The smell of sugar, flour, and chocolate rising in the oven makes everyone’s tummy rumble. Children can sniff out the baking cookie from a mile away. Mom might have a little flour on her cheek and some dough in her mouth to “sample”, but she’s always got a spoon for kids to lick.

Nothing says “Holidays” like a giant plate of cookies! Don’t you love it when you get that knock on the door and you open it up to cheerful faces offering you a tasty snack?

Every December I look forward to cookie day. This seems to get bigger and bigger each year. I spend the entire day in the kitchen and I bake several different types of cookies.

I love to put my unwilling (really is anyone unwilling when it’s COOKIES) victims – I mean my wonderful friends – through taste testing new types of cookies.

Last year? I made the regular chocolate chip cookie recipe, but I substituted banana and mint extracts in place of the vanilla. Each batch was just something else. I loved it and got rave reviews! (OK, except from one certain person who apparently hates bananas. Sorry!)

This year I tried some other new recipes as well as others from year’s past. In the end, I didn’t get as many made as I wanted. I still have another three batches of cookies I WANTED to make. Le Sigh. I suppose there’s always January, right?

This year I put together about 20 give aways for cookies. Among people I gave cookies to were my chiropractor, my neighbours, a few friends, and my mail carrier. However, I think my mail carrier may have missed out because of someone swiping her cookies. I really am not happy about that. How low do you have to be? Come knock on my door for crying out loud! I have MORE than enough!

So what was on this year’s agenda?

Super Easy Double Chocolate Chip
Chocolate Chip Crunch Cookies
Mystery Cookies – *NEW*
Regency Ginger Crisps – *NEW*
Cocoa Snaps – *NEW*
Christmas Sugar Cookies – *NEW* (Well this one was a new one for me but mum had made it last year)

Yes, I made six different types of cookies. Hooley dooley was that a lot of baking. So worth it. I just wish I could have made the other three or four batches I’d wanted to make.

I have decided that I really liked all the cookies I made, except the cocoa snaps. However, the cocoa snaps might have been a sugar issue. My helper, mum, didn’t add in enough sugar and claimed they were the way she liked. So I’m not ready to totally wipe this one off the board. If I hear back that people liked them, I will make them again. I am thinking about trying them again and ensuring I have the right amount of sugar. It’s made with cocoa powder which you absolutely have to add sugar to. Don’t get me wrong, I like dark/bitter chocolate, but cocoa powder is a bit… extreme.

Surprising me, I loved the Mystery Cookie. I’ve had several tell me that this one was a winner. It’s so festive but the secret ingredient had me skeptical. It makes a TON of cookies so definitely make it as a swap the first time. Just in case. I ended up with seven dozen of those suckers, and I make my cookies a decent size.

On cookie day, we also made some fudge. Mmmm, who doesn’t like fudge? My husband loves it. I still have a TON of fudge, so if you live near me and are out, feel free to stop by for some. No, I insist.

The only other snafu we hit, other than the simply running out of time and the sugar in the cocoa snaps? The fudge. Darn that stuff, it’s super soft. I just have had a heck of a time cutting it!

I’d probably have made a few more batches like i wanted to, but we got a late start and we had a scout activity that night. As it was, we were baking until 11 PM!

When you decide to make what probably ended up to be about 20 dozen cookies and 3 pounds of fudge, you find yourself with quite the shopping list. I pulled out my grocery bags and went shopping in my pantry. My actual “store” list was mostly eggs. You really can’t stock up on two dozen eggs. For anyone interested, I also needed: 22 sticks of butter, 18 cups of sugar, and 30 cups of flour.

When I was in high school I started making fudge for a few people. After getting married I did fudge and cookies. In the early days it was just your basic chocolate chip cookies or sugar cookies. For chocolate chip cookies, I favor the Nestle Toll House recipe. I get a lot of my recipes from friends and out of the “Scrumptiously Suspenseful Mystery” series by Joanne Fluke.

Don’t undertake an adventure like this without kiddie taste testers, plenty of friends to give cookies to, and a whole day to enjoy yourself!

