# Begrudgingly keeping my mom's tradition alive...The (seemingly) never ending Christmas Cookie thread



## worktogthr (Dec 7, 2016)

Well, my mom was a great cook, but she hated doing it!  She worked late so getting dinner on the table was more of a chore than something she enjoyed.  Baking however, was her true passion and she spent lots of her free time combing through recipes for cookies, cakes, candies etc, and then tweaking them to her liking.  And each holiday season, kicked her baking into high gear.  She would literally make 30-40 varieties of cookies and double or triple the recipes.  She would bake 1000s of cookies and give them to everyone she knew.  She would bring them to work for her students, for holiday parties, mail them to friends across the country, serve them when she hosted parties, donate some to charities, etc.  She began Thanksgiving weekend and didn't stop until about 2 days before Christmas Eve.  Our house was like a bakery, flour all over the place, incredible smells, the sound of my parents arguing about cleaning all the dishes haha.  She just made cookies every night after work, until she went to bed, on weekends, and occasionally would even take a day off from work to make them.  Since she made such huge quantities and started so early, she had no choice but to freeze them.  Through trial and error she learned how to best freeze them to retain their quality and ended up with two extra freezers just for cookie season.  

Well, unfortunately she passed many years ago and for a few years the cookies were a thing of the past. But shortly after my dad asked my wife and I if we would like to purchase the house that I grew up in as he no longer felt like taking care of it on his own.  Needless to say, he gave us a great deal.  With the house I inherited all of my mom's baking  equipment and recipes.  Unfortunately, not her love of baking haha. It is too exact, too much planning, too organized.  But since tradition is important to me, the year I moved back into the home I grew up in, I decided that I would reinstate the holiday cookie madness.  Not nearly to the degree that she did it...but its the thought that counts, right? haha  it seems that each year since I have added a few new cookies to lineup but I can see that I am heading in the direction of about 30 varieties this year.  I have a bit of an obsessive personality haha  And my daughter seems to love baking with me, so that makes it even more fun.

So I figured i'd use this thread to share some of this years cookies.  Now I know this is in the recipes only section haha so don't yell at me.  If anyone is interested in a particular recipe, don't hesitate to ask.  

So here we are.  It is December 7th and I have about 20 varieties made since Thanksgiving weekend.  Due large in part to my awesome wife who allows me the time to do all this.

So it started with the prep.  My mom always taught me to measure all the dry ingredients on one day and label them for quicker baking later.













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M&M Chip Cookies













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Chewy Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Bars













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Snickerdoodles













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Sugar Cookies













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German Chocolate Cake Cookies













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Peanut Butter Cup Stuffed Mini Cheesecakes













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Raspberry Crumb Bars













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Italian Rainbow Cookies













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Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Pretzel Bark













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Peanut Butter Milk Chocolate Fudge 













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Hahah that's all the pics I could find for now.  I'll be back later with more!  Thanks for looking!

-Chris


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## GaryHibbert (Dec 7, 2016)

Hey Chris.  Some great looking cookies you're pumping out.  That's a cute helper you have there--always makes the job seem a lot more pleasant, doesn't it?

I'd appreciate it if you could post the recipes for:

1--Peanut butter dark chocolate pretzel bars

2--Chewy chocolate peanut butter chip bars

Not hard to tell where my tastes lie, is it?

Gary


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## worktogthr (Dec 7, 2016)

GaryHibbert said:


> Hey Chris.  Some great looking cookies you're pumping out.  That's a cute helper you have there--always makes the job seem a lot more pleasant, doesn't it?
> 
> I'd appreciate it if you could post the recipes for:
> 
> ...



Hahaha can't blame a guy for loving PB chocolate combo!  Hahah the helper is cute, but actually makes it take a lot longer.  But I don't mind.
  
  
CHEWY CHOCOLATE PEANUTBUTTER CHIP BARS
  
Ingredients:
  
2 eggs
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/4 cups (2-1/2 sticks) butter or margarine , softened
1-2/3 cups (10-oz. pkg.) REESE'S Peanut Butter Chips
1 teaspoon baking soda

[h4]Directions[/h4]


1. Heat oven to 350°F. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; set aside.
  
2. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with mixer until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Gradually add flour mixture, beating well. Stir in peanut butter chips. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet.
  
