Cookie Time

It’s holiday baking time again around here, and while I’ve been pinning new recipes and thinking about what to try out on Christmas, this week I made a few batches of cookies so I could send my girls in with gifts for their teachers before the winter break began.

Like last year, I looked to Sally’s Baking Addiction for some likely candidates, and found two winners:

White Chocolate Pumpkin Snickerdoodles: Last year I made Sally’s pumpkin-chocolate-chip cookies for several occasions, so this year I decided to put a spin on things and try this pumpkin variation on snickerdoodles, which have always been one of my favorite cookies. I also had a fair amount of canned pumpkin puree on hand after making pumpkin pancakes for dinner recently, so I made a double batch of this to use up more of the pumpkin. This is a flavor we never tire of around here, so even though it isn’t quite seasonal anymore, I think many would enjoy getting one of these spiced little treats over the holidays.

Cake Batter Chocolate Chip Cookies: I’ve wanted to try this again for a long time; shortly after I treated myself to Sally’s cookbook, which features these beauties on the cover. My first go-round didn’t do too well, as I think I messed up the cooling process and the cookies spread all over the pan. This time, I left the covered dough in the fridge for 48 hours and kept the dough in the fridge while some cookies were in the oven, and thankfully, the double batch I made this time was much more successful! Cake batter is a popular ice cream flavor for my girls, and they were thrilled to try this recipe.

My girls were glad to be able to bring in these gifts for their teachers, and though we’ve done this for years, I admit it has taken on a special flavor (pun intended) once I was baking not just for amazing teachers who have been such strong positive influences on my girls’ lives, but for colleagues I’m proud to work with in our school community.

Next up: what to bake/make for Christmas brunch? These doughnut muffins are a tradition and I always make my mother’s favorite peanut butter blossoms, but I also like to try new things each year. Last year I was so glad to have chicken barbecue in the fridge on Christmas Eve, so that will probably happen again. Otherwise, who knows? I’ve got some planning to do!