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If there’s one thing we can count on this time of year, it’s that QVC’s resident home décor expert Valerie Parr Hill has plenty of inspirational decorating tips to make your home merry and bright for the holidays. From a wreath for your front door to laying out a festive food spread, Valerie has something for every room in your home. (Check out her full selection)

She even has a delicious cookie recipe handed down from her mother. “My mother’s English shortbread cookies never fail to bring a flood of emotions,” she shared, “transporting me to my very earliest memories. The heavenly aroma as they bake is, to me, the quintessential fragrance of Christmas. These cookies are light, crisp, and lovely. They freeze well, too, so you can bake them before the season gets too hectic.”

This is a great recipe for making with your children or grandchildren to leave out for Santa.

Miss Joan’s English Cookies

Makes about 3 dozen 2-inch cookies

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg yolk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup finely chopped pecans

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Using the paddle attachment of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Scrape the bowl several times during mixing.
2. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and beat until the mixture is well blended and light in color.
3. On low speed, gradually beat in the flour. The dough will come together in a ball on the paddle. (At this point, the dough can be wrapped tightly in plastic and frozen for up to one month; defrost before shaping.)
4. With your fingertips, spread the dough in a thin layer about 1/4-inch thick on an unbuttered jelly roll pan. Do not push the dough onto the sides.*
5. Sprinkle the dough with the chopped pecans and very lightly press in.
6. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the sides are golden brown.
7. Cool on the baking sheet on a rack for 5 to 10 minutes.
8. Using a sharp knife, cut the cookies into diamonds.

*For pretty cookies, score the dough in the pan lengthwise at 1 1/2-inch intervals. Next, make diagonal crosswise cuts to form diamonds. 

These cookies are great to make with your children or grandchildren to leave out for Santa.

Do you have a favorite holiday cookie recipe you'd like to share? If so, send it to QVCInsider@QVC.com and I'll post it in a future blog.

Here’s mine:

Russian Tea Cakes

My mom used to make these at Christmastime. The first Christmas she was living out of state, she sent me a box of cookies with the note "What's Christmas without Mum's cookies?" How true!

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup finely chopped nuts

1/4 teaspoon salt

Red and green colored sugar

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400°F.
2. Mix butter, powdered sugar,0 and the vanilla in large bowl. Stir in flour, nuts, and salt until dough holds together.
3. Shape dough into 1-­inch balls. Place about 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
4. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until set, but not brown. Remove from cookie sheet. Cool slightly on wire rack.
5. Roll warm cookies in colored sugar; cool on wire rack.

Happy baking!

Troy

QVC editor