Christmas Cookies

One of the cookie plates we shared tonight

Pretty lights outside our house

Christmas traditions are so much fun! Tonight we resurrected a tradition that ended when I had the twins. I measure time BT and AT (before twins and after twins) because so much changed when I had them. Many of the things that I did BT had to be dropped because there were too many more important things to accomplish like nursing, feeding my older children, changing diapers, keeping the kids safe and just getting through the day. But now that Caitlin and Courtney are three, things are so much easier and I have been able to do much more.

Tonight we made Christmas cookies (which we have always done BT and AT) and took them to our neighbors (which we haven't done since BT.) I multi-tasked as I rolled the dough and supervised cookie cutting while quizzing Rachel for her science test. This a fairly accurate quote from this evening "Okay, yes, you can each have one cookie, but only one. These are for our neighbors. Rachel, remember we're studying here. Start at the negative end of a battery and descibe what happens to the electrons when a closed circuit turns on a light. Oh, this cookie dough is too sticky. Caitlin and Courtney you need to stop cutting out dough with the wrong side of the cookie cutters. Try the sharp side. What's the difference between a conductor and an insulator?" I'm glad it's Rachel that's taking the test tomorrow because I had a hard enough time fixing my sticky cookie dough and getting the kids to cut the cookies the right way. I don't think I could answer the questions she's going to be asked. But she answered me easily. I definitely think she's got her father's almost photographic memory.

It was snowing big beautiful snowflakes after we finished making the cookies so all the kids played outside in the dark for a while while I wrapped up the cookies and then Rachel and Spencer delivered the goodies while Caitlin, Courtney and I drove them around the neighborhood. I'm glad my kids had the opportunity to share a little Christmas cheer with our neighbors. I think everyone had a great night!

I made some very simple cookies that turned out yummy today! Here's the super easy recipe if you want something quick for the holidays:

Mint Chocolate Melt-in-Your Mouth Cookies

1 devil's food cake mix (I use generic brand. It actually turns out the best.)
1/3 c oil
2 eggs
Andes mints (mmmm)

Mix cake mix, oil and eggs. Roll into balls, place on cookie sheet. Cut Andes mints in half. Place 1/2 mint in the center of each ball. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes. This makes about 15 cookies so I usually double the recipe if I'm taking it anywhere. You can also put in peanut butter cups, peanut butter/chocolate chips (which is a big hit) or chocolate chips.

We also made our typical Christmas sugar cookies. I had to find the cookie recipe on the internet because the page was actually missing from my trusty Betty Crocker recipe book--it had ripped and then fallen out somewhere. I guess 18 years of use is finally getting to it.

My neighbor already called to get the icing recipe but I couldn't give her an accurate recipe. This is what I told her:

A stick of butter
Lots of powdered sugar
a little milk
some almond extract

Mix it up, add more powdered sugar and milk until it's perfect.

Sounds like a great recipe, right? It's hard to explain. You have to learn by doing when you're making frosting. Thanks, Mom, for teaching me how to do it. I always get lots of compliments.