Life
11 Christmas Cookies Paired With Impossibly Delicious Holiday Booze Drinks
I read somewhere that calories don't count during the month of December. (I read that inside a book in a dream that I had once, where Ryan Gosling agreed that was "totally legit," because he was also there, wearing a Santa hat.) Now that I have given you some alarming insight into my deepest, not-so-secret fantasies, let me assure you that I do know what I'm talking about when it comes to baked goods and the holidays: As a self-appointed dessert connoisseur (aka, human garbage disposal), I have baked and sampled many delicious holiday cookies in my time. As a result, I can pretty confidently tell you which boozy holiday drinks you ought to be pairing them with.
Let's be real: There aren't any hard and fast rules to this. If you have a cookie and you also have booze, then you're already winning at life. But maybe this holiday season you'll get a hankering to throw a holiday party, at which point you will probably dissolve into existential panic wondering which cookies to serve with the spiked eggnog (the struggle is real), and you'll be glad that you had this booze and cookie guide to ease you through the hosting stress. Or you could just make some for yourself, because every time is a good time for dessert. Here are some ideas for dessert and booze pairings you should experiment with this year.
Image: doughmesstic
Pear Cranberry Bellini and Citrus Orange Cookie
With this Pear and Cranberry Bellini perfectly complementing citrusy orange crinkle cookies, you’ll be getting enough fruit in your diet that you’re practically a saint. Go ahead, have another. It might be the closest thing you have to an actual piece of fruit until next year.
Pear Cranberry Bellini and Citrus Orange Cookie
With this Pear and Cranberry Bellini perfectly complementing citrusy orange crinkle cookies, you’ll be getting enough fruit in your diet that you’re practically a saint. Go ahead, have another. It might be the closest thing you have to an actual piece of fruit until next year.
Image: Fotolia
Boozey Hot Cocoa and White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies
I don’t think that it’s humanly possible to overload on chocolate, but because it is a risk we should all be wary of, a combination of the perfect boozey hot cocoa with white chocolate macadamia cookies is a safe bet that won’t overpower your tastebuds.
Image: Fotolia
Boozey Hot Cocoa and White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies
I don’t think that it’s humanly possible to overload on chocolate, but because it is a risk we should all be wary of, a combination of the perfect boozy hot cocoa with white chocolate macadamia cookies is a safe bet that won’t overpower your tastebuds.
Eggnog and Chocolate Dipped Macarons
You can pretend you’re in the tropics for a hot second with the complementing coconut flavors of eggnog made with Kahlua and chocolate-dipped macaroons. Be brave! They’re easier to make than they look. (Or you could just cheat and go to the Godiva Store. Nobody’s judging.)
Image: Fotolia
Eggnog and Chocolate Dipped Macarons
You can pretend you’re in the tropics for a hot second with the complementing coconut flavors of eggnog made with Kahlua and chocolate-dipped macaroons. Be brave! They’re easier to make than they look. (Or you could just cheat and go to the Godiva Store. Nobody’s judging.)
Image: Fotolia
Candy Cane Cocktail And Peppermint Mocha Cookie
This peppermint mocha cookie changed my life, and not just because it combined my love of caffeine and dessert, but because it transcends deliciousness. You wouldn’t think coffee and mint pair so well together, but they do, and they’re a perfect match for a candy cane cocktail.
Image: doughmesstic
Candy Cane Cocktail and Peppermint Mocha Cookie
This peppermint mocha cookie changed my life, and not just because it combined my love of caffeine and dessert, but because it transcends deliciousness. You wouldn’t think coffee and mint pair so well together, but they do, and they’re a perfect match for a candy cane cocktail.
Image: Minimalist Baker/Facebook
Hot Buttered Rum and Raspberry Almond Thumbprint Cookie
What would a snuggle by the fire be without some delicious hot buttered rum? You can undercut that yummy brown sugary sweetness with some tangy raspberry almond thumbprint cookies.
Image: Wikimedia
Hot Buttered Rum and Raspberry Almond Thumbprint Cookie
What would a snuggle by the fire be without some delicious hot buttered rum? You can undercut that yummy brown sugary sweetness with some tangy raspberry almond thumbprint cookies.
