Posted in Blogger Friend School

Part A: Share your favorite Christmas/Holiday cookie recipe.

First off I really don't have a holiday cookie that I bake :( However, I love to bake choco chip cookies ~year round~ my sweet children and their friends all love to eat them as well. So they are the fav around here for now. I first got the recipe from the back of a bag of chocolate chips I purchased. Sometimes I add a little less flour. I usually make a double batch beacuse one just doesn't last long enough around here plus my hubby likes to take some to work with him and share with his workers as well.

Choco chip cookie recipe

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2  teaspoon baking soda
• about 3/4  teaspoon salt (sometimes 1/2 teaspoon)
• 2 sticks (salted, sweetened) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 1/4  teaspoon vanilla extract ( I use imitation)
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups ~any chocolate chips (semi sweetened). I actually use nestle or generic brand from wal mart) Occasionaly I replace the choco chips with white choco chips or add nuts. I have tried a few of the other chocolate chips but I like the Nestle or Wal-Mart brands the best so far.

preheat oven to 375° F. ( this will vary depending on you oven)

Put baking soda, flour and salt together in bowl. Stir with spoon to mix well. In seperate bowl (large) beat butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract and mix until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well. Slowly  add the flour, baking soda, and salt mixure to this and mix well. Time to add in the choco chips. Then I spoon them (me and the kids) onto the baking sheets. I do use wax paper on my baking sheets. It's easier to remove and allow cookies to cool and add the next batch to the cookie sheet to put in the oven.

Place in Oven and bake for 9 to 13 minutes or until golden brown. The time on cooking will also vary depending on your oven so check after 9 minutes until the cookies are golden brown.  Allow to cool for a few minutes then pour a nice cold glass of milk and sit down, grab a few of these cookies and enjoy~ anytime of the year they are a hit in my house.  Here are a few photo's of my children and their cousins having fun making these cookies and then of course enjoying the fruits of their labor.

Part B: Share a memory, story or tradition of baking any Christams/Holiday cookies.

Okay well until about this time of the year in 2002 I didn't even try to bake. Just did store bought for the most part. I had never baked homemade cookies before. I know, thats just awful. Three dc at the time and never baked cookies. I must admit this was about the time God was really beginning to work on me as a mother, giving me the heart I have now in this area of my life. I should say this was when I started yeilding to the Lord and allowing His desire for me to become my desire as well. To be a mother and wife and actually enjoy it.  Anyway, A close family member came by and wanted to bake some of the choco chip cookies. He brought all the ingredients and so we did it, we baked cookies for the first time. My little girl was in heaven. Her and her brothers were having so much fun being able to get their hands into that cookie dough and spooning the dough onto the sheets. When I saw how much more the children enjoyed those cookies, not just the eating part but the time together it was then that these cookies became a tradition in our home. The joy that filled my heart I can not even begin to explain. It is like something just clicked inside of me and I knew that was the beginning of me being able to enjoy motherhood. Baking and such seemed so boring until that day. I thought only grandma's or aunts or anyone other than myself could possibly have fun at this kind of stuff. Boy was I ever wrong . The older the children get the more fun we have when baking together. Of course we have since then tried a lot of other cakes, cookies, even made pralines and chocolate covered peanut butter balls a time or two, however these are still the favorite in our home. I have recently started baking (in a bread machine) the homemade bread and they LOVE it. My children really enjoy making sweets and I enjoy the time spent with them. This may sound silly to you but I will never forget that first time. Here are a few photos from that day in 2002.