What Your Favorite Christmas Cookie Says About You

It’s finally time for holiday baking, but there are so many choices! If you’re stuck trying to figure out which holiday cookie recipe to try out, fear not. Check out our (clearly scientific and data-backed) personality-based recommendations for your favorite cookie and you’ll surely be on the right track for a sweet treat.

Traditionalist: Sugar Cookies

If you’re risk-averse and want to be a crowd-pleaser, you should go with the most classic holiday cookie of all time: the sugar cookie. Check out our recipe that can easily be adapted to make a larger batch, and experiment with different shaped cookie cutters and colored icing. You can make this dough in advance and freeze if for up to a month. Get our Sugar Cookie recipe.

The ESFP: Chocolate Chip Cookies

This Myers-Briggs classification (Extrovert, Sensing, Feeling, Perception) includes celebrities such as Katy Perry, Elvis Presley, Adele, and Jamie Oliver—and what do these people have in common? ESFP’s love the spotlight and this iconic and attention-loving chocolate chip cookie is the perfect match. Check out this easy chocolate chip cookie recipe that will be the star of the show.

Social Justice Warrior: Gingerbread People

Gingerbread men? That’s so heteronormative. Spend this holiday season making a batch of gingerbread people or flip the cookie cutter around and make a festive reindeer face with antlers and leave the whole gender binary in the dust. This dough is packed full of spices and features a full cup of molasses for extra flavor. Get this recipe for gingerbread cookies.

Loyalist: Peanut Butter and Chocolate

There is no truer love (or combination) than that of peanut butter and chocolate, and if you’re known for your loyalty than this is a great pick. These peanut butter and chocolate cookies are filled with a delicate ganache and make a great holiday gift! Get our recipe for peanut butter chocolate cookies.

Optimist: Rainbow Cookies

The perfect pick for a baker that sees every glass as half full? These rainbow Christmas cookies are as colorful as they are delicious! They make a great holiday party gift to bring along and you can slice them in any size that you wish. Get the recipe.

Trendsetter: Macarons

These French cookies are the right choice for any fashionista or Parisian-inspired glamour girl. Try making our delicate macarons with pomegranate ganache and edible gold leaf for the most beautiful holiday treat.

Rebel: Christmas Wreaths

The First Year

If you’re sick of the holiday fuss and want to branch out and try something different, these Christmas wreath cookies are incredibly simple and can be made in an hour or less. Use corn flakes or rice krispies and garnish with Twizzler’s pull-and- peels for a classic holiday look. Get the recipe.

Midwest Maven: Snickerdoodles

You can take the girl out of the Midwest, but you can’t take the Midwest out of the girl…these snickerdoodles are a favorite of every PTA mom and these buttery cookies sell out instantly at bake sales for a reason: they’re addictive and delicious. Use holiday cookie cutters and make extra to give away to your neighbors. Get our snickerdoodle recipe.

Daredevil: Double Chocolate Cookies

Chocolate With Grace

When you’ve got nothing to lose and you’re living on the edge, these caramel-stuffed double chocolate chip cookies throw caution to the wind. “If you’re going to eat double chocolate cookies, why don’t you just eat a brownie?” a recent passerby asked. Because you haven’t lived until you’ve tried these soft, chocolate-flavored treats packed with chocolate chip cookies and dripping with melted caramel. Get the recipe.

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What Is the Difference Between Challah and Brioche?

If you’re not familiar with the intricacies of challah and brioche, you might hold both up and think, “Hm, these breads look pretty similar.” But upon closer inspection, you’ll discover that that’s not quite the case. While they both may have that shiny glean on the outside and a soft, springy, almost trampoline-like consistency on the inside, there are some important differences that separate these two breads apart.

To start, challah is a kosher Jewish bread. It’s typically eaten on ceremonial and religious occasions, like during Shabbat and Rosh Hashanah, and it is considered a crucial part of the meal, as it serves a specific religious purpose, depending on the holiday. As far as bread-making goes, the process and ingredients are pretty straightforward: All it takes is eggs, flour, water, sugar, yeast, and salt. After it’s braided together into one long strand, it’s baked in the oven, creating a dark brown exterior and a noticeably yellow color on the inside (because of all the eggs in the dough). It’s finished off with an egg wash, giving it that shiny, glossy finish. Eat it plain, top it with your favorite spread, or use it the next day for French toast.

Brioche, on the other hand, is a French bread. Unlike challah, brioche is loaded with butter, giving it its discernibly light texture and sweet taste. Brioche is often associated with viennoiserie because it chemically resembles a combination of both bread and pastry—packed with eggs, butter, milk, cream, flour, and sometimes sugar, it’s arguably the best mix of savory and sweet in bread form. In France, brioche tends to be served on its own in slices, or paired with a bit of butter and homemade jam. The French often bake it with bits of chocolate or dried fruit, but it’s just as good plain.

Looking for some recipe inspiration? Check out these recipes to switch up your daily bread repertoire.

The Very Best Brioche

The Suburban Soapbox

Once you let the dough rise, brioche is pretty straightforward to make. This recipe comes out super flaky and light, with a crisp golden crust and soft inside. Get the recipe.

Vegan Chocolate Brioche Muffins

Neta Cooka

These swirls of butter and chocolate are the best things to wake up to in the morning. Bake them in a muffin tin to ensure perfectly rounded bottoms. Get the recipe.

Overnight Pull-Apart Brioche Cinnamon Roll Bread

Halfbaked Harvest

The best thing about pull-apart bread? Being able to have at it with your fingers. This version combines brown sugar and cinnamon for the filling, and the whole thing is drizzled with a cream cheese-based frosting. Get the recipe.  

Salted Caramel Brioche Doughnuts

The Greedy Sprout

These bite-sized goodies are piped with salted caramel pastry cream, then rolled in caster sugar. Get the recipe.

Simple Challah Bread

Life As a Strawberry

Once you’ve got the braiding down (this recipe calls for braiding with six long strands!), challah couldn’t be easier to make. Get the recipe.  

Stuffed Challah with Apple Butter and Walnuts

One Tough Cookie

Instead of making traditional challah, opt for this elevated version, which calls for spreading the rolled out dough with a mixture of apple butter and chopped walnuts. Get the recipe.

Challah French Toast

Smart Little Cookie

The best thing about making challah? Having leftovers to make French toast the next morning. Challah is one of the better breads to make French toast with because of its naturally eggy texture—so just soak slices in milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and eggs and fry it on the stove. Get the recipe.

Old Fashioned Challah Bread Pudding with Whiskey Sauce

Climbing Grier Mountain

Bread pudding is like a more decadent version of French toast—just baked in the oven and with a lot more sugar. This recipe switches up the more traditional version for one finished off with a whiskey and sugar-based gloss. Get the recipe.

  

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