Image: Fotolia
Mulled Wine and Maple-Walnut Spice Cookies
If you haven’t made your own mulled wine yet, stop what you’re doing. I don’t care if you’re reading this at seven in the morning on a Monday. You’re doing this. And then you’re eating some maple-walnut spice cookies with it, because you’re not doing this halfway, you’re ALL IN.
Mulled Wine and Maple-Walnut Spice Cookies
If you haven’t made your own mulled wine yet, stop what you’re doing. I don’t care if you’re reading this at seven in the morning on a Monday. You’re doing this. And then you’re eating some maple-walnut spice cookies with it, because you’re not doing this halfway, you’re ALL IN.
Image: Fotolia
Cider Jack Cocktails and Louisiana Pecan Balls
Just because autumn’s almost over doesn’t mean we shouldn’t pack in a few extra rounds of these cider jack cocktails while it’s still semi-seasonally appropriate, and they’ll be taste-bud dazzlingly good with dusted Louisiana pecan balls.
Image: Fotolia
Cider Jack Cocktails and Louisiana Pecan Balls
Just because autumn’s almost over doesn’t mean we shouldn’t pack in a few extra rounds of these cider jack cocktails while it’s still semi-seasonally appropriate, and they’ll be taste-bud dazzlingly good with dusted Louisiana pecan balls.
Image: Fotolia
Country Tea and Sugar Cookie
Chai tea and vodka. Yeah, you read that right. Those are the two pillar ingredients of Christmas Country Tea, if you think you are bold enough to try to tame those things simultaneously. You can take some of the edge off by safely drinking it with the indisputable, failproof classic that is the sugar cookie.
Image: Fotolia
Country Tea and Sugar Cookie
Chai tea and vodka. Yeah, you read that right. Those are the two pillar ingredients of Christmas Country Tea, if you think you are bold enough to try to tame those things simultaneously. You can take some of the edge off by safely drinking it with the indisputable, failproof classic that is the sugar cookie.
Image: Fotolia
Holiday Shooters and Bacon Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies
When it’s really time to party, you got to bust out the hardcore holiday spirit with these layered Christmas shooters, which demand immediate chasing from peanut butter-chocolate-chip bacon cookies. Go hard or go home.
Holiday Shooters and Bacon Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies
When it’s really time to party, you got to bust out the hardcore holiday spirit with these layered Christmas shooters, which demand immediate chasing from peanut butter-chocolate-chip bacon cookies. Go hard or go home.
Image: Blissfully Domestic
Gingerbread Cocktail and Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies
Eating a gingerbread man with a gingerbread martini would be just plain too much ginger (there are enough redheads in my family that I would know), but they do partner up well with a classic dark chocolate cookie.
Gingerbread Cocktail and Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies
Eating a gingerbread man with a gingerbread martini would be just plain too much ginger (there are enough redheads in my family that I would know), but they do partner up well with a classic dark chocolate cookie.
Wassail and Yule Log
Every year in high school our Renaissance choir (#coolkids) did a Boar’s Head feast where the non-alcoholic version of Wassail, arguably the best Christmas drink on the planet, was served, and we would basically hide in the church scam whatever leftovers off the parent volunteers we could get our grubby hands on. I need to stop typing about it because I am literally salivating. This year I went back to see my sister in it, and we drank it with a chocolate-frosted Yule Log, so I’m diverting off the cookie path just this once to highly recommend this pairing. Your taste buds will thank you.
Image: Fotolia
Wassail and Yule Log
Every year in high school our Renaissance choir (#coolkids) did a Boar’s Head feast where the non-alcoholic version of Wassail, arguably the best Christmas drink on the planet, was served, and we would basically hide in the church scam whatever leftovers off the parent volunteers we could get our grubby hands on. I need to stop typing about it because I am literally salivating. This year I went back to see my sister in it, and we drank it with a chocolate-frosted Yule Log, so I’m diverting off the cookie path just this once to highly recommend this pairing. Your taste buds will thank you.
