Alex Guarnaschelli's Favorite Holiday Cookie Has Only 3 Ingredients – Exclusive

As the winter holidays approach, it's time to start thinking about which sweet treats will keep you cozy and comforted throughout the colder months of the year. We recently spoke with celebrated chef, Food Network television personality, and best-selling cookbook author Alex Guarnaschelli at the New York City Wine & Food Festival (NYCWFF) to hear all about her holiday culinary plans. Among the highlights are the cookies she'll be enjoying this season. 

There are countless holiday cookies to choose from. Guarnaschelli's favorite will likely come as no surprise to those who are familiar with her New York City restaurant, Butter. "I like any butter cookie," says Guarnaschelli. Butter cookies are a time-honored classic known for their deliciousness and their simplicity. Many cookies are stuffed with dark chocolate chips or thick swirls of raspberry jam. Butter cookies, however, rely on the mouthwatering flavor of the buttery batter to conjure the richness and sweetness we look for in a dessert. Despite their rich flavor, butter cookies feature only three key ingredients.

For Guarnaschelli, making delicious holiday cookies doesn't have to require bells and whistles. Instead, she prefers to keep things simple with a festive butter cookie recipe that only uses three ingredients: butter, flour, and sugar. Guarnaschelli's ideal ingredient ratio is as follows: "1 pound of butter, a teaspoon of sugar, and a little flour to hold it together. [That's] my idea of a holiday cookie." 

The beauty of preparing a holiday cookie with so few ingredients is that you have the opportunity to test out different quantities of each in subsequent batches until you find the balance that creates your ideal cookie texture and flavor. Maybe you like your cookies with a little less sugar, or perhaps you like them a bit denser and would want to add more flour. No matter your preference, the butter cookie is an accessible holiday treat with a recipe you can easily master.