Born from her childhood memories of festive holiday seasons in Sweden, Holiday Cookies by Elisabet der Nederlanden celebrates her lifelong love of baking around the holidays.

The six chapters of recipes will make delicious cookies. After a brief introduction from the author and a description of the inspiration for this book, you will find some excellent helpful hints and tricks which will help you with the recipes to come.

"Cookies Tips And Tricks" covers the basic techniques recommended for use with the recipes. "Decorating Cookies" offers some excellent suggestions on how to beautify your creations.

The "Royal Icing" recipe is separate from the rest as this will be an add-on to many of the actual cookie recipes. Detailed instructions offer the information necessary to create the consistency you'll want for your various needs.

Finally, "Packaging Tips And Tricks" and "Storing Cookies" finish the brief introduction to the book.

The first chapter of cookie recipes begins with "Very Merry Classics". These are your classic holiday cookies from Gingerbread Cookies to Chocolate Macaroons, Pinwheel Cookies, and Shortbread Rounds, etc.

If you are going to be sharing your holiday baking with friends, you will want to try the "Cookie Exchange Party" recipes. A Cookie Exchange is so much fun and is an excellent way to easily get variety without the hassle. With a Cookie Exchange, several friends can get together, each creating their own recipe, and then sharing the results. Everybody goes home with a nice variety of baked goods while only having had to create one recipe themselves.

For more information on how to host a Cookie Exchange see my article here. I do approve of the recipes chosen for the Cookie Exchange chapter. These will all travel well for the exchange.

For those looking to spice up their holiday gatherings, you will want the recipes from the "Warm Holiday Spice" chapter. Here is where you'll find the most flavorful, spice cookies.

If you were thinking globally, then "Around The World" is where you'll find a more international cookie. The author includes recipes from Sweden, Italy, Austria, South America, and more.

Get In The Spirit

Brittle, bark, caramels, truffles and other homemade candies make a great holiday gift. The recipes for these and more are in chapter 5 "Holiday Confections". The lovely photo of the "Peppermint Bark" recipe truly puts you in the holiday spirit.

"Decorated Delights" is the final chapter. You'll find cookie-cutter recipes for cookie ornaments, snaps, even an awesome 3D Christmas tree recipe. The "Stained-Glass Snowflakes" recipe is sure to be a hit. They are just so cute you will want to hang them in your window to catch the light, or even from the tree.

And if you've ever wanted to create your own Gingerbread House the recipe is here, with everything you need to make it from scratch. Because the recipe instructions are well described, they are therefore very easy to follow. Even something as complicated as a Gingerbread House seems a little less daunting.

After the recipes are all read and done, there are a final few pages of "Special Ingredients" and "Resources". It would be helpful to read the "Special Ingredients" information before you go sourcing your ingredients. The "Resources" section will help you find those hard-to-find tools and spices and more.

The pictures included are lovely full-page and full-color. Sometimes if you're not familiar with a recipe it is hard to know what it will look like which, therefore, makes it harder to create. These pictures will really help you imagine your creations. Planning a holiday bake? You would be hard-pressed to find a better set of recipes.

I chose the "Black And Whites" cookie recipe because they are an elegant looking cookie that would work for any occasion. And they have chocolate. 'Nuf said. See the recipe with the full review at RecipesNow! The Reviews And Recipes Magazine.

Thanks to the publishers for a complimentary copy of the book in return for an honest review.

I know that it might seem a little early to be thinking ahead to the holidays, but they really are creeping up on us faster than you think! If there is one thing that I love the most about the Christmas season, it is the the treats. Holiday Cookies is actually more than a comprehensive little book of holiday cookies. This book contains recipes for cookies that can become favourites all year round. Chock full of tips for how to ensure the best experiences working with any cookie recipe, and how to package them for gift-giving makes this my new go-to book for the holidays.

If you are one for getting your baking done before the season begins, you will be happy to have Holiday Cookies for inspiration. There are some classic recipes that everyone will enjoy, such as gingerbread cookies and shortbread. However, there are some really interesting Swedish recipes that are a little bit different from the standard North American treats. I have already bookmarked the recipe for pepparkakor, as I love how the author has reminisced about her childhood and importance of family baking with this one. Also, pepparkakor is featured in one of my favourite childhood books, Pippi Longstocking, so I am excited to give these a try.

