Yummy and Easy Holiday Cookies: Make, Refrigerate, Eat!
The holiday season, while joyous, often comes with a wave of pressure to create the “perfect” Christmas. From decorating the house to choosing thoughtful gifts, the expectations can feel overwhelming. One common source of stress is the tradition of making elaborate holiday cookies. With pride I would make five or more different kinds of sweets and gift friends and family.
Social media and holiday magazines filled with images of perfectly frosted treats, spurred me on to mix, bake and ice. The time and effort required for the assembly line left little room for enjoyment. What did I really want? I wanted connection, smiles and laughter . . . and oh, yes hugs!
I did wake up to my priorities and several years ago stopped making batches of holiday cookies. Some were pretty. Some were messy. All were sweet.
Then I discovered the simple recipe below (also pictured above). The first year I made these easy fridge cookies they outscored other holiday treats. Our children begged for their own roll. Now my grandchildren line up for their fair share. Tada! I share the simple recipe with you. Yes they sweetened condensed milk make them so.
Holiday Fridge Cookies
Ingredients
- One 8-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- 15-20 Digestive Biscuits
- ½-3/4 bag mini marshmallows
- 15 glaze cherries cut in halves or quarters
- Optional: ½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts
- Fine coconut
Directions
- Crush biscuits into crumbs. Add marshmallows and cherries.
- Stir enough of the condensed milk to make mixture sticky.
- Form into 2 or 3 balls.
- Roll out into sausage shapes on a coconut covered surface.
- After “sausage” is covered with coconut, wrap with wax paper and place in the refrigerator for an hour or more. You can even put the roll in the freezer.
- Take out of the fridge and cut into slices.
Is that stress relieving or what? Just add a bow!
Here’s a caveat on my celebration of reduced and simplified holiday baking. If you love, if you thrive, if you delight in baking, please go full throttle. Doing so might save your mental health. Do what brings you Happy Holidays!
If you want more options for holiday cookies here is a link to my favorite site for an abundant number of ideas; Allrecipes!
By the way, there is also nothing better than watching Classic Christmas Movies while you’re eating your favorite holiday cookies.
Please check out these related posts:
- Two Dozen Classic Christmas Movies
- Christmas Hype and How to Calm Children’s Anxiety
- Holiday Stress to a Calm and Merry Christmas!
- Holiday To Do List: How to Assess Your Time and Effort
December 4, 2012 @ 8:43 pm
Great recipe Patricia….next time I remodel my kitchen I am going to have a baking counter like yours…..just the perfect height!!!!
December 5, 2012 @ 8:33 pm
Hi Linda, I feel honored hearing from the Queen of the Kitchen that you not only like my little recipe but want to remodel your kitchen similar to ours with the baking centre. Here are the key features of the baking centre: 3 feet or more of counter space (at table height to make mixing, mashing and rolling easier) between the stove and fridge: lower roll out drawers–one with items such as flour, sugar and oil, another with mixer bowls, measuring cups and electric mixer, another with rolling pin and other baking items; upper cupboards designed to hold smaller items such as spices, baking powder, raisins and nuts. Sure hope you get your dream kitchen.
December 10, 2011 @ 8:24 am
Thanks for the cookie receipe Patricia.
I feel like baking cookies to-day and your receipe looks good. I hope my kids and grandchildren will enjoy it as much as yours do.
I’m glad you are better.
December 10, 2011 @ 10:41 am
Hi Joyce,
Thank you for blogging! A litle hint with these fridge cookies. You can wrap a roll in pretty paper and put a bow on it to give as a gift. Let me know, will you, if they are a hit with your family? Stay well, Joyce!
December 9, 2011 @ 4:26 pm
Hi, Pat.
This reminds me of a Christmas cookie-making session I had with my mom about 30 years ago. We made these very cookies, and at the same time were making a macrame Santa cardholder that had white frayed beard. By the time we were done, we had managed to roll some of the beard fibres in with the fine coconut, and had a bit of a mess all ’round trying to pull out the stray “fur.”
December 9, 2011 @ 11:03 pm
Hi Carri,
So glad this little recipe brought back a fun memory baking with your Mom. Macrame is a word I haven’t see for awhile. Oh! The good old days! And arn’t we glad Sweetened Condensed Milk is still sold?