Kristen Bell Reveals Her Favorite Holiday Cookie Recipe

When it comes to holiday treats, Kristen Bell throws moderation out the window and fully embraces the season’s indulgence. While she typically avoids sugar throughout the year, the holidays are a different story.

Speaking of the holidays – the “Frozen” actress is getting into the Christmas spirit by sharing one of her favorite festive treats: her “Everything Cookies” recipe. The actress says this tried-and-true recipe is a crowd-pleaser, packed with oats, butterscotch, and chocolate for the perfect mix of textures and flavors.

Whether for a cookie swap or just to enjoy with family and friends, these cookies are a holiday must-have in Kristen Bell’s kitchen.

“Baking around the holidays goes way beyond making delicious sweet things,” Bell said. “The whole act of it — gathering in a warm kitchen, the smells wafting through the house — feels so comforting and familiar.”

Kristen Bell shared one of her favorite “tried and true” cookie swap recipes: “Everything Cookies.” She loves the recipe for its blend of oats, butterscotch, and chocolate, which creates a perfect combination of textures and flavors to satisfy everyone’s palate. Bell jokes that they might as well be called “Everything Cookies for Everyone.”

This recipe makes about 20 cookies. Here’s what you’ll need.

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup agave nectar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (try Nielsen-Massey vanilla extract to make this gluten-free)
• 1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vinegar (white or apple cider works)
• 1 large organic egg
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup all-purpose unbleached flour (use 3/4 cup coconut flour for a gluten-free version)
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats (use Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Rolled Oats to make this gluten-free)
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup butterscotch chips (Guittard Butterscotch Baking Chips are gluten-free)

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, beat together the butter, applesauce, sugar, agave nectar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and vinegar until the mixture is fairly smooth. Add the egg and continue beating until well combined.

Mix in the baking soda and flour until fully incorporated. Stir in the oats and both types of chips, ensuring everything is evenly distributed.

Scoop dough into balls using about two level tablespoons per cookie (a tablespoon measure works best) and place them on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about two inches apart to allow for spreading.

Bake the cookies for 12 to 14 minutes, switching the pans halfway through baking (move the top pan to the bottom rack and the bottom pan to the top). For softer cookies, bake closer to 12 minutes; for crunchier cookies, aim for 14 minutes.

Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for two minutes before transferring them to a wire rack with a spatula to cool completely.

Dax Shepard’s gluten-free diet inspires Kristen Bell to get creative in the kitchen, and she embraces the challenge of adapting classic desserts to fit his dietary needs. Bell, a paid spokeswoman for Whole Foods, is a fan of Bob’s Red Mill Organic Coconut Flour, which she uses to reinvent favorites like pies, cookies, and strudels so Shepard can enjoy them too.

With her own vegetarian lifestyle and the couple’s focus on healthy living, Bell is particular about the ingredients she uses. She prefers shopping at stores that offer staples free of artificial colors, flavors, preservatives, and high-fructose corn syrup, ensuring that every dish meets her high standards.

“Get creative with sweeteners,” the actress suggested. “I bake with applesauce, agave, maple syrup or other alternative sweeteners.”

In addition to the cookies, a favorite holiday treat for Bell is Buckeyes, which are a no-bake Ohio confection of peanut butter balls covered in chocolate. Bell enjoys making them with her kids and reminisces about making them with her mom when she was growing up.