3. Bake 8 to 9 minutes. (Do not over bake; cookies will be soft. They will puff while baking and flatten while cooling.) Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. Makes about 54 cookies.
  
PAN RECIPE: Spread batter in greased 15-1/2x10-1/2x1-inch jelly-roll pan. Bake at 350°F 20 minutes or until set. Cool completely in pan on wire rack; cut into bars. About 4 dozen bars.
  
ICE CREAM SANDWICHES: Prepare CHEWY CHOCOLATE COOKIES as directed; cool. Press small scoop of vanilla ice cream between flat sides of cookies. Wrap and freeze.
  
HIGH ALTITUDE DIRECTIONS:
-- Increase flour to 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons.
-- Decrease baking soda to 3/4 teaspoon.
-- Decrease sugar to 1-2/3 cups.
-- Add 2 teaspoons water with flour mixture.
-- Bake at 350°F, 7 to 8 minutes. Yield increases to about 6 dozen.

I used the pan recipe.

For the bark, I just throw a bag PB chips and a bag of dark chocolate chips on a tray lined with parchment paper.  Push them together in a single layer rectangle and pop them in a 325 oven for about 2 minutes until they get glossy and then use a butter knife to make swirly patterns.  Press the pretzels into them.  Then pick up the tray and just drop it from a few inches off the counter to make the pretzels or whatever other toppings you choose to settle in.  Then just stick it in the fridge until it hardens.  and break it up into pieces.


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## GaryHibbert (Dec 7, 2016)

Thanks for the recipes Chris.  I'll be trying these.

Gary


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## SmokinAl (Dec 8, 2016)

Oh my!

Everything looks delicious!

You are gonna weigh 400#!!!

I make one batch of Christmas cookies & try to give them all away quickly!

Because I've been known to eat a whole batch!

Al


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## sqwib (Dec 8, 2016)

Wow, quite impressive, I really shouldn't be on this forum on an empty stomach.

Its great to see the tradition of baking in your family alive again and being passed onto the younger ones.

  





For making my eyes get all watery.


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## crankybuzzard (Dec 8, 2016)

I would have gained 10 pounds in that kitchen!  All of that looks just like it should!

I'm like SQWIB, someone is cutting onions in here...

POINTS!


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## noboundaries (Dec 8, 2016)

Wow, what a fantastic post.  Thanks for keeping up the traditions of your mom. 

Merry Christmas!

Ray


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## worktogthr (Dec 8, 2016)

SmokinAl said:


> Oh my!
> 
> Everything looks delicious!
> 
> ...



Hahaha thanks Al!  I am pretty disciplined and can usually try only one from each batch and that's usually the smallest, ugliest one. Usually my wife and I split one for the taste test.  With he holiday season, I do always gain some pounds but more from the food and drinks!


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## worktogthr (Dec 8, 2016)

SQWIB said:


> Wow, quite impressive, I really shouldn't be on this forum on an empty stomach.
> 
> Its great to see the tradition of baking in your family alive again and being passed onto the younger ones.
> 
> :points: For making my eyes get all watery.



Thanks so much for the points!  Hhaha sorry to get all emotional with this post.  I definitely had something in my eye most of the time I was typing this haha


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## worktogthr (Dec 8, 2016)

CrankyBuzzard said:


> I would have gained 10 pounds in that kitchen!  All of that looks just like it should!
> 
> I'm like SQWIB, someone is cutting onions in here...
> 
> POINTS!



Thanks so much!  Maybe we can meet half way somewhere and combine the cookie making with your sausage fests.  No better way to be than fat and happy haha


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## worktogthr (Dec 8, 2016)

Noboundaries said:


> Wow, what a fantastic post.  Thanks for keeping up the traditions of your mom.
> 
> Merry Christmas!
> 
> Ray



Thanks so much Ray!  I can tell from this site that all of us value traditions like this one and that we are creating them with our own families and friends


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## whistech (Dec 8, 2016)

Worktogthr, Thank you for posting the story about your Mothers love for making Christmas cookies.    I know she is smiling down from Heaven and lending you a helping hand in making all of those cookies.   It warms my heart to see this post and your cookies look delicious!


