How to Make a Holiday Cookie Box - 2023

Each Christmas, ever since I could remember, my family would make platters of baked goods to give to our close family and friends. These platters were a sweet tooth’s dream, filled to the brim with decadent treats fit for the holidays. It was a labour of love and even before I was old enough to help out in the kitchen I recall my parents staying up extra late to work on putting these gifts together.

Now that I’m grown up, it only felt right to keep the tradition alive. If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that I like to develop new recipes, try new flavour combos and experiment with flavours. This year, I decided to play it safe – my main reason being that I may have been overly ambitious and committed to making 22 cookie boxes with 14 types of cookies in each. With such a high volume of cookies and a short timeline, there was little margin for error.

I spent a few weeks reading up online – trying to figure out what recipes will be included. In hindsight, I am pretty happy overall with how the majority of the recipes turned out. This year, I wanted to stay true to holiday classics but also introduce some modern recipes with different flavour profiles. Another mandatory for me was for there to be a cookie that captured the flavours of my Filipino roots and my partner’s culture as well.

This year’s 2023 cookie box included:

*I modified the Marbled Tahini Cookies by omitting the tahini and added ube extract to ⅓ of the dough and coconut extract to the remaining. I also coated it in toasted coconut before slicing.

@asiamakes
A tradition that’s been in my family for decades 🥰🫶🏽 I absolutely love making these for friends and family during the holidays each year. This year’s box was a HUGE undertaking but it all ended up coming together. After weeks of planning, we decided on having the classic holidays cookies, along with some modern recipes that paid homage to me and my partner’s cultures. Thus year’s box included: -whipped shortbread -gingerbread -classic sugar cookies -lacy brown butter and ricotta cookies -strawberry matcha wreaths – hot cocoa blossoms – linzer cookies – snickerdoodle cookie bars – dirty chai earthquake cookies – ube coconut marble cookies – christmas cracker toffee – canberry orange slice & bake cookies – raspberry thumbprints – millionaire’s shortbread Feeling super blessed to be able to do this for our loved ones this year! #holidaycookies #holidaybaking #christmasrecipes #cookiebox #cookies #baking #tradition #holidayrecipes #desserts #baking
♬ Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree – Brenda Lee

Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail

I knew that I wanted to make these cookie boxes around October. With that being said, I had a few basic questions to answer. Some of them were:

How many boxes would I be making?
How did I want to package them?
What variety would be included?
What ingredients will I need?
How will I plan the prep, baking and storage of all these cookies?

After spending late nights planning and doing research and reading up on advice from avid holiday bakers, there were a few suggestions that I kept in mind.

Avoid Peppermint

Although I love peppermint, it can be a polarizing flavour and its strong aroma will most likely seep into the other baked goods in the box.

Add a Menu Card

Adding a card with the names of the cookies is a super nice personalized touch! It can take the experience to a whole new level and your loved ones will know which cookies they’re eating!

Stock Up in Packaging Ahead of Time

Once you decide how you want to package your treats, head out to your local shops in early November to avoid the risk of items selling out! My go-to’s are the dollar store metal tins – they have really nice designs and are durable to withstand travel.

Plan Deliveries In Advance

Planning to send out your boxes in advance will help you avoid the Christmas rush.

This was my first year making such a large number of baked goods at once. Lessons were definitely learned and I had a few takeaways.

Give Yourself Ample Time

If you can – try making your cookie dough a few weeks in advance. You’ll be glad you did! The dough will store well in the freezer until baking day. For drop cookies, portion the dough out on a cookie sheet, flash freeze then pop in a freezer bag. This is something I wish I did. However, having a few batches of dough ready even one day before was super helpful when it came to baking day!

Some Modifications Were Necessary

We all know baking comes down to a science. There are a number of variables that can cause a recipe to not turn out. For example, with the Hot Cocoa Blossoms, I had to adjust the cookie time because my first batch of cookies turned out far too soft.

Variety is Key

Overall, I was satisfied with the types of cookies that were included in this year’s box. To save myself time in the future, I would add more drop cookies and less cutout cookies, although they look beautiful.

The Favourites of the Bunch

With so much variety, we got a lot of feedback from our loved ones on what their favourite treats of the bunch were. Winners included:

If you’re planning on making cookie boxes in the future, I hope that this was helpful in providing you with some tips and tricks for making it as seamless of a process as possible. Most importantly – don’t forget to have fun with it! Food always tastes better when it’s made in good spirits.

If you’ve made cookie boxes or plan to make some, I’d love to know what your go-to recipes are!