Sugar Overload - Christmas Cookies

Saturday and Sunday were spent baking and consuming Christmas cookies. This Christmas I needed to simplify my life, so I only made a dozen plates for the neighbors instead of the fifty or so plates I usually make for all of our church friends. Besides not having the capability to deal with more stress this year, I was also cooking alone. Usually I made cookies with Koo or Greg and neither one could be here this year. So, sorry church friends - I have actually had people calling to see if I am mad at them because they did not get cookies this year. If you want to brave the cold, I have some leftovers at my house and you are welcome to stop by - but hurry, the kids are eating them as fast as they can!

The kids were my helpers this year - kind of. Max helped by putting cookies on the plates . . .


. . . and Sophie did too.

This is the finished plate with a tag I created on the computer. It was -9 when I sent Max around to the neighbors to deliver their plates!


Here is the lineup this year. The peanut butter fudge is my mom's recipe and we make it every year. It is Max's favorite treat. Next to the fudge are the Ginger Spice Cookies. This was a new recipe I tried this year and here are my suggestions. Under-bake these cookies. I found they were very flat and too crispy if they were cooked according to the directions. Also, my food processor did not chop up the candied ginger fine enough, and I did not like the big chunks. So - not my favorite recipe and it is getting the boot next year.


These little lovelies are Lemon Fennel Pretzel Cookies. I love these! They are not too sweet and are just perfect to eat with a mug of hot cocoa or herbal tea. I will up the lemon zest and maybe even the fennel just a bit when I make them again. The dough is super easy to handle and they are fun to twist into the pretzel shape.


The Scandinavian Almond Bars are another Christmas tradition. We make these every year and they are my favorite Christmas cookie. This year, Calvin helped me brush on the milk though I had to keep telling him - no puddles!!


We also made the Fudgy Bon Bons again (lard balls). This year, I filled them with a chocolate mint kiss and they are so good! Very rich and very pretty with the drizzle of white chocolate on top.

I took a bite out of one so you could see the green in the mint kiss.

The last cookie is a simple macaroon with a blob of bittersweet chocolate on top. I have had a sugar headache for three days straight.

I made the cookie in monochromatic brown/tan tones to match our Christmas cards this year - just kidding!