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## tripleq (Dec 9, 2016)

Just wow, What a generous gesture. My wife has been lamenting for years her family's lost cookie recipes. I gave her your CHEWY CHOCOLATE PEANUTBUTTER CHIP BAR one and it turned out great. If your willing, it would be a great place to post more of them. I would like the Raspberry Crumb Bars but Im sure everyone would like would like to try different ones.


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## worktogthr (Dec 11, 2016)

whistech said:


> Worktogthr, Thank you for posting the story about your Mothers love for making Christmas cookies.    I know she is smiling down from Heaven and lending you a helping hand in making all of those cookies.   It warms my heart to see this post and your cookies look delicious!


Thanks so much for the incredibly kind words.  I know it makes her happy that I am continuing the tradition!


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## worktogthr (Dec 11, 2016)

TripleQ said:


> Just wow, What a generous gesture. My wife has been lamenting for years her family's lost cookie recipes. I gave her your CHEWY CHOCOLATE PEANUTBUTTER CHIP BAR one and it turned out great. If your willing, it would be a great place to post more of them. I would like the Raspberry Crumb Bars but Im sure everyone would like would like to try different ones.


I am so glad that she liked the recipe! I am on my way back from a short vacation so during the week, I'll get that recipe for you!


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## worktogthr (Dec 11, 2016)

Here are a few more that I forgot to post since I was away:

Apple Crumb Bars

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Cowboy Cookies 













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Pignoli Cookies













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Classic Chocolate Chip













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Chewy Chocolate Mint Chip Cookies













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Oatmeal Scotchies













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Peanut Butter Blossoms













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Butterscotch Brownies













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Dark Chocolate Brownies













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Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars













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Mint Chocolate Pretzel Bark













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I might have a few more that I forgot to post, but I will continue to post as the baking continues. Thanks again for looking and all your kind sentiments.  This is something that means so much to me and my family and I'm glad to share it with all of you.


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## b-one (Dec 11, 2016)

That all looks great,my fave would have to be the peanut butter cup mini cheesecake!Thumbs Up


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## redheelerdog (Dec 11, 2016)

Awesome post Chris, I love tradition and carrying on things I learned in my childhood.

Could you post the Cowboy cookie recipe please? They all look so delicious!

Keep up the good work my friend.













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## weev (Dec 11, 2016)

Holy crap  you have all the good ones. Way to keep it going  and good luck I would be eating them all


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## disco (Dec 12, 2016)

Terrific looking cookies. I particularly like your choice of a guard to protect them.

I wish more parents would cook with their children.

Points!

Disco


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## worktogthr (Dec 12, 2016)

b-one said:


> That all looks great,my fave would have to be the peanut butter cup mini cheesecake!


Thanks so much!  Yeah, those are definitely a family favorite!


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## worktogthr (Dec 12, 2016)

redheelerdog said:


> Awesome post Chris, I love tradition and carrying on things I learned in my childhood.
> 
> Could you post the Cowboy cookie recipe please? They all look so delicious!
> 
> ...


Thanks so much for the points!   I will try to remember to post the Cowboy Cookie recipe after work today!  Its a great cookie.  Like a chocolate chip cookie and an oatmeal cookie had a baby...a baby with pecans and coconut hahah


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## worktogthr (Dec 12, 2016)

Weev said:


> Holy crap you have all the good ones. Way to keep it going and good luck I would be eating them


hahah thanks so much!  I have been eating a lot of them.  Quality control of course!  All the broken and ugly ones.  That was all my mom would let us eat before Christmas!


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## worktogthr (Dec 12, 2016)

Disco said:


> Terrific looking cookies. I particularly like your choice of a guard to protect them.
> 
> I wish more parents would cook with their children.
> 
> ...


