christmas recipes Archives

18 In holidays/ Recipes

The best pistachio thumbprint cookies

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These are the best pistachio thumbprint cookies and will easily become a favorite Christmas cookie! Sweet pistachio topped with a cheesecake filling or raspberry jam are the perfect bite and look festive for your Christmas cookie swaps or platters.

And I’m sharing 15 other delicious Christmas treats for you from some of my most favorite bloggers. Scroll down to see all of their recipes.

If you’re coming from Michele at Vintage Home Designs, welcome! I hope you will stick around here and continue to follow along. Also how delicious do her shortbread cookies look?

The best pistachio thumbprint cookies

One of my favorite things that I used to have every Christmas is my grandmother’s pistachio ambrosia. I loved it so much and it just wasn’t Christmas without it. This recipe combines my favorite flavors of pistachio with my favorite Christmas cookie – my sister’s almond raspberry thumbprints.

I made a yummy cheesecake filling for these cookies but you can also fill with raspberry jam too!

Ingredients

1 cup butter softened (I used unsalted)
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
1 package instant pistachio pudding mix
2 cups nuts chopped (I used walnuts/pecans)

For the filling

1/2 cup cream cheese.
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
or raspberry jam (optional)
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:

1.) Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees.

2.) In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy.

3.) Beat in the eggs, salt and extracts.

4.) Add in the flour and pistachio pudding mix, beating together until combined.

5.) Roll the batter into individual balls, about 1 inch. Roll some or all of the balls into the chopped nuts and place on a prepared baking sheet.

6.) Using your thumb, make a thumbprint in the center of each cookie.

7.) Bake in the oven for about 10-12 minutes. You want to take them out just before the edges start to get golden.

8.) Using a spoon or your thumb, re-shape the thumbprint if necessary as sometimes it changes shape after baking.

9.) Allow the cookies to cool.

10.) While the cookies are cooling, start to prepare the cheesecake filling. In a mixing bowl, cream together the cream cheese and sugar.

11.) Beat in the vanilla and make sure there are no lumps.

12.) Fill in each cookie with either the cream cheese filling or raspberry jam. I chose to do some of each.

13.) In a microwave safe bowl, melt some chocolate chips, stirring at 30 second intervals.

14.) Once melted, use a fork to drizzle some chocolate over each cookie.

15.) Allow the chocolate to cool before eating.

These also freeze really well so you can make ahead of time! I line some parchment paper in an airtight storage container and freeze until the day of.

Enjoy!!!

I served them on this snowglobe tray that I made! Click here for the easy DIY.

Linking some cute things to serve your cookies below

For more of my favorite Christmas treats check out

My homemade Irish Cream

These boozy chocolate hazelnut truffles

The best Christmas tree dip

Now head on over to Stacy at Bricks ‘n Blooms for her decadent fudge!!!

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Christmas Cookies and Holiday Treats

Are you looking to add some new recipes to your holiday rotation this year? Click on the links below to go to each post and see more.

Midwest Life And Style – Peanut Butter Balls | Cottage On Bunker Hill – Double Chocolate Oreo Bark | White Lilac Farmhouse – No Bake Christmas Cookies | Cottage In The Mitten – Holiday Peanut Butter Cookies

My Family Thyme – Eggnog Snickerdoodle Cookies | Eleanor Rose Home – Christmas Monster Cookies | Pasha Is Home – Christmas Fudge | Tatertots And Jello – Holiday Dipped Oreo Cookies

The Ponds Farmhouse – Dark Chocolate Pomegranate Bark | Vintage Home Designs – Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies | Our Tiny Nest – Pistachio Thumbprint Cookies | Bricks ‘n Blooms – Tiger Butter Fudge

The Tattered Pew – Daddy’s Molasses Cookies | Open Doors Open Hearts – Cinnamon Sugar Pecans | WM Design House – Cinnamon Popcorn | She Gave It A Go – Holiday Punch

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December 6, 2022 By Nicolle

3 In Christmas/ food

Holiday cookie squares recipe

This post is sponsored by Ghirardelli but all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Holiday cookie squares

One of our favorite holiday traditions is baking sweet treats and watching holiday movies. (Home Alone is the best hands down!)
Last weekend the kids and I were in the spirit to do some baking. We decided to make these holiday cookie squares topped with Ghirardelli chocolate. We got all of the ingredients from Walmart and had it delivered right to our house in under 2 hours! I’m sharing the recipe below.

Holiday cookie squares

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 sticks unsalted butter (room temp)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
Ghirardelli chocolate squares in peppermint or caramel

Directions

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder. Then set aside.
Using mixer, beat butter, sugar and salt until fluffy. Add the eggs one by one mixing completely. Add the vanilla.
Gradually add the dry ingredients into the creamed wet mixture. Mix until a dough forms.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Press gently into a flat disc. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
After the dough has chilled for 30 minutes, remove from the refrigerator. Dust a clean countertop with flour and remove the dough from plastic wrap and place on the floured surface.
Roll the dough until it’s about 1/4 inch thick. Use a square cookie cutter or use the Ghirardelli chocolate square to cut the dough into the appropriate shape and size.
Transfer the cookies onto sheet pan lined with parchment paper, leaving about 1/2 inch between each cookie.
Bake for 6-8 minutes until the edges are slightly firm and center is soft.
Remove from the oven and let cool for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
Top each cookie with an unwrapped Ghirardelli chocolate square. Eat right then and there or store in an airtight container.

December 14, 2020 By Nicolle