Tribune’s Holiday Cookie Contest 2024: Get the winning recipes

The three winning cookie recipes in the 38th Annual Tribune Holiday Cookie Contest offer their take on classic cookies: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, Thumbprint and Snickerdoodle.

Here are the recipes for Oh Gee! Cookies, Jeanne White’s first recipe; Erin’s Thumbprints, the runner-up recipe by Erin Claussen; and Bear Claw Snickerdoodles, Jesse Kimball’s third-place recipe.

To get the backstory on what inspired her to create these recipes, read the story here.

Have fun baking!

First Place: Oh man! Cookies

I was lucky enough to grow up in a household where I helped my mother bake desserts every week. One of my favorites was a soft oatmeal chocolate chip cookie. Since my mother passed away in 2023, I wanted to create an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie that reminded me of my childhood but with unusual but special ingredients. This cookie uses my mom’s favorite movie candy, dark chocolate covered raisins. During my childhood, we took trips to Mexico and brought back bottles of dark Mexican vanilla that I continue to use in recipes. The almond extract reminds me of the Spritz cookies my mom and I baked together for Christmas in 2022. In the winter we always had Mexican hot chocolate with pan dulce (sweet bread). The chocolate comes in bars that are broken off and melted in milk in a pan on the stove. I grated some of this chocolate and mixed it with the sugar. We used to call my mom the OG (Ol’ Girl), and when people bite into these cookies they are surprised by the taste, so I called her “Oh Gee!” Cookies. — Jeanne White, Tinley Park

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooling time: 60 minutes

Baking time: 11 minutes

Yield: 30 cookies (1 inch diameter)

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of sea salt
1/2 cup salted butter, softened
1/2 cup of granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 tablespoons of grated Mexican hot chocolate
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon of Mexican vanilla
1/4 teaspoon of almond extract
1 1/2 Cups of old fashioned oatmeal
1 Cup of milk chocolate chips
1/2 Cup of dark chocolate covered raisins

Directions:

1. Bring Bring all ingredients to room temperature.
2. Mix Place the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
3. cream Mix butter and sugar in a large bowl for 1-2 minutes.
4. Add Add the grated chocolate to the large bowl and mix. Add egg, vanilla extract and almond extract and continue mixing. Slowly add flour mixture. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the oats, chocolate chips and chocolate-covered raisins.
5. Cool for about an hour.
6. Preheat Oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Place tablespoon-sized (1-inch) balls of dough about 2 inches apart on a baking sheet covered with parchment or parchment paper.
7. Bake for 11 minutes.
8. Leave Bake on the baking sheet for 1 minute and let cool on the baking sheet.

Second place: Erin’s fingerprints

This recipe for these fingerprint cookies has been in my family for at least four generations. The texture is unlike any other, somewhere between a biscuit and a scone; On the holidays I like to eat them for breakfast with a cup of coffee. These cookies are so nostalgic and I love looking at my mom’s handwritten recipe every Christmas. Each generation has adapted the recipe to their specific tastes. The versatility of this recipe is one of the best things about it! You can replace the coating with other nuts or maybe even turbinado sugar. The filling can be any jam or you can fill it with powdered sugar after baking. I hope you enjoy my version of my family’s fingerprint cookies! —Erin Claussen, Chicago

Preparation time: 25 minutes

Baking time: 25 minutes

Yield: 21 cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (113 g) room temperature butter
1/2 cup (90g) shortening
1/2 cup (100 g) packed brown sugar
2 Egg yolk and white separated
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 cups (260 g) all-purpose flour
1.5 cups (200g) of walnuts
6 tablespoons of raspberry jam
1/4 cup of powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Hit Beat butter, shortening, brown sugar, egg yolks, vanilla and salt in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat briefly again to ensure everything is fully incorporated.
2. attention Stir in flour at low speed until it disappears.
3. Roll Form the dough into balls about 2.5 cm in diameter. You should be around 18.
4. Hit Using a whisk or fork, beat the egg whites just enough to break all the membranes.
5. Chop finely Crush the walnuts and place them in a shallow bowl.
6. Roll Roll each dough ball in egg white, then roll walnuts in it and gently press the walnut pieces into the surface. Place the walnut-covered dough ball on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Press your thumb into the top of the dough ball to create an indentation for filling.
7. Fill Spread each thumbprint with a teaspoon of jam before baking.
8. Bake Bake the cookies at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20-25 minutes.
9. Remove Cookies from the oven. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
10. Mix Add water and powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon at a time, until you have a thick glaze for drizzling.
11. Drizzle Once the cookies have cooled, brush them with icing. Allow the glaze to set before eating.

Third place: Bear Claw Snickerdoodles

After years of baking snickerdoodles and bringing them to every club meeting, game night, and family gathering, I started experimenting and trying new flavors. I used to enjoy making pumpkin snickerdoodles with homemade pumpkin puree. For this recipe, I took inspiration from one of my favorite meeting room treats. These cookies are based on the ever-popular snickerdoodle base, giving it a crunchy texture and unique almond flavor. For a more intense flavor, replace some of the all-purpose flour with almond flour. Eating these will immediately take you to a café and enjoy a delicious bear claw pastry. Pair these with a warm drink to complete the experience. —Jesse Kimball, Chicago

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Baking time: 25 minutes

Yield: 36 cookies

Ingredients:

Cookies:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 Cup shortening, softened
1 1/2 cups of white sugar
2 big eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
2 teaspoon of almond extract
2 teaspoon of cream of tartar
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt
3 cups all-purpose flour

Topping:
3 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons of white sugar
1 Cup of raw almond slices
1 cup of powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon of almond extract
1 1/2 tablespoons of milk

Directions:

1. Preheat Oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Hit Beat butter, shortening and sugar in a bowl until smooth and creamy.
3. Add Eggs, vanilla extract and almond extract. Mix to incorporate. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
4. Add Cream of tartar, baking powder and salt. Mix to incorporate. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
5. Mix slowly Add flour, stopping mixer periodically to scrape down sides of bowl. First add 2 cups of all-purpose flour, about half a cup at a time. Then add 3/4 cup flour, about 1/4 cup at a time. The dough should be moist but easy to form into a ball when rolled between your hands. If the dough is too soft, add the remaining 1/4 cup flour.
6. form Form the dough into balls, about 1 inch in diameter.
7. Combine Cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl. Cover the dough balls with the mixture by rolling or gently shaking them in the bowl.
8. Location Place dough balls 5 cm apart on an uncoated baking sheet.
9. Great Top each ball generously with sliced ​​almonds and press the dough balls lightly to create a surface for the almonds to rest on.
10. Bake Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes. The cookies should have cracks on the top but appear soft in the middle.
11. Remove Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool completely.
12. Mix Mix the powdered sugar, almond extract and milk together to form a glaze that drips easily from the spoon.
13. Location Cookies on a baking sheet lined with baking paper.
14. Drizzle Spoon the icing onto the cookies.
15. Let The cookies rest for another 5-10 minutes to allow the icing to set.

If these three recipes aren’t enough, check out Holiday Cookies, 2nd Edition, our cookbook featuring winning recipes from nearly four decades of reader contest entries. Get it at chicagotribune.com/holidaycookies.

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