Caraway Christmas Cookies

These tender, soft, and moist Caraway Christmas Cookies are prepared with a basic vanilla and caraway seed-flavoured cookie dough. Dipped in melted white chocolate and sprinkled with coarse sanding sugar and more caraway, these cookies are a great addition to any holiday cookie exchange or cookie platter!

When I plan each Christmas countdown series, I try to include different flavour profiles so that there’s something for everyone to enjoy. I consider things like different levels of baking knowledge, different cookie preparation techniques, and most certainly, different flavours. Caraway Christmas Cookies are certainly different, but the way these cookies come together is quite easy – and they’re dipped in melted white chocolate!

Caraway has a very strong scent and a strong taste as well. If you like the flavour of anise or black licorice, you will certainly like the taste of caraway. Although, in addition to anise, caraway does have just the slightest hint of citrus to it, which makes it taste both bright and warm.

Caraway seeds were not something my mom would use in her baking. But, growing up in Newfoundland, there was one local brand of cookies and candies called Purity. They made a lemon cream cookie with caraway seeds baked into them. You could just get the plain lemon cream cookies if you wanted, but I always preferred the ones with caraway. They had more flavour and more texture. I loved to bite into the little seeds.

I’m going to tell you all about this cookie recipe and how you can make it in your home this holiday season, but first, I want to tell you about what you can expect from Lord Byron’s Kitchen this Christmas. I know we’re getting closer to the big day, so it’s time to get to the cookie recipes! Before I get into today’s recipe, let me make mention of the three previous holiday confection countdowns that I just finished up this year.

Back in October, I kicked off the holiday season with a holiday recipe series called Lord Byron’s 12 Holiday Trifle Series and followed that up with a second series called Lord Byron’s 12 Holiday Breads and Loaves. Next was my 12 Squares and Bars Series, which was Volume 2 of that particular series.  

And now, I’m starting on this new series, which is the seventh annual instalment! I cannot believe that this is the seventh year in a row that I’ve shared Lord Byron’s 24 Cookies of Christmas! But, before we get to a list of ingredients and instructions for today’s recipe, let me tell you about this series and more!

LORD BYRON’S 24 COOKIES OF CHRISTMAS SERIES

Another holiday series, Lord Byron? Yes – why not!? Welcome, Dear Reader, to the fourth of my annual holiday recipe series for this season! This one is called Lord Byron’s 24 Cookies of Christmas – Volume 7! I will try to keep the recipes in this series quick and easy, just like in previous years. Even if a recipe looks complex, I promise you that it is not! My goal, as always, is to share recipes with you that are not too complex to whip up as a holiday treat for your family. 

Like every other holiday series I’ve shared over the years, this series will share a new recipe every day for the next 24 days – even on Saturday and Sunday! You might be asking yourself, how many Christmas recipes could one possibly have or need? Well, I say you can never have too much of a good thing. And, I love having lots of choices. Who wants to prepare the same holiday recipes year after year?

SUBSCRIBE NOW SO THAT YOU NEVER MISS OUT ON NEW RECIPES!

So, welcome, Dear Reader, to Lord Byron’s 24 Cookies of Christmas series! Even though this is the fourth series for this holiday season, you can always look back at previous years if you just cannot wait until the next recipe is published. Also, some of my favourite recipe collections from previous years are my 75 Homemade Gifts from Your Kitchen, my 50 Make Ahead Freezer Friendly Christmas Recipes, and my 30 No-Bake Christmas Recipes post.

You really don’t want to miss one of these recipes, so if you have not yet subscribed to Lord Byron’s Kitchen, I encourage you to do so. That way, a new recipe will be emailed to you every day. You won’t have to bother to come looking for it! Like in previous holiday recipe countdowns, I like to mix up the recipes in the series so that there is something for everyone. Are you ready!!??

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO PREPARE THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• Unsalted Butter – Make sure your butter is at room temperature!
• Sugar
• Egg – One large egg is all you need. Whenever you set out to bake, make sure your eggs are at room temperature too – just like your butter!
• Vanilla Extract
• Flour – No need for anything special. Just use regular all-purpose flour. I have not tried this recipe with any other type of flour.
• Caraway Seeds
• Baking Powder
• Sanding Sugar
• White Chocolate Chips

HOW TO MAKE CARAWAY CHRISTMAS COOKIES

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Now, in a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Next, add the egg and the vanilla and beat into the butter mixture. You want this mixture to be creamy and smooth, so give it a good beating – at least 3 minutes. Set that aside and measure the flour, baking powder, and 3 teaspoons of the caraway seeds into another bowl. Whisk it to combine.

