super sweet, so keep that in mind when you pick out a jam. If you like your cookies a little sweeter, you can add 1/4 cup more granulated sugar to the dough. I always tend to add less sugar than a recipe calls for, but that’s just personal preference.

I’ve been on a freezer jam kick and really like the freshness of the fruit in a freezer jam. My freezer jam tends to be less sweet than commercial jam. I used mainly freezer jam to fill my cookies, but you can use any jam or jelly of your choice.

Strawberry and raspberry are classics in our house, but you could also use blueberry, blackberry, or peach. I store any cookie filled with freezer jam in the fridge, but if I’m using commercial jam it can be stored on the counter.

Walnut is my preferred nut for these, but you can use any nut of your choice. Pecans would also work really well with these cookies. Don’t like nuts? Feel free to omit them, they will still be delicious! I’ve done both versions with no issues.

Have you made jam filled thumbprint cookies before? What kind of filling do you like to use?

More cookie recipes for the holidays

Cranberry Orange White Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

Chewy Brown Butter Pumpkin Cookies

Chewy Molasses Spice Cookies

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Blondies

Ube Crinkle Cookies

Made this recipe? Be sure to comment below and rate the recipe. I’d love to hear what you thought about it!

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Jam Filled Thumbprint Cookies

These Jam Filled Thumbprint Cookies have a crumbly shortbread like base. Filled with sweet jam and the nuttiness and crunch from the walnuts make these irresistible.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword christmas cookies, freezer jam, holiday baking

Prep Time 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Chilling time 2 hours hours

Total Time 2 hours hours 45 minutes minutes

Servings 35 cookies

Author Amy’s Delicious Mess

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 large egg yolks, room temperature
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp kosher salt
• 2 large egg whites
• 1 1/2 cups finely chopped walnuts, or nuts of your choice
• 3/4 cup jam of your choice

Instructions

• Using a stand mixer or hand held mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. This should take about 2 minutes. Once light and fluffy, add the vanilla extract and egg yolks and beat until incorporated.
• Add 1/2 of the flour and mix until fully incorporated. Add in the other 1/2 of the flour and salt, mix until incorporated and there are no more streaks of flour.
• Refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours or overnight.
• Once the dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 325°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Roll the dough into small balls (I use a tablespoon to make sure the cookies are uniform), dip into egg whites and roll in the finely chopped walnuts.
• Place on a baking sheet and make an indentation with your thumb or a teaspoon. Make sure the cookies are spaced about 1-inch apart.
• Bake for 5 minutes, then remove the sheet pan and press down again with the teaspoon. Place back in the oven and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned.
• Fill the indentations with 1 tsp of jam while the cookies are still warm. Then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
• Store in an airtight container up to 5 days in the fridge or on the counter, this depends on the type of jam you use. (See notes.)

Notes

1. These cookies are not very sweet, so keep that in mind when you choose your jam.  If you want a sweeter cookie, you can add 1/4 cup more granulated sugar to the dough.
2. I used freezer jam in some of my cookies so I stored them in the fridge.  If you use commercial jam, you can store them on the counter.
3. You can use any type of nuts that you like, if you don’t like nuts then you can omit them. I’ve done them both ways,
4. These are larger thumbprint cookies, you can always make them 1/2 tablespoon in size if you want smaller cookies filled with 1/2 teaspoon of jam.
5. Don’t worry if the jam seems too wet on the cookie, once it cools it should firm up.

 

The nutrition facts below are based on the recipe above.  This is only an estimation and intended for informational purposes only. 

 

If you make any of my recipes, be sure to tag me on Instagram @amysdeliciousmess and use #amysdeliciousmess.  I’d love to see all of your pictures!

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I was debating if I even wanted to share these as it’s not really a recipe but more of a how-to. The best thing about this is that you can customize it to what you have on hand and what you like.

