Cookies Galore!

It's Christmastime and for those who know me, you know that I love to make cookies around Christmas. I give plates of cookies as gifts of thanks to teachers, neighbors, friends, pretty much anyone I can for as long as the cookies last. I enjoy coming up with a cookie menu with something for everyone--peanut butter, chocolate, sugar and butter, nuts, and spicy.

This year, that has gotten more challenging. The addition of another child and continued health issues for Curtis has made finding the time required a little more difficult. I have found the answers though. 1) Don't make as many kinds of cookies (the list of this years cookies to follow) and 2) Break cookie making into parts and divide over days.

We are fortunate to live in modern times of good freezers. This makes my problem so much less of a problem. Currently in my freezer, I have two different kinds of cookies, waiting until the week I want to give them to be baked. Most cookies freeze easily before baking or at least will last in the refrigerator a week or so. Rolled cookies and ice box cookies actually require refrigeration (or freezing) before baking. Thus, I have started making my cookies 3 weeks before I intend on giving them.

My cookie list for this Christmas:

Buckeyes
Linzer Cookies
Molasses Sugar Cookies
World Peace Cookies
Sugar cookies or sand tarts
Pecan Sandies

The buckeyes are waiting to be coated with chocolate in my refrigerator and the Linzer Cookies and World Peace Cookies are chilling in the freezer. I plan on having the molasses sugar cookies join them there tomorrow and making sand tarts with the kids next week. Pecan sandies will be made only right before I bake them. The plan is to post recipes for the buckeyes and sand tarts this year. The World Peace Cookies can be found here, at smitten kitchn.