christmas cookies

i think i am going to start a tradition. (which goes against anything james ever taught me! ha!) i did this last year & i feel the need (for speed? not quite) to make some family traditions for pete & i. even though it is only the 2 of us, we are a family & everything gets better as time goes on right?! last year because funds were low to purchased everyone we wanted a gift, and even though i love gift giving i am a horrible procrastinator & end up missing out on what i really wanna give someone. but cookies keep me on track (must be because i have a huge sweet tooth) & you have to get them done before they are done! so, again this year, and here on after i will be giving the gift of baked goods!

sadly, i put a shout out to my friends & family on facebook for some good, shipping friendly cookie recipes & i didn't get a one. come on guys! really?! so i did the work this evening (trying to keep quite so pete could sleep) & found some amazing recipes. i wish i could make them all, and maybe some of them are a little ambitious, but i am determined!
** EDIT: my dear friend April did pull through for me, at least some one pays attention to my updates! haha kidding!

how could you not start off with a classic, chocolate chip cookies!

my love of red velvet in cookie form, red velvet black & white cookies.

these aren't necessarily very christmas-y, but oh man, when i came acrossed these i just had to share! penguins hockey jerseys, sugar cookie style.

my brother johnny loves anything & everything peanut butter (but who doesn't right? oh, wait grandma b doesn't! haha) so he is easy to bake for because him & pete both love peanut butter. peanut butter cookies with chocolate chips.

while i do not share my dad's love of oatmeal raisin cookies, its always a good bet that he would love a batch of these!

grandma b does not understands pete's love for the combination of chocolate & peanut butter. maybe its just a generation thing, but she thinks it's gross. however, grandma b is a woman after my own heart & loves coconut. so i think these coconut butter thins will be perfect for her. (& me!)

my mama is the ultimate chocoholic, better than brownies chocolate cookies is right up her ally.

ok, ok so caramels aren't exactly cookies, but candy is always a good gift in my mind. i think its the challenge that enthralls me!

i love toffee! i couldn't pass up chocolate toffee cookies, mmmhmmm.

every year pete's mom made him 7 layer cookies and since she has passed i have filled in for that duty. they have many different names, magic bars, hello dolly bars, but in our apartment they are 7 layer cookies. so in her memory for both pete & i, i make them every year.

of course 10 recipes aren't sufficient for me, so here are some other tempting cookie/bar recipes. maybe this year you can start your own family tradition! what are some of the things that your family does for the holidays?! any good recipes?! hopefully i can get a better response then i did on facebook, haha kidding :)

peanut butter blondies with milk chocolate frosting - oh, you know these melt in your mouth!
chocolate peppermint sandwich cookies - homemade oreos, come on!
lemon rosemary palmiers - for a different take on sweet, & a versatile recipe.
chocolate hazelnut biscotti - for the coffee lover in your life.
snickerdoodles - holiday classic.
lemon bars - i love anything lemon, & its something alittle different then the overload of chocolate for the holidays
cheesecake-marbled brownies - my boss loves anything cheesecake, i might have to surprise her with some of these.
the famed neiman marcus cookie - get high class at home!
almond macaroons fill with nutella - anything with nutella, sign me up!
chocolate-dipped coconut macaroons - again, i love coconut.

**All recipes and photos via/copyright their respective blog sources**

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