Cookie Time!

(don't be fooled by his cute smile. Check for evidence. This is a baby on the run after snitching cookies! See the crumbs on his fingers and the remnants on his teeth! What a good boy!)

I love cookies. LOVE them. I have many cookbooks solely devoted to these scrumptious little morsels, and I wouldn't part with any of them. I got a fabulous new cookie bible from my mother this year to add to my collection. Cookie Monster sang, "C is for Cookie", and C is also for Christmas. I don't think for one second that that is an accident! Cookies and Christmas definitely go together.

Every family has their holiday favorites, and I don't think it matters much what they are, as long as your family has them too. Many of my favorites are favorites because they remind me of the way my mother created Christmas for us as children. These would include Candy Cane Cookies and Russian Teacakes. Others are favorites because my own children have come to expect them every year, like Peanut Blossoms and Gingerbread Men. Regardless, there must be cookies at Christmas, and lots of them! And they must be eaten and shared! Almost nothing is as much fun as putting on a Christmas CD or DVD and get ting to work in the kitchen with cookie dough and children. Make sure the tree lights are on!

Cookie Central started just after Thanksgiving, and the freezer quickly was filled to capacity with dozens and dozens of nine varieties, along with huge batches of peppermint divinity and peanut butter fudge. This week we assembled cookie tins and cookie plates, and are having quite the time blessing our neighbors and friends. Baking in the kitchen together is one of my favorite ways to spend time together, especially with my children. It's so easy to involve them! I believe that anything baked with love has that love infused within it and will nourish, no matter the fat or calories. Share what you have, no matter how simple or elegant. Cookies are gifts of the heart. And I mean that.

"C is for cookie. It's good enough for me!"