Best 1-Bowl Holiday Cookie Recipes

By Gail Belsky

There’s the warm and fuzzy image of holiday baking with your kids, and then there’s reality: smeared hands, gloppy spills and flour everywhere. You can’t escape the mess altogether, but these one-bowl cookie recipes will help you minimize it -- while maximizing the fun. They’re quick, easy and virtually stress-free. Try them:

Meltaway Ginger Cookies

Makes 3 dozen

• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 4 tablespoons molasses

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients and stir well. 
3. Add wet ingredients and mix well. 
4. Shape dough into 1-inch balls, roll in sugar and arrange on un-greased cookie sheets, about 2 inches apart. Flatten with a fork.
5. Bake for eight minutes.

Peanutty Peanut Butter Cookies

Makes about 3 dozen

• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup peanut butter, smooth or chunky
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/3 cups flour
• 1 cup peanut butter chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Beat the butter and both sugars together. Beat in the peanut butter and egg.
3. Scrape sides of bowl and beat in the salt, baking soda and vanilla.
4. Add flour and stir until blended. Stir in the chips.
5. Shape dough into 1-inch balls and arrange on un-greased cookie sheets, about 2.5 inches apart. Flatten balls with a fork.
6. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly browned around the edges.

Oatmeal Banana-chip Cookies

Makes about 2.5 dozen

• 1/3 cup unsalted butter
• 3 ripe bananas, mashed well
• 2 cups quick-cooking oats
• 1/4 cup skim milk (less, if batter seems moist enough)
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips or raisins
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease cookie sheets.
2. Melt butter in a microwave-safe mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients and let stand until oats are wet, about five minutes.
3. Drop 1 tablespoon of the mix onto cookie sheets.
4. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool on the sheet for about a minute before removing to wire racks to cool.

Baking together is an opportunity to teach kids about shapes, measurements and following directions. But more important, it’s a chance to spend time together during the holiday rush. And cutting down on the mess puts the focus where it belongs: on making lasting holiday memories.

Photo Credit: @iStockphoto.com/JaniceRichard