The Cookies of Christmas

In spite of everything going on in December, we managed to bake 12 kinds of cookies for Christmas plus have SP's family over for a Christmas Eve buffet of veggies & dip, cheeses & crackers, mushroom turnovers, puff pastry prosciutto & gruyere pinwheels, crabmeat squares, smoked salmon, shrimp cocktail, pork balls, and vegetable soup. Whew! So much baking! So much food!

 So here they are, the Cookies of Christmas 2012:

Cherry-Almond Biscotti - always on the list

Ischl Tartlets (AKA Linzer Tarts) - a family favorite, grandma's recipe

Walnut Cups - the inevitable

Biscotti All'arancia - a new cookie, definitely not one of my favorites, will not be making another appearance on the Christmas Cookie table

Chocolate Dipped Crescents - a constant, one of mom's favorites, and mine, too

Cinnamon Bun Pinwheels - one of my favorites

Triple Ginger Cookies - the one that dad, SP, and I kept gobbling, we even made a second batch

Raspberry Shortbread Bars - one of SP's favorites, this year made with peach jelly

Lebkuchen - sounded delicious with cloves, allspice, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, molasses, orange marmalade, candied ginger and almonds, but did not look at all like the photo in Food & Wine. These tasted OK but turned out like pancakes and were very sticky. Lebkuchen might show up again, but not this particular recipe. 

These were kind of a pain with needing to freeze the dough and then keep taking it back to the freezer in between baking a sheet of them. all those ingredients, all that time, all that effort, and they turned out like pancakes and then got sticky and soft. Ugh! The results of the stickiness - cookie tearing:

Cut Out Sugar Cookies - the usual family recipe

Peppermint Crunch Cookies - a new one this year, turned out just so-so, if they show up again it'll be as chocolate cookies with these peppermint crunch bits

Pizzelles - the usual anise-vanilla recipe

We have lots & lots of cookies to enjoy now! And of course, to give away to family & friends.