• Hi there, my name is Heidi Swanson. 101 Cookbooks is my recipe journal. It's where I write about the recipes that intersect my life, travels, and everyday interests. Often the recipes are from my cookbook collection, sometimes not - they might come from a friend, or I might write about a recipe I created myself.
  
  I focus primarily on natural, whole foods and ingredients - vegetarian recipes that are good for you and for the planet. Welcome!

Break out your baking sheets, dust off your mixers, and fire up those ovens - it's Christmas cookie season. I suspect this is going to be a big Christmas cookie weekend so I thought it might be helpful to wrangle some of my all-time favorites into a single list. There is a pretty wide range - from gingerbread to shortbread, and plenty of chocolate cookies. I'll keep adding to this list in the future in case you want to bookmark it.

Gingerbread Cookies - A delicious, traditional tasting, yet healthier gingerbread cookie recipe that includes white whole wheat flour, more assertive spices, and less refined sweeteners. You wont miss the traditional version. They are very cute on popsicle sticks.

Swedish Rye Cookies - Powder-kissed and pretty, these Swedish Rye cookies are perfect for holiday cookie enthusiasts who are after a not-too-sweet, shortbread-style butter cookie made from a Rye flour blend.

Sante's Hermit Cookies - My friend Sante shared his hermit recipe with me. A simple drop-style, spice cookie loaded with tiny currants, chopped walnuts,and finished with a bit of icing.

Chocolate Peppermint Bark Cookie - A chocolate peppermint bark cookie recipe featuring a rich chocolate dough punctuated by generous amount of chopped peppermint bark and mini chocolate chips.

Pine Nut Rosemary Shortbread - A twist on the shortbread recipe I included in Super Natural Cooking -perfectly golden pine nuts and just enough rosemary and lemon zest infuse the buttery sweet dough with fragrance and flavor. I also posted a more traditional shortbread recipe a while back - the recipe was the one made at the Hearst Castle.

Peppermint Bark Chocolate Chip Cookies - A great peppermint bark cookie recipe using one of my favorite cookie doughs along with a generous amount of chopped peppermint bark.

Triple Chocolate Espresso Bean Cookies - Dark chocolate cookie recipe, each cookie pumped full of lots of freshly ground espresso powder.

Not cookies, but right at home on a Christmas cookie tray:

Fantasy-ish Fudge - My take on the classic fantasy fudge recipe. This version is made with Scharffen Berger chocolate, butter (not margarine), and organic cane sugar.

Toasted Pecan Toffee - My sister Heather teaches me her favorite toffee recipe. It is peppered with toasted pecans and slathered with a thin layer of chocolate on each side.

Amazing Black Bean Brownies - This quirky, yet amazing black bean brownie recipe delivers deliciously dense, bite-sized squares of melt-in-your-mouth fudge-textured brownies.

I'm going to leave the comments closed - with the idea that this is more of a reference post.

Photo taken in 2001 while driving near Joshua Tree, California.

Related Entries

Triple Ginger Cookies

This ginger cookie recipe is made special with three kinds of ginger and a hint of lemon zest. Cracked and sugar-crusted on the outside, dense and moist within.

Swedish Rye Cookies

Powder-kissed and pretty, these Swedish Rye cookies are perfect for holiday cookie enthusiasts who are after a not-too-sweet, shortbread-style butter cookie.

Nikki's Healthy Cookies

A remarkable healthy cookie recipe - banana-batter, shredded coconut, dark chocolate chunks, and oats. Butter-less, flour-less, egg-less, and potentially sugar-less cookies make great after school or after work treats.