Holiday Cookie Spread 2009

Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! I am tickled the season of giving is upon us and I am also a bit remorseful I haven't been posting much this month. I swear my absence is only due to my dedication to the Christmas Cookie Baking Ritual. I mean, I'm not trying to piss off Santa so every year I un-lease a bounty of cookies to friends (see 2008's cookie bushel here), family, and co-workers here and aboard. This year, my sugary delights will travel all the way to New Zealand for the enjoyment of my dear, old friend Michelle. Who is thrilled? You know it's me!

Oh yes, and she is also very possibly excited.

THE SPREAD

Each year I love to make my traditional favorites such as (1) The Chocolate Chip Cookie, (2) Buckeye Balls, (3) Sugar Cookies, (4) Peanut Butter Honey Granola, and (5) Pignolis as well as try my hand at something new and a bit more modern to liven up the platter like (6) Coffee Meltaways with Peppermint White Chocolate Bark, (7) Pumpkin Chai Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies, (8) Lime Snowballs, and (9) Ugly but Good Toblerone Meringues.

I'm stoked at the turn-out but really can't believe I stopped at nine when I should have went for a full ten. First resolution for 2010 - I will hit double ditches in my undying quest of excellent holiday cookie baking.

For the recipes:

(1) The Chocolate Chip Cookie - sorry, I've been developing my chocolate chip cookie recipe since I was ten and it it technically still a work in progress. One day many years from now I will have perfected and will release my chocolate chip cookie recipe.

(2) Buckeye Balls - again, sorry. This is my Mama's recipe.

(3) Sugar Cookies - I used the Cracked Sugar Cookie recipe from AllRecipes.com

(4) Peanut Butter Honey Granola - another Loretta Festa family secret.

(5) Pignolis - I promise this is the last one that has to stay in my recipe vault.

(6) Coffee Meltaways with Peppermint White Chocolate Bark - this cookie was a combo of inspiration from the desire to use crushed peppermint with white chocolate and my ache to eat one of DayDreamer's Desserts Spiced Espresso Meltaways. Not having the liqueur, I used 2 Starbuck's Colombian Via packets. Its pretty safe to say my Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha addiction probably also had a hand in this cookie.

(7) Pumpkin Chai Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies - Although I haven't yet made SarahCentric.com's Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies, they did inspire me my interpretation of the Oregon Chai Company's Apple Oatmeal Cookie by substituting the apple sauce with pumpkin puree. (This is also inspired by my fav dried chai latte mix by a certain company hitherto already named.)

(8) Lime Snowballs - After not placing with my Raspberry Walnut Streusel Pumpkin Bread in the Bon Appetit Blog Envy Bake Off, I visited the website often and came across their Lime Snowballs in the Holiday-Cookie-A-Day Slideshow. Intrigued by this citrus cookie I baked, I sugared, and I conquered.

(9) Ugly but Good Toblerone Meringues - when I saw Paula of Bellalimento.com's Brutti ma Buoni cookie made of a LOT of Toblerone chocolate candy, I knew I had to put it on my Christmas list of Must-Have-Cookies

If you're expecting a package of cookies from me, I'm sorry I spoiled the surprise. Now you can salivate over the contents of your soon-to-be-delivered package. Time to sign-off and make a bacala salad for tonight's festivities. MUAH!

HERE'S TO THE HAPPIEST OF HOLIDAYS & AND AN EVEN BETTER NEW YEAR!