topic Re: Who is baking Christmas cookies? :-) in Community Chat

Who is baking Christmas cookies? :-)

Shorty2U — Thu, 03 Dec 2015 15:19:27 GMT

I am wondering how many of you bake Christmas cookies, and if so what kind?

I was going to skip it this year, but my children and grandchildren look forward to them sooo I am going to bake again this year.

My one granddaughter who is a teen chef (loves to cook and bake!) is going to stay over next weekend to help.

We are going to do chocolate chip, peanut butter, snicker doodles, cut outs, Russian tea cookies, and we are going to try ricotta cookies this year as well as a vegan peanut butter (for my oldest granddaughter who is vegan).

(I generally send 90% of them to my children and grandchildren and just keep so many for DH and I b/c I dont need all the calories lol).

Re: Who is baking Christmas cookies? :-)

Laura14 — Thu, 03 Dec 2015 15:21:43 GMT

Wow! You are way beyond me. Besides a few birthday cakes, I like to make the peanut butter kisses cookies. I am also going to add a homemade goodie bag to the kids' gifts this year and I was thinking fudge brownies and chocolate chip cookies as well.

Re: Who is baking Christmas cookies? :-)

deepwaterdotter — Thu, 03 Dec 2015 15:22:08 GMT

Does candy count? I've made about 10 pounds of fudge so far. Chocolate (with and without walnuts), maple walnut, and peanut butter.

Re: Who is baking Christmas cookies? :-)

GinaV24 — Thu, 03 Dec 2015 15:24:04 GMT

I will be doing that soon. I do several batches of my own of Toll House, sugar cookies, and snickerdoodles and give them to family members as gifts - since I have a lot of people who don't bake their own but enjoy them.

A group of us also get together on one of the weekends and do "cookiefest" and make big batches of cookies that we divvy up between us all. Then we have dinner together and relax. It is a fun way to spend a day.

Re: Who is baking Christmas cookies? :-)

wagirl — Thu, 03 Dec 2015 15:24:18 GMT

sounds like fun shorty---I won't be baking much especiallycookies, which I have always not liked to make. Not very patient I guess, but will try out a new recipe for Finnish buttermilk cake. It's pretty simple and uses a tube or bundt pan of which I have several types. Thought I'd put a few in the freezer for just in case.I did bake alot with my 2 kids when they were little tho.

Re: Who is baking Christmas cookies? :-)

muttmom — Thu, 03 Dec 2015 15:25:02 GMT

For our family it would not be Christmas without homemade Christmas cookies. I make about a half dozen varieties. The sugar cookie cut outs are back breakers but they are the family's favorites.

Re: Who is baking Christmas cookies? :-)

Laura14 — Thu, 03 Dec 2015 15:26:50 GMT

@deepwaterdotter Yum! I gained five pounds just reading your post.

Re: Who is baking Christmas cookies? :-)

Preds — Thu, 03 Dec 2015 15:27:37 GMT

DH will be making cookies and fudge for friends, neighbors, family and anyone else that wanders in. LOL He is the baker in the family. If he wants sugar cookies this year, I'll make those, but the rest is his baby.

Re: Who is baking Christmas cookies? :-)

jaxs mom — Thu, 03 Dec 2015 15:32:04 GMT

I do, a variety of different kinds that I only make at this time of year.

Re: Who is baking Christmas cookies? :-)

Lila Belle — Thu, 03 Dec 2015 15:36:48 GMT

A cookie exchange group I belong to will be getting together soon to bake for us and others to give away.

Re: Who is baking Christmas cookies? :-)

CelticCrafter — Thu, 03 Dec 2015 15:46:44 GMT

If I do decide to bake this year, it will only be Spritz cookies. Each shape gets decorated differently.

They are my favorite and once I get into the cookie gun rhythm, I can do hundreds of them. I'll keep going until I either run out of ingredients or steam!

Re: Who is baking Christmas cookies? :-)

Lucky Charm — Thu, 03 Dec 2015 15:47:16 GMT

i bake cookies from scratch all year long.

I wouldn't eat or feed someone a store bought cookie if you paid me.

I cannot tell a lie though, I used to LOVE Girl Scouts peanut butter cookies and had been known to buy them by the CASE.

Re: Who is baking Christmas cookies? :-)

spix — Thu, 03 Dec 2015 15:48:36 GMT

Used to make tons of them, have cut back, but do make some, friends, family, neighbors, expect them. Usually stick to the same recipes, that have been the favorites for years.

