Holiday Baking Fun

December 14, 2012

By Sheila


Sheila with her helper Paige

There is something magical about holiday cookies.  I operate under the delusion that those calories don't count so much during the month of December.  A really good homemade cookie is about my favorite sweet treat on the planet, and so an occasional indulgence is probably not so bad.  Here I go rationalizing wayward behavior again.  Want to join me?



Paige and Camryn hard at work
 

Cookie baking at our house is a family tradition.  For the past few years it has included four generations with the addition of our newest cookie bakers Camryn (three) and Paige (one), two of my three granddaughters. This week my Mom had a conflict, so my daughter and her girls gathered at my house for our annual cookie baking frenzy.  We have scaled it down a little from previous years because we really don't want to eat our weight in fudge during the month of December, nor do we want to have to throw away tired treats in January.  Although we have a few family favorites, we switch it up from year to year, so here is what we made today:

Peanut Butter Cookies (my daughter has her mother-in-law's secret family recipe and they melt in your mouth - thanks Terrie!)
Russian Teacakes  or Mexican Wedding Cakes (as far as I know, these are the same thing, and my kids always called them snowball cookies, cuz that is what they look like)
Celebration Cookies made with cranberries and white chocolate
Sugar Cookies - a favorite must-have
Fudge - we say we make this for my Dad, but he's not the only one who eats it!

You can never have enough sprinkles!

The sugar cookies are the most time-intensive, but also the cookie where a three year-old's artistic talent really gets to shine.  I have some very large gingerbread people and Christmas tree cookie cutters that are a big hit with the little ones.  I have made these for the neighborhood kids to decorate over the years and they loved it.  It seems even the grown up elves have a hard time resisting a good sugar cookie!

My daughter Liz, with some of the day's creations

As they say in the Olympics.... Let the Games Begin!