Cookies.

Before we left to visit the families, I made up some cookies to take with us. Of course, there wasn't any shortage of goodies--sugary and otherwise--at our folks' houses, but if I don't bake cookies it just doesn't feel like Christmas.

I tried out a few new-to-me recipes this year, all of which (amazingly enough) turned out pretty well.

M&M Cookies (using the recipe for chewy chocolate chip cookies in the The America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book, but substituting M&Ms). Adam particularly liked these, which is good because they were made to fulfill his special request.



Swiss Cinnamon Crisps (via Not Martha). These are pretty easy, though I let my dough sit in the fridge too long, so it was a little hard to work with. I think they taste like Cinnamon Toast Crunch in the best way (though it has been likely more than a decade since I actually ate Cinnamon Toast Crunch, so my memory could be a little off here). They are really easy to eat. Too easy, maybe. And the recipe makes a ton.



Chocolate-Espresso Snowcaps (via Angry Chicken). The dough got really messy as I shaped it, but I had to do it with my hands, so one of those cookie scoop things might have fixed that problem. They are soft and tasty, though. I used instant coffee for the instant espresso, but they were still yummy.



I'll be back soon to show-and-tell some of the homemade gifts I gave this year. I'm sure you are on the edge of your seat.