CHRISTMAS COOKIES

This past Christmas, for the first time since I had kids, I managed to bake Christmas cookies in sufficient quantities to share. Usually I’d get one batch made, the family would eat them all, and that was the end of that. I was so pleased with my cookie trays that I think I tore my rotator cuff patting myself on the back.

The cookies didn’t go quite as far as I’d planned, however, because we had a slight incident here. The heater in our garage apartment had been acting up, and one day while I was out shopping I got a call from the police that our alarm company notified them that our smoke detector had gone off and the temperature in the garage apartment was 120 degrees. I raced home to find 3 firemen and 2 policemen in my garage apartment, playing with my worthless watchdogs. It really was 120 degrees — they said they’d never seen a room that hot that wasn’t on fire. I think it was too hot even for hot yoga. It turned out to be a broken heat relay (maybe) or thermostat (maybe) — we replaced both just in case. Anyway, after shutting off the heater, we all came downstairs, and as I stood there in my kitchen surrounded by 5 very nice policemen and firemen, all I could think to do was offer them the Christmas cookies I’d been baking for the past two weeks, which to my delight, they gladly accepted. So I packed them up a huge tin, and sent them off with profuse thanks and warm wishes.

Several of my cookies were recipes that I tried for the first time this year. They were great, but in my opinion, they’re all keepers. So, for posterity’s sake, and because cookies aren’t just for the holidays, here are my 2017 Christmas cookies with links to the recipes.

Clockwise from the top: Favorite Ginger Cookies, Pistachio Cranberry Icebox Cookies, Split Seconds, Double Coconut Macaroons, Cinnamon Pinwheels, Chewy Double Chocolate Cookies, Cream Cheese Spritz, and Golden Pecan Balls in the center.