It’s time for our favorite holiday traditions: Baking (and eating) Christmas cookies to pair with Good Clean Wine.
Our favorite Christmas cookie and wine pairings:
Good Clean Red pairs with: Chocolate chip, fudge crinkle, gingerbread, molasses, jam thumbprint, oatmeal raisin, whoopee pies, cherry kiss, peanut butter blossoms, peppermint melt aways, chocolate raspberry, pecan sandies, rocky road bars.
Good Clean White pairs with: Sugar cookies, butter cookies, Italian anise, linzer, shortbread, snickerdoodles, snowball, Italian wedding cake cookies, pecan fingers, Italian sugar cookies, lemon spritz, macarons.
Good Clean Spumante pairs with: Sugar cookies, shortbread, cranberry shortbread, raspberry Rugelach, white chocolate-dipped Rice Krispie Treats, and macarons.
Good Clean Rosé pairs with: Merengue cookies, and Kolaches.
Good Clean Spumante Rosé pairs with: Every cookie
Christmas Cookie Recipes
Italian Sugar Cookies (pair with Good Clean White):
- 3/4 cup shortening
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
- Food coloring and coarse sugar (optional)
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 400°F. In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well.
- Shape dough into 1-1/2-inch balls. Place 1 inch apart on parchment paper lined baking sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.
- For icing: in a small bowl, combine milk, butter, vanilla and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Tint with food coloring if desired. Dip tops of cookies in icing; allow excess to drip off. Sprinkle with coarse sugar if desired. Place on waxed paper; let stand until set.
Kolaches Cookies (pair with Good Clean Rosé):
- 2 cups butter, softened
- 1 pint vanilla ice cream, softened
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 cans (12 ounces each) apricot and/or raspberry cake and pastry filling
- 1 to 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar, optional
Instructions:
- In the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer, beat butter and ice cream until blended (mixture will appear curdled). Add flour and sugar; mix well. Divide dough into 4 portions; cover and refrigerate until easy to handle, about 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. On a lightly floured surface, roll 1 portion of dough into a 12x10–in. rectangle; cut into 2-in. squares. Place a teaspoonful of filling in the center of each square. Overlap 2 opposite corners of dough over filling; pinch tightly to seal. Place 2 in. apart on parchment paper lined baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
- Bake until bottoms are lightly browned, 11-14 minutes. Cool 1 minute before removing from pans to wire racks. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar if desired.
Cherry Kiss Cookies (pair with Good Clean Red):
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons maraschino cherry juice
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 6 drops red food coloring, optional
- 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup chopped maraschino cherries
- 54 milk chocolate kisses, unwrapped
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, beat butter, confectioners' sugar and salt until blended. Beat in cherry juice, extract and, if desired, food coloring. Gradually beat in flour. Stir in cherries.
- Shape dough into 1-in. balls. Place 1 in. apart on parchment paper lined baking sheets.
- Bake 8-10 minutes or until bottoms are light brown. Immediately press a chocolate kiss into center of each cookie (cookie will crack around edges). Cool on pans 2 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool.
White Chocolate Dipped Rice Krispie Treats (pair with Good Clean Spumante):
- 1 package store-bought or 1 batch homemade Rice Krispie Treats
- 1 (1lb.) package white candy melts or 1 (24 oz.) package white chocolate chips or bark coating.
- 2 tablespoons shortening
- Assorted Christmas sprinkles
Instructions:
- Unwrap store-bought Rice Krispie treats (or cut homemade into approximately 3x2-inch rectangles) set aside.
- Melt chocolate and shortening together in the microwave per package directions (typically in 30 second intervals, stirring in between).
- Dip 3/4 of each Rice Krispie Treat in the white chocolate, letting excess chocolate drip off back into the container. Sprinkle with Christmas sprinkles as desired.
- Place on wax paper and let stand for chocolate to set up. Store in airtight container for up to two weeks.