As long as you have a cookie dough you can roll out, this should work. I just used some sugar cookie dough that I had stashed in my freezer. Did you know that you can freeze disks of cookie dough, and depending on what kind it can be up to 3 months?

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This is perfect for holiday baking as you can make the dough ahead of time and then pull it out the night before you want to use it. I’ve done all day cookie making sessions with girlfriends and they are so much fun. But sometimes I like to prep some elements ahead of time if I’m baking by myself.

I wanted these cookies to be festive with a holiday theme. I’ve done royal icing decorated cookies in the past but I wanted something a little simpler this time.

How to make jam filled sandwich cookies

Once you have your cookie dough of choice made and chilled, these cookies come together pretty easily. This would be a great cookie to make with kids as they could use sprinkles and sanding sugar to really jazz up their cookies.

All you have to do is roll out the cookie dough to 1/4-inch thickness, cut out your desired shapes and decorate with sprinkles. After some testing, I found it was easier to place sprinkles on a plate and gently press the cookie into the sprinkles. If you try to sprinkle the cookies with sprinkles, it does not stick as well.

I also found that it was better to cut out the smaller cookie from the middle of the larger cookie once it was already covered in sanding sugar or nonpareils. If you are using larger sprinkles, I would cut the smaller cookie out and then cover with sprinkles.

Remember to keep the bottom cookie whole, so you will want an even number of top and bottom cookies. I baked the smaller cookies and made sandwiches with them as well. They are a nice little one bite treat.

Bake the cookies and once they are cooled you can fill with jam. I like to add the jam to the middle of the bottom cookie and then spread with a spoon until you almost reach the sides. Don’t add too much jam as it will leak out the sides. After you fill a couple you can gauge how much jam your cookies need.

Equipment

Rolling pin – I love this one for when I need dough to be an even thickness

Gingerbread men cookie cutters – I used the smallest and medium red cutters.

Large tree cookie cutter and small tree cookie cutter

Sprinkles/sanding sugar

More cookie recipes for the holidays

Cranberry Orange White Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

Halloween Sugar Cookies – Use holiday sprinkles instead of Halloween sprinkles!

Chewy Brown Butter Pumpkin Cookies

Chewy Molasses Spice Cookies

Chocolate Chunk Skillet Cookie

Ube Crinkle Cookies

Made this recipe? Be sure to comment below and rate the recipe. I’d love to hear what you thought about it!

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Jam Filled Sandwich Cookies

These jam filled sandwich cookies are cut into holiday shapes and decorated with sprinkles and sanding sugar. A fun way to dress up simple sugar cookies for the holidays!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword cookies, freezer jam, holiday baking

Prep Time 45 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Cooling time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Servings 20 -24 sandwich cookies

Author Amy’s Delicious Mess

Ingredients

• 1 batch sugar cookie dough, see notes
• 3/4 cup jam, see notes
• sprinkles, nonpareils, or sanding sugar, see notes

Instructions

• In a lightly floured surface, roll out your sugar cookie dough to 1/4-inch thick. Using desired cookie cutters, cut out shapes.
• Place some sprinkles or sanding sugar on a plate, preferably with a lip if you are using nonpareils so they don't roll off the plate. Gently press the cookie cut outs into your topping of choice. You may need to sprinkle some additional on top or move the cookie around a little if you don't get even coverage.
• I only did this with the top cookie, the bottom cookie does not need sprinkles since you wouldn't see it anyways. If you like more sprinkles, feel free to do both!
• After covering in sprinkles, use a smaller cutter to cut out the center of the larger cookie. Only do this to half of the cookies, you want full cookies for the bottom of the sandwich.
• Bake according to the recipe and let the cookies cool completely on a wire cooling rack.
• Fill the cookies with a jam of your choice. Don't over fill the cookies as the jam will leak out the sides. I placed about 2 tsp of jam in the middle of the bottom cookie and used a spoon to spread it out to almost the edge of the cookie. Place the cookie with the cut out on top and gently press down.
• Store in an airtight container. The cookies should keep fresh for 2-3 days in the fridge, but you can freeze up to a month.

