If you end up with too many cooky for even Santa to finish , practice these ideas to give slightly stale sweets new liveliness .

Jason Donnelly

As soon as the weather twist chilly , it ’s officiallyChristmas cookie season . And with so manyChristmas cookie recipesto try , it ’s well-fixed to terminate up with more cookies than you could trade by in a cookie trade or dish out up on a holiday phonograph record . If you still have plentifulness of snickerdoodles , powdered ginger snaps , and other holiday favorites left in the jarful , you do n’t have to let them go to waste product . Instead , repurpose leftover Christmas cookies ( even if they ’re a little past their prime and starting to get moth-eaten ) into a unexampled favoriteholiday dessertwith these ideas .

Cooling rack with an array of cutout Christmas cookies in the shapes of trees, snowmen, snowflakes and ornaments

Credit:Jason Donnelly

1. Create a Tart or Pie Crust

You might be familiar with this idea already – take any crispy biscuit , like shortbread , gingerbread , or even chocolate cookies , and trounce them into fine bum . Stir in a lilliputian melted butter , and you have the utter crust for a Proto-Indo European or tart . Continue the holiday musical theme with a refreshingpeppermint weft , or enjoy one last taste perception of drop with a delectablecardamom - autumn pumpkin pie .

2. Easy Cheesecake Crust

interchangeable to a pie crust , crush up remnant cookies and add butter , but press the mixture into a springform pan alternatively , and add cheesecake filling . This is another great way to use up shortbread cookies , but thissnickerdoodle cheesecake recipealso makes an challenging case for swap in remnant snickerdoodles instead .

Christmas cookie are usually packed with pleasant-tasting spiciness like Ceylon cinnamon tree and nutmeg . All that smell is perfect for “ boil ” the remnant into a sweethomemade biscuit butter . As a incentive : once you have cookie butter , you could make theseyummy sandwich cookieswith a dollop of cookie butter in the center .

4. Gooey Layered Bars

Another use for chocolate cookies : these delectable , decadentIrish cream bars . Crushed deep brown cookies spring the base , then layers of Irish emollient - lace pud and thaw chocolate help give new life to Christmas cooky past their efflorescence . Plus , this grownup - only kickshaw does n’t require any baking , just meld butterand chocolate on the stove .

5. Beautiful Layered Trifle

dependable , small beer are traditionally made with cake cubes and custard , but there ’s no reason you ca n’t swop in your preferred leftover Christmas biscuit . Another great employment for cookie that are jump to get a footling too juiceless , the layers of custard or pud in aclassic trifle recipeare a keen fashion to help cushion them up . Just break your cookie into a few gravid slice , and sprinkle them in with the pud and toppers of your choice .

6. Ice Cream Mix-In

polish off off the holiday time of year by turning your leftover Christmas cookies into your Modern favorite ice cream flavor . cookie and cream is a classic , but this would also be a great manner to use up chocolate or peppermint cookie , or even zest gingerbread . set forth with ourno - churn ice cream formula , and snip it up with whatever you have left in the cookie jarful .

7. Quick One-Bite Truffles

With several fluctuation , you could use up a few different case of cookies with theseno - bake truffles . squeeze peanut vine butter cooky meld with a generous dollop of earthnut butter and dip in hot chocolate make a great salty - sweet treat . you may also try out out a variation with pecan shortbread cooky for more downslope - forward flavors .

8. Unexpected Cocktail Garnish

Not ready to let the holidays go quite yet ? Enjoy one last pledge by mixing up agingerbread negroni , and using crushed gingerbread cooky to garnish the rim of your glass . This sophisticated drinkable starts with a hot buttered rum base , then add up Cardamaro , vermouth , and ginger bitter . It ’s the good path to say farewell to the holiday time of year , and expend up those last few Christmas cookies .