Biscotti: Holiday Cookie-Gifting At Its Best!

When thinking about giving holiday cookies as gifts this year, there are always a few major considerations. First and foremost, are they delicious? Second, will they keep until the recipient receives them? Last, are they shippable? The winner in all three of these categories is the humble yet delicious biscotti.

Biscotti is a long biscuit cookie with a crunchy texture that's achieved by double-baking. There are any number of variations: Cranberry Pistachio or Chocolate Almond, for example. I love dried fig and hazelnut or the simple combination of cardamom and vanilla. Once you get the hang of baking and slicing the dough, biscotti is about as simple a recipe as they come and, in my experience, tends to be one of those things that friends and family find much fancier and labor-intensive than it really is. The best part? Because of their firm, snappy texture, biscotti ship beautifully and has a long shelf-life (2-3 weeks) so you can begin the gifting now!

Related: Crunchy Cookies: 5 Tasty Ideas for Biscotti

(Images: Stephanie Barlow)

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Cool Cookies: 5 No-Bake Holiday Cookies

Are you feeling the holiday rush yet? If you've had enough, knock a few holiday cookies off your list without even turning on your oven. Check out these cool no-bake ideas!

1. Coconut Snowballs from The Kitchn
2. Nutella Peanut Butter Cookies from The Kitchn
3. No-Bake Truffle Cookies from The Food Network
4. Coconut Date Angel Delights from Delish
5. Chocolate and Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars from Martha Stewart

Related: Candies for Christmas: 2 Quick, Easy Gifts from Liddabit Sweets

(Images: Nealy Dozier; Ken Burris Delish)

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Easy, Yummy and Fun! 10 Kid-Friendly Cookie Recipes Recipes From The Kitchn

Two-Bite Nutella Chocolate Cookies

It isn't hard to convince kids to join in the fun of making holiday cookies. After all, the reward is dozens and dozens of cookies, as well as a bonanza of icing, frosting or powdered sugar to decorate them. But not every cookie recipe is a good choice for children; some are too fussy, others combine flavors most kids won't appreciate. These 10 recipes use kid-friendly flavors, include interactive steps that are fun for little hands chocolate-dipping! sugar-dusting! and don't require any special techniques.

TOP ROW
1 Two-Bite Nutella Chocolate Cookies: Tint the icing red and add a little mint extract to transform this Halloween treat into a candy-cane-striped cookie.
2 Gingerbread Christmas Tree Ornaments: Pretty, sturdy gingerbread cookies that can be hung on the tree or eaten once frosted.
3 Peanut Butter & Fudge Oatmeal Cookies: Peanut butter oatmeal cookies with a dollop of chewy, melting chocolate fudge on top that are so simple to make, they don't even require a mixer.
4 Holiday Snowballs: A glittery riff on Mexican wedding cookies.
5 Brown Sugar Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting: Made with a touch of whole wheat flour, these cut-out cookies are irresistible with a big dollop of cream cheese frosting on top.

BOTTOM ROW
6 Super-Soft Snickerdoodles: A cinnamon-spiced classic.
7 Sensational Peanut Butter Cookies: Our version of the no-flour, no-butter recipe that has taken the Internet by storm.
8 Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies with Cherries and Pecans: Chunky cookies that are easy to adapt with whatever add-ins your child wants or doesn't want.
9 Chocolate Chip and Toffee Shortbread Cookies Reportedly a hit with elementary school teachers, these chocolate-dipped cookies would make great holiday gifts.
10 Best Cut-Out Sugar Cookies: This easy-to-handle, remarkably tasty holiday workhorse is the cut-out sugar cookie to make and decorate with kids.

Do you have any recommendations for kid-friendly cookie recipes?

Related: Delicious Classics & New Favorites: 18 Cookie Recipes for the Holidays

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Simple Holiday Gift: Give Holiday Cookies on a Vintage Plate

Want to make your gift of homemade cookies a little more special? Wrap them up on a pretty vintage plate specially chosen for the recipient, and make the plate part of the gift. And while they add a ton of class, small, charming plates like this don't cost much just a couple dollars tops at a local thrift store.

While it isn't easy or cheap to find sets of matching plates, single mismatched plates are plentiful and usually very inexpensive at thrift stores. (Antique stores and flea markets can be a different story, but you could certainly splurge on a big-ticket plate for a special recipient.) Even in the big city I live in, most cost between 25 cents and $2.

Yet they add so much to the simple gift of homemade cookies. When packaging cookies this way, I'm always surprised at how touched and delighted my friends are when they find out the specially-chosen little plate is theirs to keep.

Do you have any packaging ideas for making the gift of homemade cookies a little more special?

Related: Pretty Packaging Ideas for Homemade Cookie Gifts

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What Are Your Baking Hang-Ups?

This time of year is the high point of baking. Thanksgiving pies, holiday cookies and cakes, dessert buffets, potlucks, and cookie exchanges this is the time of year that the oven is on all day! Do you look forward to this with delight or with dread? Does baking fill you with joy, or does it add extra pressure? Do you have particular hang-ups when it comes to holiday baking? Here's mine...

I know it's silly, but I do feel pressure about pies. I feel like they are often the centerpiece of the holiday table, and mine turn out so, um, rustic and lumpy-topped, that my vanity motivates me to skip them for other things, like cake or pretty frosted bars. I just often lack the time and patience to go slow and make a really pretty pie crust!

What about you? Do you have any hang-ups about baking around the holidays? Or this the most glorious time of year for you and your oven?

Related: How to Make an Easy Cream Cheese Pie Crust

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