Notes

1. My current favorite sugar cookie recipe is from Jenny’s Cookies, but you can use your favorite recipe.
2. Any cookie cutters will work.  You don’t have to make cookies with cut outs but it adds a nice touch when you can see what kind of filling is in the cookie.
3. I used raspberry lemon and blueberry lemon freezer jam.  Both were made using my strawberry lemon freezer jam recipe. I also used a jarred apricot jam as well.  Feel free to use any jam you like.
4. I have tons of holiday sprinkles on hand and like to stock up after the holidays.  I used sanding sugar and nonpareils, but you could also use jimmies or sprinkles as long as they don’t have pieces that are too big.

If you make any of my recipes, be sure to tag me on Instagram @amysdeliciousmess and use #amysdeliciousmess.  I’d love to see all of your pictures!

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I’ll admit that I’m not normally a big fan of pumpkin pie. I can usually take it or leave it unless it’s homemade and really good. Does that make me a pumpkin pie snob? How do you feel about pumpkin pie?

My stance has now changed on pumpkin pie, well at least when it comes to these pumpkin pie bars. The pumpkin pie filling is lightly sweetened and full of spices. The shortbread crust is crisp, buttery, and pairs perfectly with the creamy pie filling. You can serve plain like I did or with some fresh whipped cream. Either would be delicious!

If you can believe it, I’ve never made a pumpkin pie. I’ve made pumpkin bread, pumpkin granola, pumpkin banana bread, and pumpkin cookies but for some reason pie has not been on my list. These will be in my regular holiday rotation now, once you try them you will feel the same way.

How to make pumpkin pie bars

These Pumpkin Pie Bars with Shortbread Crust are fairly easy to put together. No fancy ingredients needed and everything can be mixed by hand. A lot of pumpkin pie recipes call for evaporated milk, but this just uses regular milk.

When I first decided to attempt these, I knew I wanted to use the crust recipe from my Cranberry Cheesecake Pie. With a few tweaks, it’s the perfect base for these bars.

This shortbread crust is a simplified version of the original crust. Simply mix the dry ingredients together and then add melted butter. Press into a lined pan and par-bake.

The filling is adapted from One Mama’s Daily Drama and is just as simple as the crust. You are essentially just mixing everything together and pour in to the par-baked crust. Make sure you are using 100% pure pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling.

I have only made this with canned pumpkin, you may be able to use homemade pumpkin puree but you may need to adjust the amount of liquid. I’ve also made this with 1/2 brown sugar and 1/2 maple syrup, which was just as delicious. You could try with all maple syrup but I would suggest cutting back on the milk slightly.

This is a fairly thin pie filling, but it will bake up beautifully. You just have to trust it! These pie bars are best enjoyed once they have been chilled. I recommend chilling for at least 2 hours or overnight before cutting into bars.

Made this recipe? Be sure to comment below and rate the recipe. I’d love to hear what you thought about it!

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Pumpkin Pie Bars with Shortbread Crust

These Pumpkin Pie Bars with Shortbread Crust are an easier version of everyone's favorite holiday dessert. These are easy to whip up and will become a new holiday favorite.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword bars, holiday baking, pie, pumpkin

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Cooling and chilling 3 hours hours

Total Time 4 hours hours 5 minutes minutes

Servings 16 bars

Author Amy’s Delicious Mess

Ingredients

Shortbread crust

• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

Pumpkin pie filling

• 1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 3 eggs, room temperature
• 15 oz pure pumpkin puree, (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 1 cup 1% milk, or milk of your choice

Instructions

Make the crust

• Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a 9×9-inch non-stick baking pan with parchment paper. The parchment paper will make it easier to remove the bars later.
• In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt.
• Add the melted butter and mix until combined and there are no longer any streaks of flour.
• Pour into the prepared pan and press the dough out evenly.
• Bake for 10 minutes and then allow to cool slightly.

