12 Cookies of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…cookies. Because honestly, anyone who knows me knows I have no love of keeping fowl as pets and cookies are delicious. True story. Cookies ARE delicious. Even Santa agrees.

Besides, what are you going to do with 10 Lords a’ Leaping once the novelty wears off?

And yes, I know the 12 Days of Christmas starts on Christmas and ends on Epiphany, so you can save all 12 of these posts to read starting on Christmas if you want. However, who doesn’t want a reason to eat a lot of cookies leading up to Christmas?!?

Without further ado, I picked Salty Scotches as my first Christmas cookie. This is a new recipe that I’ve been playing around with and everyone who has tried them has fallen in love. The salty and sweet combo balance nicely in this crunchy cookie–not to mention butterscotch is one of my favorite flavors. Btw, this recipe is easily halved if you want a reason not to share…

Salty Scotches

• 4 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 bag (11oz) butterscotch chips
• 2 cups softened butter
• 2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 bag (13 oz) kettle style chips, crushed

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line baking sheet(s) with parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet.

Open chip bag slightly to allow air out of bag and then crush chips until they’re pretty small in size (don’t skip releasing the air out of the bag or forget to hold close the opening you just made otherwise you’ll end up with chips everywhere). Set aside about 2.5 cups for rolling. In a bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and salt and then whisk a few times to mix thoroughly. Add butterscotch chips, give it a few more stirs, and set aside. In another bowl (I use Lucille, my Kitchen-Aid), cream the butter and sugars on medium speed until mixed, scraping as needed.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each egg. Add vanilla, lowering speed to low. Slowly add the flour mixture and continue mixing. Once the flour mixture is in, slowly add the bag of crushed kettle chips (except for the 2.5 cups you set aside) and continue mixing until fully incorporated.

Scoop the dough into 1-2 tablespoon balls, roll scoop into a ball, and then roll the ball in the reserved crushed chips to coat. Place evenly on cookie sheet, allowing for some spreading. Flatten each ball slightly before baking (I use my fingers, but if you want to be fancy you can use a spatula, fork, bottom of a cup, etc).

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool and then try to save some for others…

This makes about 6 dozen cookies, depending on your cookie size. Perfect for gifting, cookie swaps, or just eating. Oh and you could add a tiny sprinkling of flaked salt to the top just before baking if you’d like them to look extra fancy.

fa la la la la!

This recipe was originally adapted from a recipe Ann found at Epicurious.