Recipes for you to Enjoy:

Super Easy Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:
1 box of Devil’s Food Cake
1/2 cup of butter
2 eggs
1 cup of chocolate chips (that’s a half bag)

Directions:
1. Mix your ingredients
2. Drop cookies on cookie sheet
3. Bake at 350 for about 8-10 minutes

Makes about 2 dozen very poofy and tasty treats.
Source: Local Paper last Christmas

Chocolate Chip Crunch Cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
2 beaten eggs
2.5 cups flour
2 cups crushed corn flakes
1 bag of chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Melt butter, add sugars, stir.
2. Add soda, salt, vanilla, eggs, stir.
3. Add flour, stir.
4. Add flakes, chips, stir.
5. Spoon onto cookie sheet.
6. Bake at 375 for ten minutes.

Makes about 4 dozen.
Source: The Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder

Mystery Cookies

Ingredients:
1/2 cup melted butter
3.5 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 can condensed tomato soup (the secret ingredient!)
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt
5 cups of flour *for those in low areas like me, I ended up adding about an extra 1/2 a cup of flour I think. Look at your dough and adjust accordingly*
OPTIONAL: 1 bag of chocolate chips, nuts, raisins

Directions:
1. Melt butter.
2. Add sugar, eggs, mix.
3. Add soup, mix.
4. Add cinnamon, nutmeg, soda, salt, stir.
5. Add flour, stir.
6. If wanted: Add nuts, raisins, or chocolate chips, stir.
7. Let dough sit about 10 minutes (I actually tossed it in the fridge).
8. Drop onto cookie sheet.
9. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.

Makes about 7-8 dozen.
Source: Lemon Meringue Pie Murder

Regency Ginger Crisps

Ingredients:
3/4 cup of butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
4 tbsp molasses (1/4 cup) ** to measure this, spray your cup with pam and the molasses won’t stick **
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground ginger
2.25 cups flour
.5 cups sugar (for later)

Directions:
1. Melt Butter
2. Add sugar, stir.
3. Add eggs, soda, molasses, salt, ginger, stir.
4. Add flour, stir.
5. Chill at least 1 hour (overnight is better).
6. Roll into walnut sized balls and dip in sugar. (I forgot this step.)
7. Place on cookie sheet and flatten.
8. Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes.

Makes about 3 dozen (I didn’t count some of these batches).
Source: Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder

Cocoa Snaps:

Ingredients:
3 sticks butter
2 cups cocoa powder
2 cups brown sugar
3 large eggs
4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
3 cups flour
.5 cups white sugar (for later)

Directions:
1. Melt butter.
2. Add cocoa, stir.
3. Add brown sugar, stir.
4. Add eggs, stir.
5. Add soda, salt, vanilla, stir.
6. Add flour, stir.
7. Chill dough for at least 1 hour.
8. Roll dough into walnut sized balls and roll in sugar. (Guess what, this didn’t get done. Mum was reading the directions… lol)
9. Place balls onto cookie sheet and flatten.
10. Bake at 350 about 10 minutes.

-Source: Strawberry Shortcake Murder

Christmas Sugar Cookies (The BEST Sugar Cookies Ever)

Ingredients:
3 sticks butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp baking powder
1.5 tsp salt
1 teaspoon flavour extract (I used vanilla)
5 cups flour

Directions:

1. Add butter and sugar, stir.
2. Add eggs, baking powder, salt, extract, stir.
3. Add flour in 1 cup increments and stir.
4. Chill for 1 hour.
5. Roll dough out and cut as you like and place on cookie sheet, or roll into balls and flatten onto cookie sheet.
6. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes.

Source: Sugar Cookie Murder
(There’s an icing recipe for this, but I didn’t make it so I’m not including it. This year we just added sprinkles.)

Fantasy Fudge:
I actually pull this right off the Marshmallow Fluff bottle. It makes 3 pounds.

I hope you enjoyed my Talk About post! 🙂 I also hope you gained three pounds reading the ingredients as I think I gained five baking all these treats. 🙂

–Lady O