Make the pumpkin pie filling

• Preheat oven to 425°F.
• In a large bowl, mix together the brown sugar, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.
• Add the eggs and and whisk until combined. Then add the milk and whisk until incorporated.
• Add the pumpkin puree and whisk until smooth and completely incorporated. Tap your bowl on the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles.
• Pour the pumpkin mixture into the par-baked crust.
• Bake for 15 minutes at 425°F and then lower to temperature of 350°F and bake for an additional 20 minutes. The pie bars should be set on the outside but still have some jiggle in the center.
• Allow the pie bars to cool for an hour and then refrigerate for at least 2 hours. I prefer to make these the day before and allow the pie bars to chill over night.
• The bars should be sliced once they have had a chance to chill.

Notes

1. If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, you can make your own. 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 1/4 tsp ground cloves, and 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg.
2. I’ve only tested this recipe with 1% milk but any type of milk or milk alternative  should work.
3. Pure pumpkin puree should be used, not pumpkin pie filling.
4. The pumpkin pie batter may seem a little thin, but it will bake up fine.
5. Pumpkin pie bars can last for 3-4 days in the fridge, or up to 2 months in the freezer.

 

The nutrition facts below are based on the recipe above.  This is only an estimation and intended for informational purposes only.

 

If you make any of my recipes, be sure to tag me on Instagram @amysdeliciousmess and use #amysdeliciousmess.  I’d love to see all of your pictures!

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It’s one of my favorite holiday pies to make. It may seem complicated to make, but it’s well worth the effort. Often I will make a few to bring to various Thanksgivings and it’s always a hit.

What are the different components of the recipe?

The original recipe for Cranberry Cheesecake Pie is from Bake or Break and I’ve adapted it to our tastes. The crust is more of a shortbread like crust than a traditional pie crust. What’s great about this crust is that you just pat it into the pan, so no rolling is required!

The cranberry sauce is tart and amazing, it’s great as a cranberry sauce recipe to serve for Thanksgiving! If you’ve never made your own cranberry sauce, then you should definitely give it a try.

It’s simple to make and I like knowing what’s going into my sauce. You can control the amount of sugar depending on your tastes. We like it a little more tart so I used a little less sugar.

I’m still loving all things cranberry orange, so of course I had to add orange zest and juice to the cranberry sauce. If you are a cranberry orange lover like me, don’t miss out on my Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake and Cranberry Orange White Chocolate Shortbread Cookies.

The cheesecake filling is light and slightly sweet, with a hint of orange. I really wanted to add more orange flavor so I threw some orange zest into the cheesecake mixture. If you prefer more of a classic cheesecake flavor, you could definitely leave it out.

Is there a dish or dessert that you always make during the holidays?

More dessert recipes to try

Easy Blueberry Galette

Mixed Berry Lemon Pie Bars

Gooey Browned Butter S’mores Bars

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Blondies

Made this recipe? Be sure to comment below and rate the recipe. I’d love to hear what you thought about it!

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Cranberry Cheesecake Pie

This Cranberry Cheesecake Pie is perfect for the holidays. Lightly sweetened cheesecake is swirled with a tart homemade cranberry sauce in a shortbread like crust.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword cheesecake, citrus, Cranberry, cream cheese, holiday baking, Orange

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes minutes

Chilling time 2 hours hours

Total Time 3 hours hours 20 minutes minutes

Servings 10 slices

Author Amy’s Delicious Mess

Ingredients

Cranberry sauce

• 8 oz (2 cups) fresh cranberries
• 4 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 tsp orange zest, from 1/2 a small orange
• 2 tbsp fresh orange juice, juice from 1/2 small orange
• 1/2 cup water

Crust and crumb topping

• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small cubes

Cheesecake filling

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened (see notes)
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp orange zest, from 1/2 a small orange
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Instructions

Make the cranberry sauce

• In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, add the cranberries, sugar, orange zest, orange juice, and water. Stir to combine and bring to a boil.
• Once boiling, reduce to medium-low heat and simmer until the cranberries are soft and have thickened slightly. This should take about 10 minutes. Sometimes I will smash the cranberries with the back of a spoon to help them break down.
• Set the pot aside to cool, the sauce will thicken as it starts to cool.