Thanks so much Disco!  My daughter is the most picky eater and even is hesitant to help me cook because she thinks meat looks and smells weird.  Baking on the other hand, she seems to love.  She's got a major sweet tooth so hopefully  one day I can pass the torch and make elaborate dinners while she bakes all the Christmas cookies haha


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## disco (Dec 12, 2016)

worktogthr said:


> Thanks so much Disco!  My daughter is the most picky eater and even is hesitant to help me cook because she thinks meat looks and smells weird.  Baking on the other hand, she seems to love.  She's got a major sweet tooth so hopefully  one day I can pass the torch and make elaborate dinners while she bakes all the Christmas cookies haha


Take heart! I was a picky eater as a child and now I am known as the guy who will eat anything. As for her doing the baking, kids who cook with their parents get the bug eventually!


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## worktogthr (Dec 13, 2016)

Disco said:


> Take heart! I was a picky eater as a child and now I am known as the guy who will eat anything. As for her doing the baking, kids who cook with their parents get the bug eventually!




Hahaha I know.  When I was a kid all I wanted to eat was cheese burgers and pizza.  Now I eat and cook everything...but a cheeseburger and some pizza sound great right now


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## worktogthr (Dec 13, 2016)

Here are some of the recipes that people asked. Hope the photos work.  Didn't have the chance to transcribe them.













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## tripleq (Dec 14, 2016)

Works for me, thankyou!!


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## worktogthr (Dec 14, 2016)

This is from a couple of days ago... Cookies and Cream Fudge













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Last night had a Bacon and Bourbon theme haha..

Pecan Bourbon Balls













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Maple Bacon Bourbon Pecan Pie Bars.













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And just because I could...Chocolate covered bacon













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Chocolate covered bacon was an experiment.  Tasted pretty good but I used store bought thin bacon so it got lost a little.  Try some of my own thick cut next time!


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## tripleq (Dec 14, 2016)

Bourbon Balls? What witchcraft is this? those cookies & cream fudge looks interesting too.


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## worktogthr (Dec 15, 2016)

So tonight were the final two cookies and I am glad to say, that I am done.... 

Pretzel-Toffee-Chocolate Chunk Cookie Bars












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And last but not least... sesame cookies













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Man I am tired of making cookies haha.  But when all is said and done, 30 different varieties were made and I'm glad the tradition is carried on.  It will be worth every hour when I see my family and friends enjoy them, reminding many of them of my mom.  Probably the best moment of the whole process (besides sampling haha) was when my daughter was helping me roll out the gingerbread cookies and she looked up from rolling the dough and said, "Dad, I love baking cookies with you."  Thanks all for the kinds words and the encouragement along the way.  I'll try to post some pictures when my wife and I make up the trays for the holidays.  

Thanks for looking!

-Chris


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## redheelerdog (Dec 24, 2016)

worktogthr said:


> redheelerdog said:
> 
> 
> > Awesome post Chris, I love tradition and carrying on things I learned in my childhood.
> ...


Chris, I saved the recipe, thanks so much.

All of your cookies look amazing.  
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





 Thanks for the family stories, they are certainly special.

Merry Christmas to you and yours.


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## ab canuck (Feb 9, 2017)

Holy WOW.....  I was going through this section looking for ideas..... and then I just saw this post!!!!! OMG!!!! you found my weakness.........
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





   Now during work tomorrow I will be researching some of these recipes......  I may try to contact you....lol Thx for the post...


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## worktogthr (Feb 9, 2017)

AB Canuck said:


> Holy WOW.....  I was going through this section looking for ideas..... and then I just saw this post!!!!! OMG!!!! you found my weakness.........:points1:   Now during work tomorrow I will be researching some of these recipes......  I may try to contact you....lol Thx for the post...



Hahaha thanks so much for the kind words and points!  Any recipes you are interested in, just let me know and I'll pass them along!


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## ab canuck (Feb 10, 2017)

Thx, I would love to get a few.... I will narrow it down for my waistline's sake though lol. I'll pm you soon.


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