36 hours of christmas cookies

T’was the Friday before Christmas and all through the house,

A frantic mommy was decorating, trying not to grouse.

The stockings were hung from the media center with care,

But the tree was undecked and the pantry was bare…

I am woefully behind on Christmas. The tree is up with lights on it, but the ornaments are still in boxes. I am pretty sure we are done shopping, with the exception of a few stocking stuffers. And I still have to finish wrapping.

And making ornaments for gifts.

And helping little man finish ornaments for gifts.

And send out a few final holiday cards.

And create a menu for Christmas Day.

And for Saturday.

And attend little man’s school holiday party.

And run 10 miles.

But never you mind about that. Things are getting done. By tomorrow evening, those ornaments will be hung and the house will be spotless and I’ll be wearing my Santa hat, humming along to the holiday music station and nibbling on a variety of cookies.

Yes, in the midst of my extensive to-do list, I spent the last day and a half in the kitchen, baking.

Because Santa needs his fix on Christmas Eve and because Christmas isn’t Christmas without cookies.

I asked Mr PugRunner and little man what kind of cookies they wanted his year. Mr PugRunner is pretty dedicated to butter spritz (which I haven’t actually made yet – they take no time whatsoever, so I’ll get them done on Saturday), and little man is a fan of decorated cut out cookies. We checked out Pinterest and pulled a few other ideas and then I put out the butter to soften and hooked the paddle attachment to the mixer.

The end result?

Adorable, right?

I can’t take all the credit, though. Below are the recipes I used to make these yummy creations.

1. Grinch Cookies. The Grinch’s heart may be two sizes too small, but these cake mix cookies from In Katrina’s Kitchen are sweet enough for everyone to enjoy.

2. Snowman Thumbprint Cookies. Perfect for little ones and class parties and traditional, these adorable snowmen are cute and delicious. In Katrina’s Kitchen offers two ways of making them – faces only or as a complete snowman.

3. Cocoa Crinkles. I love these soft, chocolatey cookies. There are a ton of recipes out there, but I was looking for quick and easy, so I used the one straight from the Hershey’s website.

4. Russian Tea Cakes. These walnut studded snowballs are a favorite of mine from childhood. There’s just something about that melt-in-your-mouth goodness that brings back memories of Christmas. (recipe below)

5. Chocolate Mint Chips. A fabulous twist on traditional chocolate chip cookies. The addition of some cocoa and dark and chocolate mint chips make for some festive flavors and the cookies themselves are soft and chewy. The recipe for this came straight from the Nestle Tollhouse bag, but I’m sure the mint chips would taste great in a traditional chocolate chip recipe as well.

But that’s not all! Little man really wanted some decorated cut out cookies. It’s been a while since I whipped out my cutters and piping bags, but I figured I might as well give it a shot.

He was thrilled. Especially since one of the stockings has his name on it. In cursive. Which is apparently the coolest thing since sliced bread in his mind. Scoring all the mommy points with that one.

We still have to make the “ninjabread” cookies from the kit his nana picked up for him, and I have a batch of butter spritz to get in the oven. Oh, and I probably have to make some more chocolate chips for Santa, because our stash is magically depleting.

But for the most part, cookies are checked off the list. On to the next!

For whatever you may celebrate, are you caught up on your holiday preparations?

What kind of cookies do you love making (or eating) this time of year?

PS – Here’s that last recipe for you to enjoy!

Russian Tea Cakes

1 cup softened butter

1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp salet

3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350F. Mix thoroughly butter, sugar and vanilla. Work in flour, salt and walnuts. Shape dough into 1-inch balls and place on ungreased cookies sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes or until set, but not brown. Place on cooling rack and sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar while still warm.