I love Xmas cookies! What a neat way to spend time with friends and family. I have to share my favorite cookie story. My little granddaughter loves to "help" in the kitchen and she gets very excited when she gets to measure,stir,and drop the cookies. We were making a batch of our"everything" cookies–sort of oatmeal,choc-chip,whatever and she’s stirring the now heavy batter when she lets go with a huge sneeze. You guessed it–right in the bowl! This became forever known as the "secret ingredient" All in the family…

After many, many years of doing cookies, we have found a good variety:

1) a ginger or molasses cookie

2) Chocolate (chocolate chip seems mundane but is popular, brownie)

3) Something fancy and unusual (coconut, cherry, caramel, unusual shapes)

4) Shortbread or sugar cookies

Any more than 4 types and you will usually get overwhelmed. Start with the light, plain cookies 1st and end with the chocolate so you don’t have to clean the mixer every time. If you want to do something time-consuming in the decorating dept, wait until the end…you might change your mind. Bar cookies are a lifesaver…have at least one cookie be a bar type.

For the "fancy" and/or molasses variety:

MOLASSES MINCEMEAT COOKIES

1/2 cup shortening

1/3 cup sugar

1 egg

2/3 cup molasses

2 3/4 cups flour

3 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 cup mincemeat

1/2 cup chopped apple

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix together first 9 ingredients (endinq with cinnamon) to make dough. Chill.

Roll out dough 1/8-inch thick. Cut out circles with cookie cutter.

Mix together mincemeat and apple to make filling

Place 1 tsp. filling in the center of a circle of dough. Top with a second circle of dough and
seal edges. Make a few decorative slashes in the top.

the top with a sharp knife. Continue until you run out of dough.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Makes 3 dozen cookies.

for a "fancy cookie…very time-consuming and messy, but fun and delicious:

CARAMEL NUT ACORNS

COOKIE:

1 cup butter

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/3 cup finely chopped pecans

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

TOPPING:

1/2 pound caramels

1/4 cup water

3/4 cup finely chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt butter in a 2-quart pan. Remove from heat.

Stir in sugar, vanilla and pecans. Add flour and baking powder and mix thoroughly.

Shape dough into balls. Flatten one side by pressing down on baking sheet. Pinch one
end so cookie resembles an acorn.

Bake until light brown, about 15 minutes.

To make topping, melt caramels and water in top of a double boiler over simmering
water.

Dip rounded ends of cooled cookies about 1/4 inch deep in caramel, then into pecans to
coat. When caramel hardens, store in airtight container.

These are quick, easy, and popular:

CHOCOLATE CHIP BARS

1 1/3 cup shortening

3/4 cup white sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 eggs

3 1/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

6 ounces chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cream together shortening and sugars. Add vanilla and eggs. Mix.

Mix together flour, baking soda and salt. Slowly add dry ingredients to mixer. Mix.

Stir in chocolate chips. Spread into a large rectangular pan and bake tor about 20
minutes or until done.