The Christmas season is upon us. Every year I set aside at least one entire day to baking. These cookies and sweet treats become gifts to others. They are for the people that I care about but don’t have a personal relationship with. The mail person, trash collector, neighbors, Pastors at church, Sunday school teachers, my children’s tutors at their homeschool co-op. These people serve us in some way all year long. This is my “thank you” to them.
The first thing I do is gather all of my supplies. I purchase Christmas tins, wax paper, pretty ribbons, cute tags, and, of course, baking supplies. I choose the day (or sometimes days) and plan out which cookies I will make. I like to involve my boys as much as possible. I let them choose one kind of cookies each. Then, I add some of my favorites and my husband’s favorites.
The night before, if butter needs to be softened I pull it out of the fridge. I make sure I have all of my mixing bowls, sheet pans, spatulas, measuring cups, and cooling racks washed and set out on the counter.
I start early the next morning right after breakfast. The boys wash up and we begin. By lunchtime I have about 3 different kinds of cookies all baked and cooled. We take a break for an hour and then start right back up. By dinnertime we have completed our day of baking. Sometimes I bake the next day as well if I haven’t finished.
Our favorite types of cookies are: chocolate chip (my husband’s favorite), sugar with sprinkles, shortbread, chocolate snowballs, ginger snaps, lemon, peanut butter blossoms, and pumpkin. I also make chocolate fudge, peanut butter fudge, and chocolate peanut clusters.
I take 3 or 4 of each kind and place them in a tin. I wrap a bow around the tin and put a tag on it. We deliver the goodies that week. We hand deliver them to ensure we are able to say hello and wish them a Merry Christmas in person.
This small act of kindness goes a long way. It is handmade and made from the heart. I love baking and my children are able to help which makes it extra special.
Here are a few books to inspire you while baking this Christmas season:
