Begrudgingly keeping my mom's tradition alive...The (seemingly) never ending Christmas Cookie thread

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worktogthr

Master of the Pit
Original poster
OTBS Member
SMF Premier Member
Nov 3, 2013
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1,032
Massapequa, NY (Long Island)
Well, my mom was a great cook, but she hated doing it!  She worked late so getting dinner on the table was more of a chore than something she enjoyed.  Baking however, was her true passion and she spent lots of her free time combing through recipes for cookies, cakes, candies etc, and then tweaking them to her liking.  And each holiday season, kicked her baking into high gear.  She would literally make 30-40 varieties of cookies and double or triple the recipes.  She would bake 1000s of cookies and give them to everyone she knew.  She would bring them to work for her students, for holiday parties, mail them to friends across the country, serve them when she hosted parties, donate some to charities, etc.  She began Thanksgiving weekend and didn't stop until about 2 days before Christmas Eve.  Our house was like a bakery, flour all over the place, incredible smells, the sound of my parents arguing about cleaning all the dishes haha.  She just made cookies every night after work, until she went to bed, on weekends, and occasionally would even take a day off from work to make them.  Since she made such huge quantities and started so early, she had no choice but to freeze them.  Through trial and error she learned how to best freeze them to retain their quality and ended up with two extra freezers just for cookie season.  

Well, unfortunately she passed many years ago and for a few years the cookies were a thing of the past. But shortly after my dad asked my wife and I if we would like to purchase the house that I grew up in as he no longer felt like taking care of it on his own.  Needless to say, he gave us a great deal.  With the house I inherited all of my mom's baking  equipment and recipes.  Unfortunately, not her love of baking haha. It is too exact, too much planning, too organized.  But since tradition is important to me, the year I moved back into the home I grew up in, I decided that I would reinstate the holiday cookie madness.  Not nearly to the degree that she did it...but its the thought that counts, right? haha  it seems that each year since I have added a few new cookies to lineup but I can see that I am heading in the direction of about 30 varieties this year.  I have a bit of an obsessive personality haha  And my daughter seems to love baking with me, so that makes it even more fun.

So I figured i'd use this thread to share some of this years cookies.  Now I know this is in the recipes only section haha so don't yell at me.  If anyone is interested in a particular recipe, don't hesitate to ask.  

So here we are.  It is December 7th and I have about 20 varieties made since Thanksgiving weekend.  Due large in part to my awesome wife who allows me the time to do all this.

So it started with the prep.  My mom always taught me to measure all the dry ingredients on one day and label them for quicker baking later.


M&M Chip Cookies


Chewy Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Bars


Snickerdoodles



Sugar Cookies




German Chocolate Cake Cookies


Peanut Butter Cup Stuffed Mini Cheesecakes



Raspberry Crumb Bars



Italian Rainbow Cookies



Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Pretzel Bark


Peanut Butter Milk Chocolate Fudge 


Hahah that's all the pics I could find for now.  I'll be back later with more!  Thanks for looking!

-Chris
 
Hey Chris.  Some great looking cookies you're pumping out.  That's a cute helper you have there--always makes the job seem a lot more pleasant, doesn't it?

I'd appreciate it if you could post the recipes for:

1--Peanut butter dark chocolate pretzel bars

2--Chewy chocolate peanut butter chip bars

Not hard to tell where my tastes lie, is it?

Gary
 
 
Hey Chris.  Some great looking cookies you're pumping out.  That's a cute helper you have there--always makes the job seem a lot more pleasant, doesn't it?

I'd appreciate it if you could post the recipes for:

1--Peanut butter dark chocolate pretzel bars

2--Chewy chocolate peanut butter chip bars

Not hard to tell where my tastes lie, is it?

Gary
  • Hahaha can't blame a guy for loving PB chocolate combo!  Hahah the helper is cute, but actually makes it take a lot longer.  But I don't mind.
  •  
  •  
  • CHEWY CHOCOLATE PEANUTBUTTER CHIP BARS
  •  
  • Ingredients:
  •  
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1-1/4 cups (2-1/2 sticks) butter or margarine , softened
  • 1-2/3 cups (10-oz. pkg.) REESE'S Peanut Butter Chips
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

[h4]Directions[/h4]

  • 1. Heat oven to 350°F. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; set aside.
  •  
  • 2. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with mixer until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Gradually add flour mixture, beating well. Stir in peanut butter chips. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet.
  •  
  • 3. Bake 8 to 9 minutes. (Do not over bake; cookies will be soft. They will puff while baking and flatten while cooling.) Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. Makes about 54 cookies.
  •  
  • PAN RECIPE: Spread batter in greased 15-1/2x10-1/2x1-inch jelly-roll pan. Bake at 350°F 20 minutes or until set. Cool completely in pan on wire rack; cut into bars. About 4 dozen bars.
  •  
  • ICE CREAM SANDWICHES: Prepare CHEWY CHOCOLATE COOKIES as directed; cool. Press small scoop of vanilla ice cream between flat sides of cookies. Wrap and freeze.
  •  
  • HIGH ALTITUDE DIRECTIONS:
  • -- Increase flour to 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons.
  • -- Decrease baking soda to 3/4 teaspoon.
  • -- Decrease sugar to 1-2/3 cups.
  • -- Add 2 teaspoons water with flour mixture.
  • -- Bake at 350°F, 7 to 8 minutes. Yield increases to about 6 dozen.

