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It is that time of year! Cookie boxes are taking over my Instagram feed, and I have a list of important people I want to gift some of my favorite desserts to.
While I love the extravagant boxes I see all over social media, sometimes including up to a dozen different recipes, I wanted to share a more realistic option - and the actual assortment I gifted this year! It's three, simple and delicious recipes that are some of my favorites that got a little bit dressed up for the holidays. I know typically we see cookie boxes, but I felt like a brownie option would add a nice variety to the assortment and I can tell you they were very well received!
I always keep a set of disposable boxes at home for easy treat gifting, since I often have a lot of desserts to give away and without them I would have no tupperware left. These make the perfect package for your holiday dessert gifting - there is a smaller size and a medium size. The photo you see here is using the medium size box, but the small size fits the perfect amount of goodies if you're gifting to one person.
While I'll share how to "dress up" these recipes, the original versions would work perfectly too for a holiday gift. I picked these recipes both because they're some of my favorites and also because they have a long shelf life, especially in their original form, so even if you split up your baking over a few days, they will be perfectly fresh for gifting when you're ready.
Let's get into the fun part!
Here are the three recipes included in our 2024 Holiday Dessert Box:
For your 6 ingredient chocolate chip shortbread cookies you'll double the recipe and add 1/4 cup of your favorite sprinkles. I recommend using a stand or hand mixer for the doubled recipe just to ensure everything gets properly incorporated.
From there, you'll make the recipe exactly as directed. If your dough feels too soft or you're worried about spreading, you can always chill the dough for a quick 30 minutes or hour prior to baking, but this is a very low fuss recipe which is why I love it for something like this! This recipe, with the sprinkles, will make 28 cookies using a small scoop (about 1 1/2 tablespoons per cookie).
Carbs from added sprinkles: 40
Carbs in full recipe with sprinkles: 290
Carbs per serving (1 of 28): 10
This is my favorite brownie recipe for a reason. It truly tastes better than a boxed brownie, which I used to think was impossible. For this dressed up version of the recipe you'll bake as directed and then cut the brownies into four long strips. Then you'll cut each strip into 6 rectangles, making 24 snackable, rectangular brownies.
For the topping, I made a ganache frosting by adding 1/2 cup of heated heavy cream onto 1 cup (6 ounces) of chopped semisweet chocolate. Whisk to combine into a smooth ganache and let it set for about 2-3 hours at room temperature. Then once cooled, fold in 1 cup (120g) powdered sugar to form a ganache frosting. If it becomes too stiff to pipe, simply mix in a tablespoon of heavy cream. Pipe a triangle shape on top of your brownies and then add sprinkles before the ganache frosting sets! These should be stored in the fridge because of the heavy cream, but thanks to the powdered sugar, you won't have to worry about the tree decoration getting smooshed in your holiday dessert box while it's in transit or even if they're out for a few hours.
Carbs from ganache frosting: 233
Carbs in full recipe with frosting: 623
Carbs per serving (1 of 24): 26
Carbs per serving, no topping (1 of 24): 16
Note this does not account for carbs from sprinkles, which would add ~1 carb per brownie
This is truly a favorite of my friends and family. I love this recipe so much that I made the original version of these cookies the week of my wedding and brought them as a snack for everyone - we really love these sesame shortbread cookies.
For this version, you'll double the cookie dough recipe and press into a parchment lined 9x9 inch square pan. Chill for one hour and then preheat your oven to 300 degrees and bake these to start for just 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and use a bench scraper or sharp knife to cut your rectangles in the pan (they still have a while to go to finish baking!). You'll first cut four rows, and then 8 rectangles in each row. At this point, also take a small fork and poke a row of holes down each rectangle, not going all the way through the cookie just about a third deep.
Place your shortbread back into the oven for about 30 minutes. Then, reduce the oven temperature to 250 degrees and bake for another 10-15 minutes. The top should be ever so lightly golden. Remove from the oven and cut again where you cut your shapes earlier in the process then let the rectangles cool completely in the square pan. Note: if you notice your cookies are underbaked once already cooled, do not stress - these cookies are incredibly low fuss and can always take another trip into the oven, they will not be ruined!
Once your cookies have completely cooled, I like to top these with a roasted white chocolate drizzle (you'll need 6 ounces of white chocolate) and a sprinkle of sesame seeds. To roast your white chocolate on the stovetop, chop your chocolate and melt in your nonstick pot over a low heat. Stir constantly and keep on a low to medium heat. First it will melt and be glossy, then it will turn matte and slowly start to brown. Continue to mix constantly and once it reaches a golden tan color, pour into a heatproof bowl. Continue to mix until the chocolate becomes smooth and glossy again. Let it cool slightly and then use a piping bag, or a plastic bag with a small hole cut in the corner, and drizzle across your shortbread rectangles. Pause periodically to sprinkle your sesame seeds across the cookies before your white chocolate drizzle sets. Let the cookies cool completely and then you are ready to go.
Carbs from white chocolate: 108
Carbs in full recipe with white chocolate: 294
Carbs per serving (1 of 32): 9
Carbs per serving, no topping (1 of 32): 6
Packing your dessert boxes
If you make all three recipes as I shared, in the end you'll have 28 chocolate chip shortbread cookies, 32 sesame shortbread cookies, and 24 rectangle brownies. Below is how that breaks down to make either 5 smaller gift boxes (with some leftovers for you!) or 4 medium boxes (with no leftovers, though you could always reduce the quantity in each box by 1 so that you have some product left to taste test...for science).
To make 5 smaller boxes, perfect for one person, in each box put 5 chocolate chip shortbreads, 6 sesame shortbreads, and 4 brownies. This will leave you with a few extras to enjoy, or you can pack the boxes a little more full!
To make 4 medium boxes, perfect if you're gifting to a couple or family, in each box put 7 chocolate chip shortbreads, 8 sesame shortbreads, and 6 brownies. This won't leave you with any leftovers but no one will know if you leave a cookie or brownie out!
Note: Carb information is calculated based on the specific ingredients I used to cook with to help guide my own insulin to carb ratio when dosing before I eat my home cooked recipes.
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