Add one cup of the flour mixture at a time to the butter mixture and beat well after each addition to incorporate. Portion the dough into slightly heaping tablespoons and roll into balls. Set the balls onto a parchment-lined baking sheet leaving two inches of space between each ball. Using the bottom of a drinking glass, flatten each ball to half the height. You may want to dust the bottom of the glass with flour if the dough sticks to the glass. Bake for 12 minutes.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for a full 5 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to wire cooling rack. Once the cookies are fully cooled, place the white chocolate chips into a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on medium power for 30 seconds and stir well. If the chocolate is not silky smooth, microwave in increments of 5 or 10 seconds, depending on your microwave, stirring with a rubber spatula after each increment.

Dip each cookie straight down into the bowl of chocolate, coating just half of the cookie. Lift the cookie out of the chocolate and gently shake it up and down to shake off the excess chocolate. Next, lightly drag the bottom of the cookie over the edge of the bowl, essentially wiping off any chocolate that would pool, ruining the look of your cookie. Lay the cookie onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Immediately sprinkle over some of the remaining caraway seeds and some of the coarse sanding sugar. Once the chocolate has cooled and hardened, pack the cookies into a food-safe container.

WHAT IS A CARAWAY SEED?

Despite the fact we call them seeds, they are the dried fruit of the caraway plant. I previously mentioned that they taste like anise or licorice, but if you have ever had a slice of rye bread, you will most likely enjoy the taste of caraway seeds. Although the whole seed is frequently used, sometimes you’ll want to impart caraway’s distinctive flavour without the crunch of the whole seed. In this case, ground caraway can be used. The ground version is more potent, so if a recipe calls for one teaspoon of whole caraway, you would substitute a 3/4 teaspoon of the ground version.

SANDING VS GRANULATED SUGAR

I use coarse sanding sugar quite in my cookie recipes. I hope it hasn’t been too difficult for you to find. Sanding sugar is sometimes referred to as baking sugar, and there are some substitutes. You can use other sugars – which are basically the same, but named something differently – there’s pearl sugar and coarse sugar. You cannot, however, use granulated sugar. Let me explain why.

Whereas an individual granule of sanding sugar is large and hard, a single granule of granulated sugar is quite small. Sanding sugar will hold up to the heat in your oven without melting; granulated sugar will not. If you can only find granulated sugar, you can either skip the sanding sugar completely or you can use turbinado sugar. Turbinado sugar is a golden brown though, so it will throw off the colour of your finished cookie.

STORING, PACKAGING, & FREEZING

When it comes to most cookies, they taste best at room temperature, but they don’t hold up well to being left out on your countertop for a long time. Cookies will stay fresh in a cookie jar or food-safe container with a lid for 3-5 days if left to sit on your kitchen countertop. You can store them in a food-safe container in your fridge. When you want one, two, or half a dozen, take them out of the container and place them in a single layer on a plate. Let them sit at room temperature for 5 minutes and they’re ready!

If you plan to freeze your Caraway Christmas Cookies, you certainly can! Pile them into a clean, food-safe container. The container must be freezer-friendly! You’ll want to ensure a very tight-fitting lid too. I use these quite often when freezing baked goods. I like to place a sheet of plastic wrap over the top of the container before pushing the lid on. This helps to create a better seal. The goal is to keep all of that freshness locked in!  

You can freeze these cookies for up to three months. If you plan to give previously frozen cookies as a gift, I would lay them out on a wire cooling rack to thaw completely. Once thawed, pile into cellophane bags and tie with a ribbon, or stack in a cookie tin/box.

QUESTIONS?

If I have not answered all of your questions in the text above, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! You can contact me by sending me a message in the comments section further down the page. I will try my best to answer as soon as possible! You might reach me even faster by following me on Facebook and sending me a private message. Scroll down below the recipe card to find my Follow Me on Social Media box and never miss another recipe!

Finally, as I stated previously, every day I will be posting a new recipe. If you miss one, don’t fret. You can find my entire collection of Christmas Recipes right here! There are over 200 Christmas recipes and counting. There’s something for everyone! Cheers!