MAKE THIS: Christmas cookies!

Hey everyone! One week from today is Christmas eve, can you believe it has approached us so quickly?!?! Do you have your holiday menu pulled together? I am still working on mine.
Have you decided what kind of cookies you are leaving for Santa? Well, if not, here's some help:
Remember the Online Holiday Cookie Exchange we were going to do, and it was going to be a lot of fun? Well, I only had ONE participant. Sooo... even though yooooou chose not to participate, you still get the benefit of one dear participant's labor and secret cookie recipe. You are lucky, because you really don't deserve it, do you?
And I am sharing my favorite cookie recipe too... and I was thinking about actually sharing the secret ingredient this time that I usually leave out when sharing (I'm a selfish hag like that), but I don't know... I haven't decided if you really, REALLY deserve it. I might have to consult with Santa about offenses and lists and get back with you... but while I'm doing that, Enjoy this cookie recipe from my dear friend ERIN and her so-lovably-ornery-it-hurts son, Dawson:


Aunt Debbie's Almond Sugar Cookies


My son Dawson and I getting the ingredients ready.

 Almond Sugar Cookie Dough
1 cup butter (softened)
3/4 cup sugar
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 beaten egg
3/4 tsp. vanilla
3/4 tsp. almond flavoring
2 TBSP milk

Cream butter and sugar. Add beaten egg, milk, vanilla, and almond flavoring. Gradually add dry ingredients. (Add an extra splash of milk if dough seems too crumbly after all dry ingredients are added.)

Chill overnight. Roll out dough between 1/8 to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out cookie shapes with your favorite cookie cutters.

Bake at 350 degrees for 5-8 minutes for thinner cookies, 10 minutes for thicker cookies.

Almond Frosting

2 cups powdered sugar

1/8 tsp. salt

2 TBSP. Milk

1/4 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. almond flavoring

2 1/2 TBSP. softened butter

Mix all ingredients together until creamy and smooth. Pipe with frosting tips onto cookies with plain icing and sugar with colored sprinkles.

NOTES:

Yields 4 dozen 2 inch cookies.

Small cookie cutters are great for this recipe. Little bite sized tastes of the almond flavored goodness seem to be just right. :)

Thank you so much, Erin for sharing your cookie recipe! :)

While you were reading that I was chatting with Santa, we have that kind of relationship (You like how I am keeping this going?) And I guess you landed on his NICE list. Some of you BARELY squeaked by. I'm just sayin'...

Soooo... here's my favorite Christmas Cookie EVER. (If you read my old Recipe Blog, you've seen these before. But they are worth the repeat, I promise.) And because I love you, (and because Santa pleaded on your behalf -- though I cannot say his motives we purple selfless, he may or may not be expecting these left for him on Christmas Eve. I'm just sayin'...) I added my additions and secret ingredients this time... You're Welcome.

BEST CHRISTMAS COOKIES EVER

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup butter, cubed at room temperature

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup granulated sugar

2 tblsp honey*

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups rolled oats

1 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup white chocolate chips**

1/2 cup semisweet mini chocolate chips**

1/2 cup milk chocolate chips**

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sift the dry goods together into a large bowl. Set aside.

Cream together the butter, sugars, and honey, then beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir in the vanilla.

Add the dry goods to the wet works a small amount at the time until well combined. Fold in the rolled oats until thoroughly combined. Add in the dried cranberries and chocolate chips.

Use a 1/3 measuring cup*** to transfer the dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Use the floured bottom of a drinking glass to smash the cookies flat. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until lightly brown.

When they have slightly cooled, but are still warm, transfer the cookies onto a cooling rack. Enjoy with a big glass of milk

 

*The Honey is my secret ingredient. You can leave it out and use 1/2 cup of granulated sugar if you want... but you just don't get the same depth of flavor, and the honey is so nice with the crunchy oats... Yum. PLEASE use a good quality honey... I personally like a local wildflower honey I stock up on at the farmers market. Raw honey is the best... but lets not lie when it's just us-- I will put that stuff on/in anything!

**You can play with different variations of chips, keep the basic amounts the same... but if you don't have minis on hand, don't worry about it... If you are not into white (I can't imagine why you wouldn't be, but if you're not...) double up your milk chocolate. This is my FAVORITE combo though.

***You are gonna look at that and go... Huh-uh. That can't be right, that's a huge cookie. But the bulkiness of the cookie batter means it holds up well to it's size. And once you take your first bite of the big cookie... you will be glad it is extra big!

 

So There you go, kids! Now go put on your aprons and get to work! And next time we have a recipe exchange, consider participating... it makes it more fun for all! :)