Re: Who is baking Christmas cookies? :-)

CatsyCline — Thu, 03 Dec 2015 15:50:36 GMT

no cookie is safe in my house. if i made them i would eat them all.

sometimes i make my "porcupine balls" aka hoodenboppers (name given by younger freinds and relatives) they contain dates and walnuts and coconut so they are sort of healthy

Re: Who is baking Christmas cookies? :-)

jlkz — Thu, 03 Dec 2015 23:24:30 GMT

Never really made cookies at all; however, one year I bought a pizzelle maker and used my maternal grandmother's recipe. Made a LOT and decided to freeze what I didn't give to friends. I foolishly thought this would be a good diet technique.

Well, I quickly discovered they would thaw rapidly....better yet, I could eat them frozen.

Long story short, I gave the pizzelle maker to my brother - in- law who always baked loads of cookies and pizzelles and kept them in huge potato chip tins. These homemade goodies were always looked forward to with hungry smiles. Sadly, he passed away a few years ago. RIP.

Re: Who is baking Christmas cookies? :-)

Mominohio — Thu, 03 Dec 2015 17:18:42 GMT

Most all mine are done and in the freezer!!

My son left home this year, and with many changes in our lives, I considered not baking at all...for about 10 seconds, then decided I'd still do it, just much less of each kind.We no longer participate in school programs, bakesales, and don't have as many people to gift them to, so less quantity is warranted, but some are still necessary and requested.

I make buttermilk sugar cookies with homemade frosting, cacoons (some people call them snowball cookies) with dates and walnuts, butterscotch chews, shortbread thumb print cookies, peanut butter blossoms, date pinwheels.

I also make about a half dozen types of candy including buckeyes, and those are all done and in the freezer.

I reduced the number of batches of each, will give away most, and only be indulging on Christmas Eve, Christmas day and New Years Eve. Hubby and I don't need a steady diet of this kind of thing any longer, but these are multi generational recipes, most of them, and something I feel is very important to the traditions of our holiday season. I will do it for as long as I am able.

OP, what fun to be doing this with a granddaughter. Savor every minute of it.

Re: Who is baking Christmas cookies? :-)

CelticCrafter — Thu, 03 Dec 2015 17:33:12 GMT

@Mominohio I hope you have the recipes written down and can give them to your son one day.

Re: Who is baking Christmas cookies? :-)

Mominohio — Thu, 03 Dec 2015 18:00:37 GMT

@CelticCrafter wrote:
@Mominohio I hope you have the recipes written down and can give them to your son one day.

@CelticCrafter

While not a typical gift for a 19 year old male, he is getting those and other recipes for Christmas this year.

I found a really nice recipe book that is kind of 'male friendly' with dark green cover and rooster on it. Included were pages to write your recipe and little folder type sections to insert others.

I hand wrote each of his favorite recipes, detailed instructions, the line of people that the recipe has passed through to get to him(if the recipe did in fact come from family and not a magazine or other source), and some memories of mine (before he was born) and ours (after he was born) about where that particular dish was often served (ie. "this was always brought to the Smith reunions by great aunt Gladys").

I have two Temp-tations ceramic recipe boxes (retired ones, not the newer wood ones that came out this year) and they contain hand written (as well as those clipped from newspapers, magazines etc.) recipes from 4 generations of cooks in my family. I will pass that down to him as well much later, but thought this recipe book I made him can go with him to his first real place, and should something happen to the originals, he will have his most favorite.

It is a very sad thing to hear someone say "I've never had pumpkin pie (or corn bread, or any food) like my grandmother (aunt, cousin, mom) made. I sure wish I had that recipe". I didn't want him to say that sometime in the future when I'm gone.

Re: Who is baking Christmas cookies? :-)

lulu2 — Thu, 03 Dec 2015 18:08:40 GMT

Our Grands will be with us for the weekend. There will be a lot of cookie baking. Our favorites are sugar, spritz, chocolate chip, chocolate-coconut white chip, cranberry-macadamia white chip, Mexican wedding and snickerdoodles.

Re: Who is baking Christmas cookies? :-)

deepwaterdotter — Thu, 03 Dec 2015 18:14:40 GMT

@Laura14 wrote:
@deepwaterdotter Yum! I gained five pounds just reading your post.

I think I gain 5 pounds just making it, and I can't even eat any (diabetic).