One of the recipes that caught my attention was Chocolate-Peanut Butter Brownie Sandwich Cookies. It is quite a mouthful to say, yet these are just as tasty as they sound! The recipe was simple and straightforward, requiring ingredients that are more than likely to be found in your cupboard.

Holiday Cookies is the perfect book of recipes for your holiday treat making this year. There are bound to be some old favourites included in this one, and most likely some interesting new cookies to try. The recipes are easy to follow and will absolutely get you in the holiday spirit.

HOLIDAY COOKIES by Elisabet der Nederlanden (Ten Speed Press, Sept. 5) is a delight to browse since it is filled with absolutely wonderful pictures of roughly 50 different delicious treats. In particular, I am looking forward to trying Red Velvet Crackle Cookies, Mexican Wedding Cookies, and Citrus Sugar Cookie Ornaments, all variations on long-time family favorites. Each recipe is nicely outlined, with ingredients, any special equipment and steps in the process carefully delineated. In chapters like "Very Merry Classics", "Warm Holiday Spice," and "Around the World," der Nederlanden includes tips for decorating, packaging and storing her "show-stopping recipes to sweeten the season."

This is a book aimed squarely at the huge American market.
All the measurements are given in cups and ounces and oven temperatures are in Fahrenheit these are not a problem since cup measures are readily available and it takes seconds to convert the oven temp but it is unusual to come across a recipe book that doesn't give the grams option.

There's some nice recipes here with lovely pictures plus some handy tips as well. It's well laid out and the recipes are easy to follow any unusual ingredients are explained in the back.
My favourite recipe from the ones I've tried.

Triple-chocolate chunk cookies

I tend to mess about with recipes using them more as guidelines, changing ingredients to suit my taste but when I'm reviewing a book like this I stick to the exact recipe in order to give a fair review.
I did pause with this recipe mainly because it included 1 tsp of instant powered espresso and my husband doesn't like coffee at all but in the end I stuck to the recipe coffee and all.
I make a lot of cookies and always use chocolate chips and chunks this recipe however required that I cut it myself which I did, kind of.
I placed all the chocolate in a strong sealable food bag and smashed it with a rolling pin this had the desired effect without chocolate flying everywhere and the cookies were so much better for the larger chunks of gooey chocolate.
The recipe works well and my husband loved them (I didn't mention the coffee)
My only issue was the cooking time it could be my oven but they cooked much quicker than I expected so keep an eye on them.

Introduction
About This Book
Cookie Tips and Tricks
Decorating Cookies
Royal Icing
Packaging Tips and Tricks
Storing Cookies

VERY MERRY CLASSICS

Gingerbread Cookies
Chocolate-Dipped Macaroons
Minty Spritz Cookies
Icebox Pinwheel Cookies
Black and Whites
Chocolate–Peanut Butter Brownie Sandwich Cookies
Red Velvet Crackle Cookies
Triple-Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Chocolate-Stenciled Shortbread Rounds

COOKIE EXCHANGE PARTY

Hazelnut Sandwich Cookies
Red-and-WhiteMeringueKisses
Bejeweled Chocolate Cookies
Oatmeal Crisps with Chocolate
Almond Ricciarelli Cookies
Fruitcake Shortbread
Dark Chocolate Cookies with Caramel
Espresso Thins
Malted Milk Chocolate Cookies

WARM HOLIDAY SPICE

Molasses Spice Cookies
Thumbprints with Spicy Plum Jam
Pain d’Épices Shortbread Swirls
Glazed Eggnog Madeleines
Saffron Pistachio Biscotti
Hot Chocolate Cookies with Aleppo Pepper
Cinnamon-SugarPalmiers
Fig and Cardamom Rugelach

AROUND THE WORLD

Swedish Pepparkakor
Italian Pignoli Cookies
Austrian Linzer Augen
South American Alfajores
Danish Butter Wreaths
Hungarian Kiffles
Dutch Speculaas
Mexican Wedding Cookies

DECORATED DELIGHTS

Christmas Tree Sugar Cookie Cutouts
Citrus Sugar Cookie Ornaments
Candy Cane Cookies
Doily-RolledGingersnaps
Gingerbread Place-Card Cookies
3-D Christmas Trees
Stained-Glass Snowflakes
Gingerbread House