Make the crust

• You can start making this while the cranberry sauce is cooking.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
• Add the butter and using a pasty blender or fork, mix until crumbly and hold together when you squeeze it in your hand. You can also do this with your hands, which is my preferred method.
• Reserve 1/2 cup of the crust mixture for the topping. Pour the remaining mixture into a 9-inch pie or tart pan with a removeable bottom. (You can grease your tart pan if you are worried about it sticking.) Press the crust evenly into the pan and bake for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.
• If you use a pan with a removeable bottom, I recommend baking on a baking sheet to catch any leaks.

Make the cheesecake filling

• While the crust is baking you can make the filling.
• In a large bowl, place the cream cheese, sugar, and orange zest. Stirring by hand or using an electric or hand held mixer, mix until light and fluffy.
• Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until everything is combined and your mixture is smooth.
• Pour the cheesecake filling into the slightly cooled crust and spread out evenly.
• Drop spoonful's of the cranberry sauce over the cheesecake filling. Use a skewer or chop stick to slightly swirl the cranberry sauce with the cheesecake filling.
• Sprinkle the remaining crust mixture over the cheesecake.
• Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cheesecake is set and the edges are golden brown. The cheesecake should still have a slight jiggle.
• Cool on a wire cooling rack before placing in the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours before serving.
• Any leftovers should be stored in the fridge, up to 5 days.

Notes

1. This can be made with both regular and low fat cream cheese, I’ve used both and have never noticed a difference.
2. I prefer to bake this the night before and serve the next day,
3. If you prefer, you can use lemon instead of orange.

 

The nutrition facts below are based on the recipe above.  This is only an estimation and intended for informational purposes only.

 

If you make any of my recipes, be sure to tag me on Instagram @amysdeliciousmess and use #amysdeliciousmess.  I’d love to see all of your pictures!

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I don’t know what it is about these cookies, but they are so addictive. I’m not usually a big white chocolate fan but it works really well in these cookies. The contrasting sweetness with dried cranberries and freshness from the orange zest make these irresistibly good.

There’s something about the flavors that just work so well together. To me cranberries are more of a fall/winter type of flavor. I know that’s when I tend to bake with them.

Cranberry and orange work so well together, if you’ve haven’t tried my Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake, you should. I actually decided to make these because I had some leftover orange zest from making the bundt cake. I don’t know about you but I hate wasting perfectly good zest! The cake uses five oranges but only the zest from three, the leftover two are perfect for these cookies.

Sometimes if I’m not going to make the cookies right away, I will mix the zest into the sugar and keep it in the fridge until I’m ready to make the dough. This allows the orange to really impart its flavor into the sugar as well!

Why you need to make these cookies

The great thing about this recipe is that it makes a lot of cookies. It’s perfect for cookie exchanges, adding them to holiday treat boxes, or just baking them for your friends because you know they love them.

This dough freezes beautifully so you could make the dough ahead of time and bake it closer to the holidays. Who doesn’t like to prep ahead during the holidays?

The baked Cranberry Orange White Chocolate Shortbread Cookies also freeze well. Generally when I bring cookies with me when I travel, I will bring a lot. Do you do that too? Make treats and then bring them for friends or family when you are visiting? I don’t like to show up empty handed, so I will always find something to make!

What’s your favorite holiday cookie? What recipe are you known for?

More cookie recipes to make

Chewy Brown Butter Pumpkin Cookies

Chewy Molasses Spice Cookies

Chocolate Chunk Skillet Cookie

Ube Crinkle Cookies

Made this recipe? Be sure to comment below and rate the recipe. I’d love to hear what you thought about it!