I used the pan recipe.

For the bark, I just throw a bag PB chips and a bag of dark chocolate chips on a tray lined with parchment paper.  Push them together in a single layer rectangle and pop them in a 325 oven for about 2 minutes until they get glossy and then use a butter knife to make swirly patterns.  Press the pretzels into them.  Then pick up the tray and just drop it from a few inches off the counter to make the pretzels or whatever other toppings you choose to settle in.  Then just stick it in the fridge until it hardens.  and break it up into pieces.
 
Oh my!

Everything looks delicious!

You are gonna weigh 400#!!!

I make one batch of Christmas cookies & try to give them all away quickly!

Because I've been known to eat a whole batch!

Al
 
Wow, quite impressive, I really shouldn't be on this forum on an empty stomach.

Its great to see the tradition of baking in your family alive again and being passed onto the younger ones.

 
points.gif
For making my eyes get all watery.
 
I would have gained 10 pounds in that kitchen!  All of that looks just like it should!

I'm like SQWIB, someone is cutting onions in here...

POINTS!
 
Oh my!

Everything looks delicious!

You are gonna weigh 400#!!!

I make one batch of Christmas cookies & try to give them all away quickly!

Because I've been known to eat a whole batch!

Al

Hahaha thanks Al! I am pretty disciplined and can usually try only one from each batch and that's usually the smallest, ugliest one. Usually my wife and I split one for the taste test. With he holiday season, I do always gain some pounds but more from the food and drinks!
 
Wow, quite impressive, I really shouldn't be on this forum on an empty stomach.

Its great to see the tradition of baking in your family alive again and being passed onto the younger ones.

 :points: For making my eyes get all watery.

Thanks so much for the points! Hhaha sorry to get all emotional with this post. I definitely had something in my eye most of the time I was typing this haha
 
I would have gained 10 pounds in that kitchen!  All of that looks just like it should!

I'm like SQWIB, someone is cutting onions in here...

POINTS!

Thanks so much! Maybe we can meet half way somewhere and combine the cookie making with your sausage fests. No better way to be than fat and happy haha
 
Worktogthr, Thank you for posting the story about your Mothers love for making Christmas cookies.    I know she is smiling down from Heaven and lending you a helping hand in making all of those cookies.   It warms my heart to see this post and your cookies look delicious!
 
Just wow, What a generous gesture. My wife has been lamenting for years her family's lost cookie recipes. I gave her your CHEWY CHOCOLATE PEANUTBUTTER CHIP BAR one and it turned out great. If your willing, it would be a great place to post more of them. I would like the Raspberry Crumb Bars but Im sure everyone would like would like to try different ones.
 
 
Worktogthr, Thank you for posting the story about your Mothers love for making Christmas cookies.    I know she is smiling down from Heaven and lending you a helping hand in making all of those cookies.   It warms my heart to see this post and your cookies look delicious!
Thanks so much for the incredibly kind words.  I know it makes her happy that I am continuing the tradition!
 
 
Just wow, What a generous gesture. My wife has been lamenting for years her family's lost cookie recipes. I gave her your CHEWY CHOCOLATE PEANUTBUTTER CHIP BAR one and it turned out great. If your willing, it would be a great place to post more of them. I would like the Raspberry Crumb Bars but Im sure everyone would like would like to try different ones.
I am so glad that she liked the recipe! I am on my way back from a short vacation so during the week, I'll get that recipe for you!
 
Here are a few more that I forgot to post since I was away:

Apple Crumb Bars

e
Cowboy Cookies 


Pignoli Cookies


Classic Chocolate Chip


Chewy Chocolate Mint Chip Cookies


Oatmeal Scotchies


Peanut Butter Blossoms


Butterscotch Brownies


Dark Chocolate Brownies


Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars



Mint Chocolate Pretzel Bark


I might have a few more that I forgot to post, but I will continue to post as the baking continues. Thanks again for looking and all your kind sentiments.  This is something that means so much to me and my family and I'm glad to share it with all of you.
 
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That all looks great,my fave would have to be the peanut butter cup mini cheesecake!Thumbs Up
 
Holy crap you have all the good ones. Way to keep it going and good luck I would be eating them all
 
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