HOLIDAY CONFECTIONS

Peppermint Bark
Apple Cider Caramels
Peanut Butter–Chocolate Crunch
Special Ingredients
Resources
Acknowledgments
Index Squares
Smoked Almond and Cacao Nib Brittle
Matcha Chocolate Bark with Berries and Coconut
Dark Chocolate–Hazelnut Fudge
Bourbon and Maple Chocolate Truffles
Chocolate Caramels with Bourbon and Vanilla

Holiday Cookies by Elisabet der Nederlanden features 50 cookie recipes as well as ideas for packaging your finished cookies. Do not let the title fool you though. I will be making many of the cookies from this book year around. I tried out the recipe for Triple-Chocolate Chunk Cookies. I followed the recipe exactly. Aside from an issue with the baking time (my oven required considerably less time), the cookies were delicious. The flavor was wonderful with the addition of three types of chocolate. I bookmarked several more recipes to make. It has given me several ideas for holiday gift giving and cookie trays. If you are a cookie fan, I highly recommend this book.

This beautifully photographed new baking book of holiday cookies has wonderful recipes and even packaging ideas. Pinwheel cookies, sandwich cookies, spice cookies, fudge and brittles. Decorating ideas. I can't wait to start baking.

Great recipes with beautiful graphics. Lots of instructions that make it easy for a beginner to get up to speed.

I am crazy for sweets. I have been my entire life. Needless to say, when I first saw HOLIDAY COOKIES, I knew I had to read this sweet recipe book for myself. I am so very happy I did.

HOLIDAY COOKIES starts off with a lovely introduction from author Elisabet der Nederlanden. She tells of growing up in Sweden and her love of the holidays, and the delicious treats that came along with them. In under two pages, she made me feel the warmth of her life, and her joy for baking. I’m smiling again just mentioning it here.

The author’s happiness continues through in the “About This Book” section. Speaking of why she choose the recipes she did. He also leads readers through, Tips, Ticks, and Decorating, Royal Icing, Packaging, and Storage. Even ideas for a cookie exchange.

Following the introduction and the About This Book, are six tasty chapters filled with fifty mouthwatering cookie recipes that made me yearn for holidays past, and anxiously dream for holidays to come.

Among the amazing cookie recipes presented in HOLIDAY COOKIES, you will find . . . Chocolate-Dipped Macaroons, Red Velvet Crackle Cookies, Hazelnut Sandwich Cookies, Espresso Thins, Glazed Eggnog Madeleines, Cinnamon-Sugar Palmiers, Swedish Pepparkakor, Danish Butter Wreaths, Gingerbread Place-Card Cookies, Stained – Glassed Snowflakes, Apple Cider Caramels, and oh so many, many more!

Honestly, I could smell the sweet, spicy scent of baking cookies filling my house the entire time I was immersed in this delightful book. Between the recipes, photos, and my nose playing tricks one me, I was deliriously overcome (in a good way of course) with sensory overload.

HOLIDAY COOKIES is now a forever treasure of mine, and I know you’ll want to make it one of yours too. And I sincerely hope there is a HOLIDAY COOKIES TWO in the works.

This book has a wonderful selection of recipes, from easy to a little more fancy! I've tried a couple of them.... baked them with my 6 year old and they were a hit with the whole family! The steps listed were easy to follow and the photos of the cookies were very appealing.

This is a festive little cookbook filled with tasty recipes sure to please even the most pickiest of eaters. It begins with a nice little introduction and moves on to COOKIE TIPS AND TRICKS, DECORATING COOKIES, ROYAL ICING, PACKAGING TIPS, AND TRICKS, and STORING COOKIES). It is then broken up into the following chapters VERY MERRY CLASSICS, COOKIE EXCHANGE PARTY, WARM HOLIDAY SPICE, AROUND THE WORLD, HOLIDAY CONFECTIONS, DECORATED DELIGHTS and, SPECIAL INGREDIENTS). The layout is such that the recipes are straightforward and easy to follow and there is a nice array of photographs sprinkled throughout. There isn't anything new or radical about the recipes in this one, but if you want a simple one-stop reference for your holiday baking, then this would be a great addition to your collection.

Here is just a small sampling of the many recipes you will find within...