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Cranberry Orange White Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

These Cranberry Orange White Chocolate Shortbread Cookies are filled with dried cranberries and fresh orange zest. Perfect for the holidays or any time of year.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword citrus, cookies, Cranberry, Orange

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Chilling 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 25 minutes minutes

Servings 100 cookies, approximately

Author Amy’s Delicious Mess

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp orange zest, zest of 2 small oranges
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1 cup dried cranberries, roughly chopped
• 1 cup white chocolate chips

Instructions

• Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, cream the butter, sugar, and orange zest. This should take about 2-3 minutes. Once creamed, add the vanilla extract and mix to combine.
• Add the flour and salt to the butter mixture and mix on low until the flour is incorporated. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
• Add the dried cranberries and white chocolate chips and mix until combined. You may need to finish mixing with a rubber spatula as sometimes my mixer doesn't incorporate everything at the bottom of the bowl.
• Divide the dough into 4 portions. I just roughly divide the dough into quarters in the mixing bowl. Place each portion of dough on to some plastic wrap. You are going to roll each one into a log. My cookies are generally about 2-inches in diameter but you can make them as small or big as you'd like. See the process shots above to see how I portion and roll the dough.
• I like to push the ends of the log in slightly so that they are flattened. Once all of the dough has been rolled into logs, chill for at least an hour or overnight.
• When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a sharp knife, slice the cookies into 1/4-1/2 inches thick slices. Place on the prepared cookie sheet, about 1/2 inch apart. The cookies do not spread much while baking. Keep any unsliced dough in the fridge.
• Bake the cookies for 7-10 minutes depending on the thickness. They should be lightly golden brown around the edges when they are done. Rotate the pan halfway through baking.
• Cool the cookies on the pan for 2-3 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely. Continue baking batches of cookies until all have been baked.

Notes

1. This recipe makes a lot of cookies, often I will freeze a few rolls of cookie dough and pull one out the night before I want to bake them,
2. Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to a week. For longer storage, you can freeze the baked cookies in a plastic freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months.

 

The nutrition facts below are based on the recipe above.  This is only an estimation and intended for informational purposes only. The calculations below only include 1/2 a recipe but the per cookie nutrition is still correct based on the recipe above.

 

 

If you make any of my recipes, be sure to tag me on Instagram @amysdeliciousmess and use #amysdeliciousmess.  I’d love to see all of your pictures!

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The first time I made this Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake was back in 2009. (That makes it sound like 2009 was such a long time ago, but I guess it kinda was?)

This post was originally published on 1/05/09, it has been updated as of 11/05/20

I haven’t made this bundt cake in quite a few years but I picked up a large bag of fresh cranberries recently. What to do with a bag of fresh cranberries? My options were, cranberry sauce, make a pie, or make this bundt cake. I decided I needed to update this recipe and I’m so glad that I did!

This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

This recipe is adapted from the Cranberry Nut Bread recipe that was on the back of the fresh cranberry package. I made quite a few changes to the original recipe and it eventually evolved into this Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake.

This is definitely a tried and true recipe that has become a favorite in our household. The tart fresh cranberries work really well with the sweet dried cranberries and fresh orange juice. It is a soft and moist cake without the addition of a lot of oil. We love this cake and I can see it making an appearance every holiday season.

My tips for success with this recipe

This is not a complicated cake to make. It simply takes a little extra time because of the fresh squeezed orange juice. The extra few minutes you need to take to squeeze the juice is well worth it. Please don’t use bottled orange juice, it will not taste the same and will not be as good. Trust me, I know this from experience.

You may ask, why do I need to cut the cranberries in half? When you cut them in half, they are about the same size as the dried cranberries. You get pockets of tart cranberries, which I really enjoy. Feel free to chop them smaller if you don’t want the larger chunks.

