Christmas Cookie Boxes
From my Instagram/Facebook:
8 “cookies” in 4 days. I’m about baked out for the rest of the year! (And I’m pretty sure my baking budget is overdrawn now 🙄). I’m so happy with how these turned out and I love these because you can create several gifts from just a few recipes. I only made 1 batch of each item (I did double the macarons and oranges) and was able to make 2 large boxes for my family and Derek’s family with enough left over to give to friends. I know by the time I’m posting this, Christmas will have come and gone, but these would also make great gifts any time of the year. Valentine’s Day, centerpieces for showers and birthdays, if you want to show off to your coworkers, smaller scaled-down boxes for bridesmaid gifts, there’s no bad time for cookies 🍪.
Recipes:
Macarons: I made single batches instead of trying to double the recipe, which can get dicey for any bake, especially something as finicky as macarons. To color them, I split each batch in 2 bowls after just incorporating the dry ingredients, added my food coloring, and mixed until I got the right consistency. Try not to over mix these when adding the food coloring! I baked them one pan at a time undisturbed for 16 minutes at 300°, which is different than this recipe but I found it worked best for me.
To fill the macarons, I used an Eggnog buttercream filling for the blue and green shells. For the red and pink, I used a vanilla buttercream (adapted from the eggnog recipe) and added a dollop of raspberry or strawberry jam in the center.
Sugar cookies: The sugar cookies were a family recipe but I used the Wilton’s royal icing recipe to decorate. This wasn’t my favorite icing, but I think I could’ve played with it more to get the right consistency.
Candied orange slices: I don’t know about you, but candied oranges scream Christmas to me. I love the slight tart of the orange rind against the smooth dark chocolate.
Snowballs: A classic, I love the pecan flavor peaking through the mounds of powdered sugar. These have definitely been added as a permanent resident to our annual Christmas cookie bakes.
Cranberry white chocolate: Cranberries and white chocolate are a match made in heaven. Delicious and simple, these cookies look as festive as they taste.
Raspberry Linzers: These were my favorite cookies to eat 😋 The added pecan to the dough gave the shortbread a beautiful nutty flavor and the raspberry jam paired perfectly with it. I bought a linzer cookie cutter off Amazon which made making these a breeze.
Peppermint bark: A simple and easy classic, if you’re running short on time and want something you can throw together for a gift, this is the thing to make. No oven, no bake time. Just melt, pour, and freeze.
Peanut butter chocolate: This is another recipe I got from my family. Any peanut butter cookie recipe will work. After the cookies have cooled, dip or drizzle them with dark chocolate and tie them with a bow for the perfect, simple gift.
These were so fun to make, but they sure are a lot of work. They definitely make a statement, and there’s sure to be something that everyone loves. These are the cookies I made and they were all favorites (especially the macs), but you can fill your boxes with almost any type of cookie, candy, or bar to fit your preference. I like the variation of boxes, colors, and ribbons, but you could totally go for all the same packaging. I bought everything for a very reasonable price from Michaels. If you decide to make cookie boxes this year, make sure to share pictures on Instagram or Facebook and don’t forget to tag me with the hashtag #lilyshumblekitchen!
Original Recipes: