Today’s Wordless Wednesday features delicious Christmas cookies! What is your favorite kind of cookies to bake during the Christmas season?

Some of my favorite memories from the Holiday Season are gathering around with family to bake and decorate cookies. Now-a-days, there are countless recipes floating around the internet that you just have to try. We’ve rounded up the most scrumptious recipes we could find from the classics to cookies you would have never thought of trying!
Photo Credit: Craftiness Is Not Optional
When I think of baking cookies for Christmas, I think of sugar cookies. They’re soft, savory, and so much fun to decorate! Did you know that the first sugar cookie goes all the way back to the mid-1700s in Nazareth, Pennsylvania? According to Cook CFB, German Protestants first created the cookie which used to be known as the Nazareth Cookie. Now, we all know and love it by the name sugar cookie.
Recipes
Tip: For a unique decorating technique, try using Royal Icing!
Photo Credit: Cooking Classy
Gingerbread is used in a plethora of delicious recipes. Perhaps most famous for brightly candy decorated houses, gingerbread is considered another “classic” holiday treat. However, we want to give credit to the beloved Gingerbread cookies. Traditionally, these cookies are crisp and flavorful, but modern tweaks to the recipe have made deviations that are soft and chewy or even converted into “cookie bars.”
Recipes
Photo Credit: Handle The Heat
While we find it important to keep your family traditions of baking the “classics,” we also encourage you to try a few new recipes this holiday season! We rounded up the most unique and delicious looking cookie recipes that we could find. Give them a try and let us know how they turn out in the comments!
You can’t bake without the right supplies. But don’t worry, Central Restaurant Products has you covered with everything you need for baking the perfect holiday treats. Here are a few essentials to get you started:
Need more? See our full assortment of products at www.centralrestaurantproducts.com!
Happy Holidays from Central! We’ve compiled some of our employee’s favorite Holiday recipes to share with you and your family. We know we enjoy them, and hope you do too!
Cushaw Pie from Denise McKenney
Vanilla Mashed Sweet Potatoes from Kaycee Sasser
Marinades for Turkey from Justina Welch
Candy Cane Fudge from Laura Bedilion
Baked Pineapple from Denise Dixon
Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies from Kerrie Lafky
Baked Ziti from Tracey Rector
“A cushaw is basically a crooked neck squash. You make the pie like a pumpkin pie but the flavor is lighter and more like a cross between pumpkin & sugar cream pie. The first time I had it was when a cousin brought it to our house one Thanksgiving a few years ago. They grew the cushaw themselves and gave us seeds to grow our own. We did the next year, but we didn’t preserve the seeds properly. She was killed in a car accident a couple of years later, so the memory is extra sweet.
The link below has pictures of the cushaws, a recipe similar to the one we used and a description of the flavor and uses. It is a favorite at our house and we always look for cushaws at farmers markets and such. They’re rare, but worth the trouble if you can find them. And this is from a woman who doesn’t like pumpkin at all!”
http://chickensintheroad.com/cooking/spiced-cushaw-squash-pie/
“I used sea salt, and regular pepper, and I mashed them by hand.”
Preheat the oven to 350F. Put the potatoes on a baking sheet and bake in the oven until tender to a fork tip, about 1 hour. Remove from oven and let cook until warm enough to handle, 10 to 15 minutes. Peel and discard the skin. Put the potatoes in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade.
Meanwhile, pour the cream into a 2-quart pot, add the vanilla bean and orange zest, if using, and set it over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Use tongs to fish out and discard the vanilla bean. Pour the mixture over the potatoes in the processor and add the butter.
Puree the potato mixture until smooth. Season with salt and 4 grinds of pepper, or to taste. Keep covered and warm until ready to serve.
Serves Four.
Combine cider vinegar, garlic, salt, oregano, chipotles in a blender. Process until smooth. Pour in remaining ingredients and continue blending until oil is emulsified. Spread marinade over turkey surface. Place in roasting bad or wrap in aluminum foil. Marinate for 12-24 hours prior to cooking.
Cut lemons in half squeeze juice into plastic (non reactive) bowl. Throw in lemon halves and remaining ingredients. Mix in blender, leave somewhat chunky. Spread over turkey. Marinate for minimum 4 hours prior to cooking
Left over turkey? Try this recipe!
