Jolene's Recipe Journal

Every year I made Christmas cookie trays for friends and family.  There are the classics like sugar, chocolate chip, and oatmeal raisin, then I pick a few different cookies that add color or flavors that we'd all enjoy.

What a crazy month December has been! I've been sitting here stressing over all the baking and holiday tasks I need to do this weekend, so I decided a cocktail was in order.

So excited to be participating in this month's Candy Fantastical Food Fight! I wanted to jump in on this one because candy isn't something that I make very often.  To help chose my recipe, I spent some time thinking about what my guys love to eat and scrolling through my Pinterest boards .

I am a huge fan of all things ginger, tea, coffee, baked good, breakfast items. I even snack on crystallized ginger.  I used to visit a restaurant that made the most amazing gingerbread waffles, but we've moved too far from it to make it a regular stop now.

There was a time where I'd see the word yeast in a recipe and just think to myself, nope! and keep scrolling on by, but I've done a pretty good job conquering my fear of yeast over the last few years. I've made apple coffee cake ,  biscuits , even some beignets . 

I really hope that you are enjoying Christmas Cookies Week as much as I am! For my last recipe, I chose a recipe that showcased one of my family's favorite flavors, lemon.   We are all huge fans of sandwich cookies as well, so I knew this one would be a winner. 

Are you enjoying #ChristmasCookiesWeek so far? There are so many great recipes being shared, my Pinterest boards are about to explode.   I pinned this recipe from Taste of Home a while back, and I'm constantly getting notifications that people have repinned it or tried it.

For my third Christmas Cookies Week recipe, I wanted to try a little something different.   I ran across this recipe for Waffle Iron Cookies from Taste of Home on Pinterest, and they looked so fun to make! Though I own two waffle irons, both of them are considered "Belgian" models. I used the one that seemed more shallow of the two, and just allowed extra time for them to cook.

Since my guys are both allergic to tree nuts, there are lots of recipes from my childhood that I can’t make anymore.   One of the ones I miss around the holidays are Totos or chocolate meatball cookies.   Every Italian family has a version of them, traditionally with walnuts in the dough, and my family sprinkled more walnuts on top.

Welcome to Christmas Cookies Week! I've been looking forward to this event for a while, because cookies are one thing I love to make and my family definitely loves to eat! When I saw the sponsor list, I started the search for a cut out cookie recipe.