WEEK 13: CHRISTMAS COOKIE BONANZA

When I was growing up, I always remember the small tin of cookies that we received from the Cookie Bake at our church. My grandma was always in charge of the great cookie bake so we always had bonus cookies. On top of that, baking cookies was our go-to Christmas activity at grandma's house. I would sit on top of the counter for hours rolling out cookies and decorating them. They are some of my most special memories.

This year, I wanted to send me own cookie boxes. It took over 10 hours across two days to get all the cookies done, but they all turned out really great! I sent them to my parents, my sister, my friend Lauren, and my mother-in-law and they were all so pleased to receive them. I was sad not to be able to spend the holidays with my family, but sending them some Christmas joy helped relieve that sadness a little.

My tins included:

- Snickerdoodles from Modern Honey - my second time using this recipe and I had the same issue both times, they turned out to be more like cake than chewy. I even weighed the flour this time so I'm not sure what the problem is. My suspicion is that it's because I chill the dough and it is maybe better un-chilled.

- Browned Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies from Stress Baking - once again, an absolute delight.

- Sparkle Cookies from Sally's Baking Addiction - these were my favorite, by far. The texture was perfect, and the sprinkles made them undeniably festive. These were the hardest to ship because of the Hershey Kiss, but other than that they were flawless.

- Chocolate-Covered Oreos by Dinner at the Zoo - what more do I need to say? Easy, festive, and delicious.

- Peanut Butter Blondies by Sally's Baking Addiction - the fan favorite. I had some Reese's chips to use and these were the perfect vessel for them. Made like brownies, these blondies were simple and full of tasty peanut butter.

- Peppermint Mocha Cookies by Sally's Baking Addiction - a beautiful balance of mint and chocolate, these were like a big, chunky version of a Thin Mint.

- Molasses Cookies by Preppy Kitchen - it's not Christmas without a gingerbread flavor. These turned out incredibly soft and were picture perfect.

Toffee Chocolate Chip

Snickerdoodles

Chocolate Covered Oreos

Sparkles

Molasses Cookies

Peppermint Mocha