The Times staff shares holiday recipes

The staff of the Davenport Times wants to wish you a Merry Christmas and a wonderful holiday season. In the spirit of giving, we wanted to share our favorite Christmas cookie recipes with you:

From Georgia Smith, Front Office and Advertising Representative: A few years ago my family wanted me to find a new Christmas cookie to try. I decided to try the “Italian Ricotta Christmas cookie.”. I was unsure of Ricotta Cheese in a cookie, but decided to give it a try. They are wonderful light, sweet and fluffy. One of our families favorites today and many Christmases to come.

Italian Ricotta Christmas Cookies

3 1/2 cups (495g) all-purpose flour*

2 1/2 tsp baking powder**

3/4 tsp salt

1 cup (8 oz) unsalted butter, softened

1 3/4 cups (370g) granulated sugar

1 tsp lemon zest

15 oz ricotta, whole milk or fresh (1 3/4 cups, see notes**)

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs

Glaze

1 Tbsp butter (salted or unsalted), melted

3 3/4 cups (460g) powdered sugar

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice***

1 tsp vanilla extract

4 - 6 Tbsp milk

In a mixing bowl whisk together flour, baking powder and salt for 20 seconds, set aside.

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment whip together butter, granulated sugar and lemon zest until pale and fluffy (scrape down sides and bottom of bowl occasionally throughout entire mixing process).

Mix in ricotta and vanilla extract then blend in eggs one at a time. Set mixer on low speed and slowly add in flour mixture and mix until combined. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill 2 hours or up to 2 days. Preheat oven to 350 degrees during last 20 minutes of dough chilling.

Scoop chilled dough out 1 Tbsp at a time and shape into balls (if it’s too sticky just drop onto sheet using two spoons), drop onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat (I don’t recommend using dark non-stick pans for this recipe since the bottoms will already become pretty golden. Dark pans brown more than uncoated pans do).

Bake in preheated oven 12 - 14 minutes until underside of cookies are golden. Cool on baking sheet several minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once cool dip tops of cookies in glaze and return to wire rack, immediately add sprinkles if using. Allow glaze to set at room temperature. Store in an airtight container in a single layer.

For the glaze:

In a mixing bowl whisk together powdered sugar, melted butter, lemon juice or almond extract, vanilla and 4 Tbsp milk until smooth, adding in more milk 1 tsp at a time to thin as needed (you don’t want it to be very thin, it should be quite a bit thicker than a doughnut glaze).

From Reporter Drew Lawson: My mom has made these as long as I can remember. She and I are two of the only people in the family who actually like them. Their loss, because the sugar and molasses mix is delicious and that leaves more for me. I haven’t learned to make them myself, but I probably should.

Mom’s Molasses

Cookies

1 ½ cups butter, softened

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

½ cup molasses

Combine and add to mix:

4 cups flour

4 tsp baking soda

1 ½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp cloves

½ tsp salt

1 ½ tsp ginger

Form into walnut size balls. Roll in sugar. Place 2” apart on cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 10 - 12 minutes. (They rise and fall while baking -- when they fall, they’re done.) They freeze well, too . . . if they last!

From Editor Jamie Henneman: I love a Christmas cookie that has a bit of spice and this recipe does the trick:

PEPPARKRAKOR SWEDISH COOKIES

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/2 cup honey, scant (100 ml)

1/2 cup milk, scant (100 ml)

9 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature

1 tsp salt

1.5 tsp ground clove

1.5 tsp ground cardamom

3 tsp ground cinnamon

1.5 tsp ground ginger

4 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1.5 tsp baking soda

For the icing

3-4 cups powdered sugar, or more if planning to cover the whole cookie.

water, to thin

a few drops food coloring (optional)

pearl sprinkles (optional)

Add the sugar, honey, and milk to a small saucepan. When measuring a “scant” cup of the honey and the milk, you want to it to be just under 1/2 cup, but not closer to 1/3 cup. If you can measure in milliliters, its exactly 100 milliliters.

Bring to a boil then turn off the heat and let cool slightly.

Add the butter and the spices to a mixing bowl, and pour the warm syrup mixture over them. Mix until the butter is melted and everything is combined.

Sift the baking soda, salt, and flour together, and then add to the butter and the syrup mixture. Mix until everything is evenly incorporated.

Shape the dough into a flat disk, and chill in the fridge overnight or up to 48 hours.

Preheat oven to 350F. Roll out dough to about 3/8” thick and cut out using cookie cutters.

Arrange cookies on a baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes, until slightly puffed and golden.

Allow to cool completely before icing.

For the icing mix the powdered sugar with just enough water to make a smooth but thick glaze. Divide the icing into smaller batches if you want to make different colors. You can also flavor the icing with a little vanilla extract or almond extract if you’d like. For pipping lines and small designs, keep your icing pretty thick so that it won’t spread, there should be a little resistance when mixing it with a whisk. For covering the entire cookie like the green and blue reindeer, add a bit more water to the icing so that it goes on smoothly and is easier to cover the whole cookie before it starts to dry and crack. Try some icing on a test cookie if you’re not sure about the texture!

For the light blue color I used, add 2-3 drops of food coloring to 1 cup or so of glaze.

For the darker green/blue color, add a couple drops of green and blue, and a tiny touch of red to tone the color down a bit.

Place the icing in ziplock bags or a piping bag fitted with a very small tip. Cut a tiny corner off of the ziplock bags if using. Decorate, and allow to harden completely before moving or stacking.