Add turkey carcass and leftover meat to large pan with chicken stock (4 containers, I use organic, low sodium). Saute onions, celery and carrots until onions are soft and translucent (I use olive oil). Add garlic and thyme sauté for one minute. Dump in pan with turkey, bring to a boil reduce heat and simmer for 1-1.5 hours. Then add cooked wild rice and noodles. Once noodles are done, add cornstarch and water-to make a slurry- add to soup while constantly stirring to thicken slightly. Check/adjust seasonings (I sometimes add 1 more sprig of fresh rosemary leaves at this point). Ready to serve.
“Candy cane fudge is something my mom always made for Christmas when I was a kid. I found a very similar recipe online and it’s delicious (but very addicting)!”
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/candy-cane-fudge/detail.aspx
“This recipe I have used for many years for holiday as well as everyday when we have ham. It is a great side dish with ham, although it can also be a dessert.”
Topping
Mix pineapple, flour and sugar well. You will have juice with pineapple after mixing. Pour into baking dish. Bake at 400 degrees until hot and bubbly. Meanwhile, crumble Ritz crackers. melt butter and mix with crackers. Top pineapple with crumbs and bake until cracker mixture is browned. Serve hot.
“I found this recipe on line and it was inspired by cookies that were served at the Holiday Inn Express in Harrison, OH. This is the hotel Hubert uses for their overnight visitors. I’ve stayed there a few times; and each time I’ve been there they have fresh cookies for their guests. When I was there this past December they had Cranberry Oatmeal cookies with white chocolates chips. They were so good that I went back downstairs to the lobby for more. I talked to a woman at the desk and she said she made them and proceeded to tell me what was in them. I was able to find a recipe on line that matched up. I think what made them special is they have cardamon in them which is kind of expensive but worth it. If you don’t want to spend the money on cardamon, you can substitute pumpkin pie spice mix, allspice, ginger or just more cinnamon or nutmeg based on your taste. So here it is straight from the ‘Hubert Hotel.'”
Ingredients:
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugars until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients. Add to butter mixture and stir until well blended. Add dried cranberries and white chocolate chips. Drop by teaspoonful onto parchment covered baking sheet. Bake about 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly golden. Cool.
Years ago when I began to explore cooking, I found this incredibly easy Baked Ziti recipe, hence its original author’s title, “Easy Baked Ziti.”
Over the years I’ve made small tweaks and this is my version. Visit About.com’s Southern Food website for the original recipe by Diana Rattray.
The original recipe calls for two tablespoons of Lawry’s Seasoned Salt, or add/subtract to taste. I tried putting it in a few times, but have since not put much at all in anymore.
With the ground beef, the original recipe doesn’t call for it—and you really don’t notice there isn’t meat. I added it once to test it, and now many times if I make it, I throw in ground beef.
Preparation
Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the holiday season. Here is a cookie recipe from All Recipes perfect for all your holiday events. Don’t forget to use the blog on Central’s cooking tips with information for making the best cookies.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Ready In: 20 minutes
Servings: 24 (2 dozen)
Mexican vanilla extract can be found in Mexican grocery stores. If you can’t find it, feel free to substitute regular vanilla extract.
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 241 | Total Fat: 13.7g | Cholesterol: 22mg
As we approach the Thanksgiving weekend, here are a few cooking tips from Central. Please feel free to share yours with us and all the other blog readers!
How to cut an onion without crying?
All methods below will reduce the volatility of the sulfide that causes irritation:
Reduce clean up time
Use kitchen scissors to chop fresh mint, chilies and coriance finely with any mess.
Measure your ingredients carefully
Use metal or plastic nested cups for dry ingredients like flour and sugar, and graduated glass or plastic cups with spouts for liquids. If you use the liquid measuring cup for flour you may get an extra tablespoon or more per cup, which could make cookies hard and dry. To measure flour, lightly spoon it from the canister into the measuring cup and level it with a straight edge of a spatula or knife. Do not tap or shake the cup to level it. When measuring brown sugar, pack it firmly into the dry measuring cup so that it holds its shape when it is removed.