If you are on the same page as me and want the slice them in half, I have a great trick for you. You will need two round plastic lids that are the same size. Lids from sour cream or cottage cheese containers are the perfect size. You are essentially going to sandwich the cranberries between the two lids and slice them in half. See below for an example of what I mean.

Orange zest adds a really great flavor to this cake and should not be omitted. Zesters are sharp and should be used with caution. I use them all the time and if you don’t have one I recommend getting one. There is so much flavor in citrus zest that you can’t really replicate with anything else. The zest really amps up the orange flavor in this bundt cake.

A bundt pan makes for a beautiful presentation with this cake. I’ve had this one for years and have never had any issues with sticking. I always spray with non-stick cooking spray and it slides right out. Don’t have a bundt pan? You could also use a 9×13-inch pan or make two 9×5-inch loaves, but you may have to adjust your cooking time.

Serving suggestions

This Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake is perfect for breakfast, brunch, or dessert. Serve with some coffee or tea for the perfect light snack. It can be served as is, or with some powdered sugar dusted on top.

Looking for a great brunch menu? Serve this cake with quiche, ham and cheese empanadas, and coconut bread. You will be sure to please everyone!

Made this recipe? Be sure to comment below and rate the recipe. I’d love to hear what you thought about it!

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Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake

This Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake uses fresh and dried cranberries for contrasting tartness and sweetness. Fresh squeezed orange juice really makes this cake stand out from other cakes.

Course Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword Cranberry, Orange

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings 16 slices

Author Amy’s Delicious Mess

Ingredients

• 4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp orange zest, zest from 3 oranges
• 1 1/2 cups fresh squeezed orange juice, see notes
• 4 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 1/2 cups fresh cranberries, halved (see notes)
• 1 cup dried cranberries

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 10-inch bundt pan.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add in the orange zest and whisk until combined.
• In a medium bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together the orange juice, vegetable oil, and eggs.
• Add the orange juice mixture to the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Stir in the fresh and dried cranberries.
• Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and smooth out the top if necessary,
• Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes before turning out on to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Notes

1. I used 5 medium navel oranges which is usually enough juice, if it’s not, add water to get 1 1/2 cups of liquid.
2. I cannot stress enough the use of fresh squeezed juice.  It makes a big difference in the final product and you need the zest for the cake anyways.  I would not skimp on this part.
3. I have an easy trick to quickly slice the cranberries in half.  See above under My tips for success with this recipe.
4. You can store this bundt cake for up to 5 days on the counter in an airtight container.  You can also freeze this whole or in slices for up to 3 months.  Whenever I freeze baked goods, I always wrap in plastic wrap and then place into a freezer bag for maximum freshness.
5. This bundt is good as if, but you can sprinkle with powdered sugar if you want to make it fancier.
6. I’ve made this recipe with 1 cup of chopped walnuts added to the batter when the cranberries are added.  They add a nice crunch but I don’t always add them as I have friends that don’t like nuts.  Feel free to add chopped nuts if you would like.

 

The nutrition facts below are based on the recipe above.  This is only an estimation and intended for informational purposes only.

 

If you make any of my recipes, be sure to tag me on Instagram @amysdeliciousmess and use #amysdeliciousmess.  I’d love to see all of your pictures!

Don’t forget to sign up for my emails to get all of the latest and greatest recipes!

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This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Since we have neither and this has been a crazy year, I decided I needed to at least bake a fun Halloween treat. These Halloween Sugar Cookies are so simple to make and you can whip them up in no time at all.

Sugar cookies are classic and I figured I couldn’t go wrong with them. I wanted “candy corn” sugar cookies, but I don’t actually like candy corn so I decided to just make them candy corn colors! These turned out to be super cute and a fun way to jazz up some regular sugar cookies. What I love about this sugar cookie dough is that you don’t have to chill it before baking.

