Welcome, dear readers!
With Christmas baking fully commenced in many kitchens, I wanted to dedicate a post especially for the cookies that we baked two Christmases ago, as I never got round to sharing this. Every year, we have a few cookies that we make without fail. Then we enjoy picking out a few new recipes to try as well. And for the last several years, my sister has wanted to make a cookie box as a gift to our friends. So for the past couple years, she has taken charge and directed us in what needed to be done. I must say that her idea was splendid and the cookie box turned out beautiful!
Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies...
a yearly standby ever since before I can remember.
My mom grew up with this exact recipe.
These were my dad's all-time favorite cookie, and this was our first time making them since he passed away. It was a weird moment not having him popping in the kitchen just as they were coming out of the oven (he always had impeccable timing with that!) and asking for a few on a plate, hot from the oven, and a tall glass of fresh milk. He liked them on the crispy side...I prefer soft cookies, myself.
Madeleines...
My sister made these for the first time two years ago and we loved them. I am obsessed!
Last year, she coated them in melted dark chocolate and crushed candy canes.
Christmas is sweeter with the smell of freshly baked cookies.
Gingerbread Spiced Mixed Nuts...
a new-to-us recipe that my sister found.
These smelled divine and tasted wonderful, too!
Chex Mix...
My mom always makes this at Christmas and New Year's and a few times throughout the winter months. It's one of my favorite snacks!
Gingerbread Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting...
I've tried traditional gingerbread cutout cookies before but have yet to find a recipe that I really love. So last year, I decided to try something different. I found this recipe on Instagram one day and they were a huge hit. I didn't love them myself, but my mom, my sister, our neighbors and friends all loved them.
Peppermint Candy Canes...
my sister made these for the first time last year.
I am obsessed with these! They are so stinkin' cute and they taste scrumptious! I love how nostalgic that look, too.
Chocolate Covered Peanuts...
I make a huge batch of these every Christmas and they last for a long time as we freeze them in small baggies for when we want one or two each after dinner.
Christmas Cutout Sugar Cookies...
It had been years since I made these and I remembered them last year, and boy, am I glad! I *loved* making these. I sed a recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks, Hope's Table. They were a softer sugar cookie, and the flavor was on point. I made a declaration that this is going to be one of my yearly standbys from now on!
Butter Cookies...
(far right side)
This recipe has been in my mom's family for decades...probably close to a century. We've made it every year since I was little, and we usually use my grandmother's cookie press. But last year we forgot where we put it after last Christmas. Does that ever happen to you? You think what a great place you're putting something only to forget where you put it. So we simply made cookie balls and added sprinkles and cherries. One of the simplest cookies on the planet, but one of the tastiest, too. Our friend has to guard these whenever we give them to her as her niece loves them and eats them all when she comes to visit. Ha!
Florentines...
my sister made these for the first time and while she said they were a bit temperamental, they tasted marvelous!
Cranberry Pepita Buttermilk Bread...
I cannot tell you how amazing this bread was! My sister found this recipe and it was a hit. It was gorgeous and tasted so incredibly good. I really wish I had a piece right now!
Meringues...
another first for my sister. Another tricky cookie (maybe because of the humidity in our house?) but yummy all the same.
People who love to eat are always the best people.
~ Julia Child ~
Keep your Christmas diet balanced...
a cookie in each hand.
Even though she was a grown woman,
she believed in elves and Santa Claus
and flying reindeer and sacks with an endless capacity for toys.
Furthermore, she believed that believing in these
things was the chief reason that she had
more fun in life than others.
~ Unknown ~
(It's rare when I find a quote that so perfectly describes me, and this is one of them. Because, yes, I still believe. Perhaps even more that I did as a little girl, and I believed so strongly back then.)
Seeing isn't believing.
Believing is seeing.
~ Charlie, The Santa Clause ~
I found the most beautiful, perfect box at Target for my sister's cookie box idea. And while we knew it wouldn't fit all the cookies we made, it held quite a lot. My sister arranged everything, and then I made a little "menu" so our friend would know what everything was.
The smells of Christmas are the smells of childhood.
~ Richard Paul Evans ~
My sister made a bunch of these paper origami stars last December. We used some on our tree and then we attached one to the spiced nuts that she packaged in this cute jar.
And I wrapped the loaf of bread in plastic wrap and decorated with a piece of plain parchment around the entire loaf and finished with one of the origami stars and a label.
And, finally, whatever cookies didn't fit in the box, we made into a cookie platter. We always give our friend LOTS of cookies as she has extended family come visit her at the holidays and while she loves home-baked Christmas cookies, she doesn't bake herself. So we get to bake as much as we want and then give lots of it away to her and her family, as well as our neighbors. It's the best of both worlds because it allows us to bake all we want and try new recipes and such without having to keep tons of cookies in our house. We keep enough for ourselves and then the rest is out of our house.
One of the best, most fun, and certainly one of the most magical parts of Christmas is spending time in the kitchen getting to be a Christmas cookie baking elf...and of course, the result is delicious, too!
Thank you for joining me today as I shared this little baking diary...
I am so excited to begin baking for this Christmas season. Our baking this year is going to be quite different from years past as we've changed our standards with baking and such. We now only use dates, maple syrup, honey, and coconut sugar and sucanat as our sweeteners, so we're going to be tweaking our old favorite recipes, as well as baking some newfound favorites. And perhaps, trying a new recipe or two, as well, because that's tons of fun. Ah! I can't wait!
What are you baking for the Christmas season? I'd love to hear!
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