-- GINGERBREAD COOKIES
-- MINTY SPRITZ COOKIES
-- CHOCOLATE–PEANUT BUTTER BROWNIE SANDWICH COOKIES
-- RED-AND-WHITE MERINGUE KISSES
-- ALMOND RICCIARELLI COOKIES
-- THUMBPRINTS WITH SPICY PLUM JAM
-- SAFFRON PISTACHIO BISCOTTI
-- FIG AND CARDAMOM RUGELACH
-- ITALIAN PIGNOLI COOKIES
-- SOUTH AMERICAN ALFAJORES
-- DUTCH SPECULAAS
-- APPLE CIDER CARAMELS
-- SMOKED ALMOND AND CACAO NIB BRITTLE
-- CITRUS SUGAR COOKIE ORNAMENTS
-- 3-D CHRISTMAS TREES
-- GINGERBREAD HOUSE

I am an enthusiastic amateur baker and I especially love to bake during the holidays. Each year, I try a few new recipes to add to my collection of holiday treats and picked up this book to see what was on offer. Overall, this is a well-rounded holiday cookie book which also gives good baking tips. der Nederlanden touches on many types of holiday cookies and occasions, even giving recipes for gingerbread houses. If you are looking for an all-round good sampling of holiday cookie recipes, this absolutely fits the bill. She has a nice section with traditional holiday cookies from around the world which includes a few non-European recipes, but, the majority of the recipes are Euro-centric. The one category that I wish were included (either explicitly or just a wider range of cookies that can be made in this way) are icebox cookies. That is, cookies that can be mixed, rolled and kept in the freezer to slice and bake. My holiday go-to cookies fall into this category and are a great way to contribute homemade treats in a less time consuming manner throughout the season. Most recipes use easy to find ingredients, but there are a few that may require looking at a speciality store, read the full recipes before you begin. There are also a few recipes call for ingredients that are pre-made (such as Nutella and puff pastry), so if you are a stickler for do it yourself holiday baking, skip those recipes. I am looking forward to trying the Fig and Cardamom Rugelach, the Italian Pignoli Cookies and the Chocolate Caramels with Bourbon and Vanilla.

I love christmas and I love baking at christmas!! As a new mum I'm extra excited to be hosting christmas this year and this recipe book will come in very handy. There are lots of pictures in this book with clear ingredients and methods to make easy to follow tasty cookies.

In accordance with the publisher’s request, the following review will not be published to Goodreads until 29 August 2017, which is within one week of the book’s publication date.

I received this book as a digital advance copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I do not need another cookie cookbook. I already have about half a dozen cookie cookbooks in my collection, and that is not counting my other cookbooks that contain cookie recipes. But when the opportunity arose to review a cookbook devoted to holiday cookies, I just couldn’t resist. I use pretty much any holiday as an excuse to send cookies or other care packages to my friends overseas. So having some new tricks up my sleeve would not be a bad thing.

Of course, the publisher’s blurb makes it clear that the author is referring to just the December holidays – Christmas in my tradition – rather than a calendar of cookies to bake for the wide variety of holidays sprinkled throughout the year. My mother has fairly rigid lists of which cookies correspond to Christmas and which correspond to Easter, so there is not a lot of room to introduce new cookies onto these lists. But last year my overseas friends surprised me with requests for Christmas cookies and confections that I had never heard of, never mind make during the holidays. So a book like this would have been very useful in that circumstance.

The introductory material to the book includes tips and tricks for baking, packaging and storing cookies, as well as how to decorate cookies and how to make royal icing. In her words of introduction, the author expresses her hope that readers will find their own favorites in the collection as well as be inspired to try something new. She envisions her book as a medium to bring family and friends together to create sweet memories that will last into the future. The author presents ten “simple” rules to ensure that every batch of holiday cookies is successful. Having baked Christmas cookies for the better part of twenty years, I like to think that I know a thing or two about holiday baking; however, some of the baking rules and decorating techniques were new to me. Unfortunately, the packaging tips deal with the presenting cookies as gifts, rather than mailing cookies across oceans.

After the introductory material, the book is divided into one chapter of holiday confections and five chapters of cookies – classic cookies, cookies for swaps, spice cookies, international cookies, and decorated cookies. Each chapter begins with a short introduction discussing the cookies included in the chapter. Each recipe indicates its yield and has a short introduction that describes the background of the recipe or provides some tips about preparing the recipe. The recipe ingredients are listed in a column along the left side of the recipe steps. The vast majority of these ingredients are easy to find. Ingredients are measured in American units – teaspoons, tablespoons, cups, etc. The recipe steps are written in paragraph form, but are easy to follow. The variety of recipes is very impressive, and I found several cookie and confection recipes that I would like to attempt in my own kitchen.