How you can customize these cookies

Whenever I need food coloring for a recipe, I always use gel food coloring. Unlike with regular food coloring, gel food coloring won’t add extra moisture and it produces more vibrant colors while using less. You can keep with my “candy corn” theme for the cookies or you could use your own mixture of colors. Purple, green, and black could be fun for a “witch” colored cookie.

A friend recently gave me some fun Halloween sprinkles so I decided to use those as well. If you don’t have food coloring or don’t like using it, this is a great alternative option. Personally, I love sprinkles and love having any excuse to use them. You can use any sprinkle combination you have on hand, they don’t have to be Halloween sprinkles as I know they can be difficult to find right now being so close to Halloween.

The sprinkles add a nice texture to these Halloween Sugar Cookies. The colored sugar cookies are soft and chewy and really don’t need anything added. It really just comes down to your preference and what you have on hand. I wanted to make these as simple as possible while still producing something fun and festive.

What are your Halloween traditions? Do you go all out or are you like us and keep it pretty low key?

Don’t like sugar cookies? Try one of these instead

Chewy Brown Butter Pumpkin Cookies

Chewy Molasses Spice Cookies

Chocolate Chunk Skillet Cookie

Ube Crinkle Cookies

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Halloween Sugar Cookies

These simple Halloween Sugar Cookies are prefect for a last minute Halloween treat. Basic drop sugar cookies jazzed up with some food coloring or sprinkles. They are perfectly soft and chewy cookies that you can have done in no time.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword cookies, easy, simple

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 24 -26 cookies

Author Amy’s Delicious Mess

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• yellow and orange gel coloring, see notes
• Halloween sprinkles and sanding sugar, optional

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, add the butter and granulated sugar. Mix on medium speed until smooth and combined, about a minute. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat on medium speed until combined, about a minute.
• Add in 1/2 of the flour mixture and mix on low until just combined. Add the remaining flour and mix until fully incorporated. Being careful to not over mix the dough. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed and at the end to ensure no flour remains at the bottom. Give one final mix if needed to fully incorporate any remaining flour.
• Divide the dough into three equal portions in separate bowls. Add 6-8 drops of yellow gel food coloring to one bowl, 6-8 drops of orange gel food coloring to a second bowl and leave the last bowl plain. Using a rubber spatula, incorporate the food coloring into the dough.
• Take about a teaspoon of each dough and combine the dough by rolling between the palms of your hands.
• If you do not want to color your cookies and want to use sprinkles or sanding sugar instead, pour some sprinkles into a bowl. Then simply form your cookies into balls and roll in the desired topping. If you want the tri-colored sanding sugar look, take about a teaspoon of dough and roll each ball into a different colored sugar. Then combine the dough by rolling between the palms of your hand.
• Place the dough balls on to the prepared baking sheet, leaving about 1 1/2 inches between each ball. I like to look for a side that shows all three colors and have that side facing up.
• Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the edges are slightly golden brown. Do not overbake the cookies, otherwise they will not be chewy. If the center of the cookies look almost set, take them out as they will continue to cook as they are cooling on the tray. Cool the cookies on baking sheet for 3 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
• Store up to a week in an airtight container on the counter.

Notes

1. Feel free to use any colors you’d like to color the cookie dough,  I chose to do a “candy  corn” looking sugar cookie.
2. I have only made this using gel food coloring, I prefer gel over regular food coloring.  With gel you can get more vibrant colors with less coloring.  Regular food coloring can also add extra liquid to whatever you are coloring, which is not something you always want.
3. If you don’t want to color your dough, you can always just roll in some festive sprinkles or sanding sugar.
4. These baked cookies freeze well, just make sure they are cooled completely before placing in a freezer bag.  Store up to 3 months in the freezer.

 

The nutrition facts below are based on the recipe above.  This is only an estimation and intended for informational purposes only.

 

If you make any of my recipes, be sure to tag me on Instagram @amysdeliciousmess and use #amysdeliciousmess.  I’d love to see all of your pictures!

Don’t forget to sign up for my emails to get all of the latest and greatest recipes!

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