Top Chef Judges Padma Lakshmi, Tom Colicchio, Gail Simmons Share Holiday Cookie Recipes (2024)

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Padma Lakshmi’s Cashew & Cardamom Clouds
Makes: 25-30 cookies

¼ cup powdered sugar, plus more for dusting
2 cups flour
½ lb. unsalted butter, chilled and cut into ½-in. pieces
½ cup finely chopped raw cashews
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. cardamom powder
½ tsp. salt

1. Preheat oven to 325°. Combine powdered sugar and flour in a medium bowl; mix in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Using a fork, mix in the chopped cashews, vanilla, cardamom powder and salt. Mixture will be very loose and crumbly. Let stand for 30 minutes, covered, at room temperature.

2. Squeeze dough together to form small balls, about 1-in. diameter, and place them on a greased cookie sheet. Lightly flour the palm of your hand and smash the balls to 1/3-in. thickness, so they resemble irregular clouds. Make sure the cookies don’t touch one another.

3. Bake for approximately 22 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and dust the tops generously with powdered sugar. Cool on wire racks, about 20 minutes. Dust cookies again liberally right before serving.

Prep time: 15 minutes, plus standing
Cook time: 25 minutes

Tom Colicchio’s Walnut Mandelbrot
Makes: About 4 dozen

3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3½ cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1½ cups coarsely chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Stir together eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla in a large bowl until combined. Add flour, baking powder and salt; stir well. Add walnuts; stir well.

2. Turn ¼ of dough out onto a lightly floured board. Dust top with flour and shape into a 2×10-in. log. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, dividing the four logs between two cookie sheets. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes.

3. Slice each loaf into ½-in. pieces cut on a diagonal. Place pieces on their side on cookie sheets. Bake 10 more minutes. Cool on wire rack. Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks.

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes

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Richard Blais’ Jelly Linzer Wreaths
Makes: about 20 cookie sandwiches

2/3 cup raw almonds
½ cup packed light-brown sugar, divided
2½ cups flour, plus more for dusting
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. kosher salt
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 tbsp. green sprinkles
Powdered sugar
½ cup persimmon, huckleberry or apple jelly

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Spread the almonds on a baking sheet and toast, tossing occasionally, until fragrant, 6 to 8 minutes; let cool.

2. In a food processor, process the cooled almonds and ¼ cup brown sugar until the almonds are finely ground.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

4. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and the remaining ¼ cup brown sugar on medium-high speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low and gradually add the almond mixture, then the flour mixture, mixing until just combined.

5. Divide the dough in half, shape into two disks, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 to 3 hours.

6. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each piece of dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Using a 2- to 2½-in. round cookie cutter, cut the dough into rounds and place on parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing them 1 in.apart. Using a ¾- to 1-in. round cookie cutter, cut out the centers from half of the cookies. Reroll and cut the scraps as necessary.

7. Bake, rotating the baking sheets halfway through, until the edges are golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool slightly on the baking sheets, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

8. Sprinkle the cookies with the hole cut out with green sprinkles and then dust with powdered sugar, if desired. Spread about 1 tsp. of the jelly on the remaining cookies, leaving a ½-in. border, and top with the sprinkled cookies. Store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Prep time: 30 minutes, plus chilling
Cook time: 20 minutes

Gail Simmons’ Chocolate Butterscotch Shortbread
Makes: 36 cookies

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup dark-brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
½ cup butterscotch chips
8 oz. dark chocolate, melted

1. Preheat oven to 300°. In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light in color and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

2. Add vanilla, reduce speed to low, and slowly add flour and salt until just combined. Mix in butterscotch chips and stir until evenly distributed, scraping down paddle if needed.

3. Grease a 9×9-in. baking pan. Using a rubber spatula, press dough evenly into pan and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Score dough into eighths in one direction and quarters in the other, to make 32 rectangular cookies. Pierce dough all over with a fork.

4. Bake until firm and slightly golden brown around the edges, 50 to 60 minutes. Immediately cut through all scoring to separate cookies. Let cool completely in pan.

5. Remove cookies and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Dip half of each cookie in chocolate, gently scraping off any excess, and place back on baking sheet. Refrigerate until chocolate is set, about 30 minutes. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two weeks.

Prep time: 20 minutes, plus chilling
Cook time: 1 hour