THIS IS NOT A FLUFF PIECE.
There is nothing fluffy about the amazing goodness and share-ability of Christmas cookies! Be they brownies or blondies, sugar or thumbprint, frosted or sprinkled (or both!), peanut butter with frosting or kisses, gingersnaps or ginger bars, pumpkin or chocolate chip.... and don't forget our ethnic classics! Pfeffernusse, lebkuchen, macarons and macaroons! :)
I don't take cookies seriously.
I take cookies HAPPILY! So I asked some of my buddies about their favorite cookies.
Not a scientific poll, mind you... just a question.
What's your favorite Christmas cookie? We want to know! And if you want to put the recipe in the comments, well, we'll try it out! #mustlovecookies
Debby Giusti likes cookies well enough, but when we posed the question of cookies to the Seekers, here was Debby's response:
My favorite Christmas treats aren't homemade, but they bring to mind so many wonderful memories of the three years we lived in Germany. Our favorite Christmas goodies were--and still are--Stollen and Nurnberger Gingerbread cookies. Here in the States, I buy them at our local Fresh Market grocery. Another December favorite is Panettone, which comes from Italy and stems from my husband's side of the family. When my granddaughter was young, she said it was the biggest muffin she had ever seen. We eat Panettone for breakfast with our morning coffee and enjoy the German treats at night after dinner. Exploring other cultures is always fun and can lead to new holiday discoveries that turn into family traditions.
My all-time favorite are Christmas Monster Cookies. I have a secret family recipe that people are always trying to get from me, but I’ve been sworn to protect it with my life. 😉 They really are the most delicious cookie I’ve ever eaten and the recipe is just a little different from any other I’ve seen. I remember my mom making them when I was little and they always meant a fun family event was just around the corner!
Ruthy here, and I loved this idea and I'd never made Monster Cookies so I grabbed a few recipes online... with great reviews... and came up with my own. I noticed that more flour, less oats gives a chewier cookie and more oats gives a crisper version with a chewy center. I think the beauty of this recipe is the splash of butterscotch chips to make it like an elevated-on-a-pedestal "Oatmeal Scotchie", remember those?
Here's the recipe I used:
1 cup butter
2 cups peanut butter
5 eggs
2 1/2 cups brown sugar (I use dark because I like a background molasses accent)
2 cups sugar
3 tsp. vanilla
CREAM ALL OF THAT TOGETHER. BEAT THOROUGHLY TO MAKE A NICE CREAMY, DELICIOUS MIX!
ADD IN:
4 1/2 cups Quick Oats
2 cups flour (I use bread flour, but all purpose works fine)
4 tsp baking soda
Mix in thoroughly with dough hook.... Then stir in 1 cup butterscotch chips, 2 cups dark chocolate chips (Ghirardelli or Nestle Dark), 1 cup chopped peanuts, 1 1/2 cups M&Ms. Some folks add raisins. Now I like raisins well enough but my family would literally take up arms so to avoid a Christmas meltdown, I didn't include raisins.
I pretend these are healthy. Like SO MANY EGGS!!! And OATS!!! :)
Drop by tablespoons onto parchment-lined cookie sheets and bake at 350 for 12 to 14 minutes.
Cool.
And the lovely bestselling author Linda Goodnight shared that her favorite Christmas cookie recipe is really a "bar".... The Magic Cookie Bars from Eagle Condensed milk! Note to all, folks noted in the comments that the original recipe has you pouring the can of condensed milk over the top after all the layers are in place... not just over the graham crumbs.
Okay, that's some ideas from us.
And commercial plug: Waterfall Press has put the Kindle versions of Welcome to Wishing Bridge and At Home in Wishing Bridge on sale at .99... You can get all four Wishing Bridge stories right now, Kindle editions, for under $10.
Now that's a sweet holiday deal! Well done, Amazon!
WELCOME TO WISHING BRIDGE LINK
Multi-published, bestselling inspirational author Ruthy Logan Herne loves God like to an exponential of 10, loves her family, her country, dogs, chocolate (chocolate is a given) and coffee. She also loves to hear from readers and writers. With over 60 novels and novellas, she knows a lot and talks a lot. Friend her on Facebook, Email her at loganherne@gmail.com or swing by her website ruthloganherne.com