The holidays are over, but that doesn’t mean January has to be cheer-free. Here are three cookie recipes guaranteed to put a smile on your face this winter. 

Peanut butter cup cookies

These cookies are a peanut butter lover’s dream. They feature mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups enveloped in sweet peanut buttery cookies. The best part is that they are easy to make and the recipe yields 40 cookies—but don’t be surprised if you still end up eating all these petite treats in one sitting.

Ingredients

1¾ cups all-purpose flour 218g

¼ teaspoon salt 1/8

1 teaspoon baking soda .5tsp

½ cup butter, softened (not melted) 1/4

½ cup white sugar 1/4

½ cup brown sugar 1/4

⅓ cup peanut butter 41g

1 egg, beaten 1/2

½ teaspoon vanilla extract 

2 tablespoons milk (I use almond, but feel free to use what you prefer) 1tbsp

40 mini Reese Peanut Butter Cups

Directions

Preheat oven to 375F. 

Combine flour, salt, and baking soda in a bowl. In a separate bowl combine the softened butter, brown and white sugar, and peanut butter until fluffy. Beat in the egg, vanilla, and milk.

Mix the wet ingredients with the flour mixture. 

Form the dough into 40 evenly-sized balls and place them in greased mini muffin tins. Put a mini Reese’s Cup in the centre of each ball of dough. 

Bake for eight minutes and place on a cooling rack before serving.

Oat Delights

This no-bake cookie recipe is as delicious as it is easy. Oats, chocolate, coconut—what’s not to love? Eat these cookies chilled or devour them while they’re still in the pot! 

Ingredients

2 cups sugar

6 tablespoons cocoa

½ cup butter (or dairy free alternative)

½ cup milk (almond or coconut milk work just as well)

½ teaspoon vanilla 

1 cup shredded coconut

3 cups oats 

Directions: 

Combine sugar, cocoa, butter, and milk in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Add vanilla. Remove from heat and stir in coconut and oats. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto wax or parchment paper. Enjoy gooey or chilled. 

Yields about four-and-a-half dozen. Extra cookies can be frozen for up to six months. 

Grandma Colwell’s Cookies

These tasty cookies are sweet, spongy delights that will have you craving seconds, and thirds… and fourths. They’re part cake, part cookie, and a whole lot of deliciousness. 

I’ve successfully made these cookies with gluten-free flour by substituting with a one-to-one gluten-free all purpose blend. The dairy products can also be substituted with vegan margarine and a dairy-free sour cream. 

Cookie Ingredients

¼ cup butter

¼ cup shortening

1 ½ cups sugar

2 eggs 

2 ¾ cups sifted flour 

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup sour cream 

1 teaspoon vanilla 

Icing Ingredients

¼ cup butter (dairy free butter won’t work as well here)

½ teaspoon vanilla 

1 cup sifted icing sugar

1 tablespoon hot water

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, shortening, and sugar until light and smooth. Beat in eggs. If you’re feeling ambitious, sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl. Then, stir in the sour cream and the vanilla. The dough will be very sticky—this is normal! 

Chill the dough for about one hour. This step ensures that the dough will be easier to handle. 

Preheat the oven to 425F and place a sheet of parchment paper on a cookie tray.

Drop rounded spoonfuls of dough onto the cookie sheet at least two to two-and-a-half inches apart. You will likely have several batches of cookies to bake. 

Bake for about eight minutes, but keep in mind that the cook time will depend on the size of your cookies. Cookies are done when the top is tinged gold and the bottom is a deep golden brown. 

While your cookies are baking, make the icing. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Brown the butter until it is a deep gold, about five minutes. The darker the butter, the more flavour your icing will have. 

Once the butter is sufficiently browned, remove from the heat and stir in the icing sugar and vanilla. Then add the hot water. Cool the icing until it becomes spreadable. If it hardens too much before cookies are iced, place the saucepan on low heat for several minutes to soften. 

Let the cookies cool completely on a wire rack before icing. Then, enjoy! 

Yields 48 cookies (depending how large you make the cookies). Extra cookies can be frozen for up to six months (although who are we kidding; just eat them all!).