How to Make a Holiday Cookie Box + A New Recipe

Happy Holidays, friends! Today I have a fun cookie recipe to share with you, along with some links of great cookie recipes around the web.

For the last several years, I have been seeing these super photogenic cookie boxes all over instagram from bloggers like Constellation Inspiration and Cloudy Kitchen. This year, I wanted to make one of my own.

Because I am a musician, and I am often working until midnight on Christmas Eve, my time is really limited around the holidays. I am also not handy or crafty, so I wanted to make putting this box together as simple as possible. I took Cloudy Kitchen’s advice and used a photo box from Michael’s. It comes in two sizes. I used this one, but next time I would probably go with this smaller one.

For the dividers, I used these balsa wood sheets. They are really thin, and can be cut with scissors, so no special tools are required. I used wood glue to glue them to the box and then lined the compartments with parchment paper. Because these dividers are kind of flimsy, I wouldn’t recommend trying to use them if you plan to ship your cookie box.

Here are the cookie recipes, starting with the sandwich cookies on the left and moving clockwise:

Smitten Kitchen’s Brownie Roll Out Cookies. I have been wanting to make these for years, and they are as good as I thought they would be. They would be great plain, but the soft yet sturdy brownie like texture makes them ideal for cookie sandwiches. Because they aren’t too sweet, I filled them with coffee buttercream. Recipe as follows:

Ingredients:

226 grams/8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup (125 grams) powdered/confectioner’s sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons coffee extract (I like Nielsen Massey) or 1 tablespoon instant expresso powder dissolved in 2 tablespoons of hot water

Recipe:

Beat the butter and powdered sugar on low until combined.
Turn up the mixer to medium high and beat for about 2 minutes, until light and fluffy.
Add the vanilla and coffee extract and beat to combine.
Put the buttercream in a piping bag fitted with a round tip (I used Ateco 805) and pipe onto one brownie cookie. Sandwich with the other cookie and enjoy!

Flourishing Foodie’s Candy Cane Meringue Kisses (GF). I dipped these in Christmasy nonpareils because that’s what I had in my pantry. Heather’s advice on using superfine sugar and warming it up first is on point. The only change I made was leaving the meringues in the oven overnight after I turned it off. This ensures that the interior will be crispy, which is how I like my meringue cookies.

King Arthur Flour’s Mom’s Caramels (GF). These are time consuming, but worth it. A candy thermometer is necessary for this recipe.

Thin and Crispy M&M Cookies. I make these for Santa every year. They don’t get stale as fast as a soft cookie, and they freeze really well. They also taste great straight out of the freezer (not that I would know). Recipe below:

Ingredients:

280 grams (about 2 cups plus 1 tablespoon) all-purpose flour,
¾-1 teaspoon salt (depending on how salty you like your cookies)
1 teaspoon baking soda
226 grams (2 sticks/16 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened but still cool
200 grams (1 cup) granulated sugar
65 grams (⅓ cup) light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tablespoon water at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
125 grams (3/4 cup) mini chocolate chips
125 grams (3/4 cup) mini M&Ms, plus some extra for topping

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit and line 4 baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
In a separate bowl (or bowl of a stand mixer), beat the butter and sugars on medium speed until combined, about 1-2 minutes.
Add the egg, water, and vanilla and beat until combined.
Add in the flour mixture in 2 additions and mix gently until it just comes together (overbeating will make a tough cookie).
Stir in the chips and M&Ms, leaving some M&Ms aside for topping.
Scoop the dough with a small cookie scoop onto baking sheets (you can do about 8 small cookies per sheet, since they do spread), and top each dough ball with a few M&Ms.
Bake for 11-13 minutes, until evenly browned. If you don’t want your cookie crispy, you can bake for less time.
Cool and serve to Santa with a glass of milk!

Alison Roman’s Salted Butter and Chocolate Chunk Shortbread. These never get old. Use good butter.

Paul Hollywood’s Biscotti. I did a toasted hazelnut variation with a bit of almond extract so I could dip them in hot chocolate. For me, this is the perfect biscotti base because it holds up well when dunked in a beverage, but won’t break your teeth if you eat them on their own. I don’t like biscotti recipes that use butter because essentially, they are just biscotti shaped cookies and it makes me sad when they disintegrate in my coffee.

I chose these recipes because many of them can be made in advance, so you can spread your baking out over a few days or even weeks.

Biscotti- stays good at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
Meringue Kisses- stays good at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
Mom’s Caramels- can be refrigerated or frozen for longer shelf life.
Thin and Crispy M&M Cookies- keeps at room temperature for 3-5 days. Can be frozen for longer shelf life.
Salted Butter Shortbread- stays good at room temperature for 3-5 days.
Brownie Sandwich Cookies- best eaten within 2 days.

Other ideas for filling your cookie box:

Brown Sugar and Cinnamon Shortbread Cookies
Vegan Almond Biscotti
Mint Chocolate Chip Macarons (GF, DF)
Easy Peppermint Crunch Fudge (GF)
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Toffee Cookies
Vegan Matcha Almond Linzer Cookies with Strawberry Jam
Peanut Butter Blossoms from Bakerella
Milk Chocolate Christmas Mini Egg Magic Bars from Cloudy Kitchen
Easy and Tasty White Chocolate Sugar Cookies
Homemade Moose Munch from Baking a Moment
Store bought cookies and candy if you don’t have time to bake around the holidays!

If you don’t want to go through the trouble of making a wooden cookie box, these cookies still look nice in a Christmas tin, and make the perfect holiday gift.

Update: I’ve added some recipes that are naturally gluten free. I don’t usually keep a gluten free flour blend in stock, but I have several friends who don’t eat gluten and wanted to include them this year. I’ve linked to some of my favorite recipes below.

• French Macarons (these take some practice, but freeze very well).
• Peppermint Bark
• Homemade Marshmallows
• Ovenly’s Salted Peanut Butter Cookies (I used Smitten Kitchen’s website, because any recipe that uses cups to measure peanut butter drives me insane).