At the end of the book are a few pages dedicated to special ingredients and resources. The special ingredients section was more like a two-page glossary, with detailed information on each of the selected ingredients. For some ingredients, like chocolate chili bitters, it was very helpful to have the extra information.

Like almost every book from Ten Speed Press that I have reviewed, this is an extremely polished and gorgeous book to work from. Color photography is liberally dispersed throughout the book. Every recipe is accompanied by a stylized photography that makes the cookies look incredibly delicious. There is no step-by-step photography and very little photography of cookies in progress, so this may not be the best book for a novice December cookie baker who is a visual learner.

I would definitely highly recommend this book to any of my friends who were looking for a December holiday cookie book because the recipes used readily available ingredients, were uncomplicated, and were easy to follow. I may order the book once it is released for my mother, who, despite her rigid holiday cookie lists, is always looking for the next new best holiday cookie. She would definitely appreciate the simplicity of the recipes and the beauty of the photographs.

I have yet to prepare any of the recipes from this book, but I have the ingredients ready to make the Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Fudge for my most recent round of care packages. I have also marked several other recipes in the book to try out. I will update this review when I do.

My review: This is an absolutely gorgeous little book full of cookies and other sweet treats that I will definitely be trying out. It begins with handy tips and tricks, including packaging ideas for baked gifts and the concept of a cookie exchange. The author's Swedish heritage appealed to me, as that is where my husband's family is from, so those recipes were automatically bookmarked, but I also fancy trying the chocolate-peanut butter brownie sandwiches, red velvet crackle cookies, apple cider caramels, and dark chocolate-hazelnut fudge, just for starters. Everything is photographed beautifully, full of colour and festive spirit.

This book, and all its treats, would make a wonderful gift, and would certainly put you in the holiday spirit at any time of year.

***Disclaimer: This e-ARC was provided to me by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Huge thanks to them. ***

Thisbis by far the best book Ive read in a long while. The recipes here will help me to create sone wonderful and delicious holiday baking for ages. I really love the different types of cookie recipes included in this book. I will now give the best gifts this holiday season and im sure my babes will enjoy helping me.

Every single recipe in this cookbook looked so awesome...but it's cookies, so that's hard not to be the case.

My five star review is actually based more on content and layout. The author broke the recipes down into six sections, and explained how and why she divided the recipes as she did. She also included a very useful list of 10 cookie tips and tricks.

I think my favorite part of the cookbook, though, was that each recipe was simple even though some looked more complicated. There were very few of the 50 cookie recipes that required ingredients that weren't relatively standard in a household. And she included an icing recipe and tips on how to best store cookies so that they are preserved well for a later time.

What a delicious, delightful baking book this is, one that I'm sure would be treasured in many families for countless festive seasons. I particularly like the additional comments and suggestions at the start of each recipe and the full colour images are mouth wateringly good. More traditional recipes sit alongside new cookies, I can't wait to try them and to share them with family and friends. It's going to be a very sweet festive season in our house!

Cookies are my forte throughout the entire year, but I make a mountain of cookies during the holidays. Elisabet der Nederlanden (I'm guessing she, or her ancestors are from the Netherlands) has a lot of great recipes in here, including some things I'd never made but now need in my life immediately, like molasses spice cookies, fig and cardamon rugelach and Italian Pignoli cookies.

Suddenly I have a desperate need for cookies...

There are many cookbooks with gorgeous covers, great photography and scrumptious sounding dishes. But the best way to know a great cookbook is to actually try the recipes. Thanks to NetGalley and Ten Speed Press, I received an Advanced Review Copy of Holiday Cookies. Even though it's not a holiday any time soon, these recipes can be made any time of the year. I tried quite a few recipes in this cookbook and the results were consistently fantastic. Several have even become family favorites. Not only are the recipes detailed, with common ingredients and clear directions, but the author provides wonderful tips, tricks and techniques that span many other recipes in cookbooks, on the web, and even among my favorite recipes passed down from the generations. I definitely recommend this cookbook/"cookiebook" for all those who love to bake and for those who want someone to bake great cookies for them.

So many cookie varieties to make during the holiday season. The pics are fantastic......