My 10 Must-Have Christmas Cookie Recipes

I think we can agree that all the amazing Christmas treats are a major reason that this is truly the "Most Wonderful Time of the Year."  I know you agree with me, so don't pretend that you don't.

As a food blogger, the Christmas season brings endless requests to share my "favorite Christmas cookie recipe."  I have a hard time when someone asks me for my favorite recipe of any type of food, let alone my favorite Christmas cookie.  Heck, I even had a hard time narrowing down my holiday baking treats to just these top 10!  Trust me when I tell you that each of these is a treasured member of my Christmas family and they will not disappoint.  Merry Christmas baking to all and to all, a good night!

1.  Salted Toffee Graham Squares - yes, they are as amazing as they look and only take a few minutes to make!

2.  Twix Bars  -  a buttery shortbread with a layer of creamy caramel and milk chocolate!

3.  Oreo Cookies and Cream Rice Krispy Treats - a decadent combination of my two favorite cookies!

4.  Chocolate Dipped Coconut Macaroons - not only are they gorgeous, they are so yummy and come together so quickly!

5.  Chocolate Crinkle Coookies - these "snow" covered cookies are dense, moist and oh, so chocolatey!

6.  No Bake Peanut Butter Bars - think Reeses Peanut Butter Cups in bar form :)

7.  Peanut Butter Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies - double the peanut butter cookie chewiness and filled with the most ah-mazing peanut butter frosting!

8.  Oreo Cookies and Cream Cookies - a soft, chewy cookie filled with Oreo chunks and has Oreo pudding mixed in as well!

 9.  Melt in Your Mouth Sandwich Cookies - honestly, these are so light and flaky that you won't be able to stop eating them.

10.  Double Chocolate Mint Cookies - thick, chewy and loaded with Andes mint pieces.  

Simple DIY Chalkboards

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At my daughter's wedding reception, we will be having four different food stations scattered around the room.  I knew some type of signage would be necessary for our guests to know what each station is serving.  Chalkboards were the way to go.  (And don't you just love that one of the food stations is the bride and groom's favorite junk foods!)

I made each sign for around $11 a piece using some cabinet doors from my local Habitat for Humanity Re-sell store and some chalkboard paint.

These doors were unfinished so all I did to prep them was wipe them down well with a damp rag.  If yours has a finish on them or some paint, be sure you lightly sand them before wiping them down so the chalkboard paint will dry.  

I used three coats of the chalkboard paint and allowed it to dry for three full days before using chalk on them for the first time.  The paint needs this time to cure completely.

The next step is to "season" your board by rubbing it down all over with the side of a piece of chalk.  I know this sounds odd, but it helps the surface to erase cleanly when you are finished or if you make a mistake.  Anytime you clean your board with water, be sure you repeat this seasoning step!

After rubbing it with the chalk, use a clean, dry towel to wipe off the chalk and it will leave behind a very fine layer of white dust.

Now the fun begins!  Don't be scared because this is so simple because I cheat!  Since I stink at anything artistic if I have to do it freehanded, I printed my words from my computer out on some paper first.  I used three different fonts because I prefer that look.

To transfer the outline of your words, coat the back of your paper with chalk, place it on your board chalk side down and use a pen or pencil to trace along the outside of the letters on the paper.  When you move your paper away, a faint outline will be left behind from the chalk your rubbed on the back.  (Can you see the "OUR" outline above?)

Above is a bit of a better picture of the outline of "favorite".  Now you just take your chalk and draw along your traced lines.  Don't worry about being perfect.  You can make your lines thicker to cover any mistakes, or it simply wipes away if you are unhappy!

I decided to fill in some of the words and leave others blank, again, just for a bit of variation in the fonts.  You could certainly use colored chalk as well!

Once I finished my words, there was just too many open spots left so I got brave and used a bit of freehanded drawing to make some simple accents.  Again, if you hate them after you try something, just erase it and try something new!  I tried four different versions of the swirly heart at the top before I was happy :)

If you need your design to last a long time, a simple application of aerosol hairspray will do the trick. Be sure you apply it from a distance so it goes on thin and evenly.  Do a few thin coats of hairspray instead of one thick one.

White Chicken (or Turkey) Chili

Our memorable Thanksgiving was spent in the sunny state of Arizona and yes, it was wonderful because of the weather but mainly, it was wonderful because we were together once again with family.  There were 35 of us Jones' all together and the week flew by much faster than we wanted.  Well.....except for the 48 hours we spent in the van driving there and back from Minnesota.  I felt every minute of that.

Now comes the hard part:  being so far away once again.   Our hearts want nothing more than to live close to family, but sometimes the Lord requires something different from us than what we want.  Many times during our visit, I couldn't help but to ask Him, "Are you sure you still need us in Minnesota?"  Watching my kids become absorbed in the love and attention of their cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents makes my heart ache for that to be a common experience for them, not just once every few years.

So off we go back north to the cold, long winter of Minnesota but forever grateful for the memories and experiences we had this week.  We are greatly blessed and have much to celebrate this holiday season.

If you have leftover turkey from your Thanksgiving feast, this delicious white chili will use up your extras as well as warm your tootsies now that the weather has turned colder!  No leftover turkey in your fridge?  The recipe can easily use cooked or raw chicken as well.   It makes a nice big pot full of chili which would also freeze beautifully.

White Chicken or Turkey Chili
(recipe by Amy Wing)
3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts **Or you can use leftover cooked turkey
1 lime
salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder to taste
2 Tb olive oil
1/2 large onion, chopped
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 cans chopped green chilies
3 cans great northern beans, drained and rinsed
2-15 oz cans chicken broth
1/4 C chopped cilantro
1/2 C chopped flat leaf Italian parsley
2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 Tb sweet Hungarian paprika

1.  If using chicken, preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lay chicken in a greased pan and squeeze the lime over the top.  Generously season with salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder.  Bake for 30-40 minutes until the chicken is cooked.  Save the pan juices!  Chop or shred the chicken into pieces once it has cooled.  If using leftover turkey, just cut up some of your leftover turkey
2.  In a large pot, saute onion and garlic in the olive oil for 3 minutes then add the red pepper and sauté for another 3 minutes.  Add the remaining ingredients along with some salt and pepper and enough water to just cover the ingredients.  Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes.  Serve with grated cheese, tomatoes, a squeeze of lime juice and tortilla chips!

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Parmesan Garlic Roasted Mushrooms

With six food loving kiddos, I've learned that there are certain holiday food traditions you just can't mess with or you will "ruin Thanksgiving forever!"  That was the reaction when I suggested adding a side dish of mushrooms to our traditional Thanksgiving feast.

To combat the six kill-joys I have been blessed with, I made a batch of these Parmesan Garlic Roasted Mushrooms a few weeks ago along side some gorgeous grilled steaks.   It was my version of a "soft opening" for a new holiday side dish.  They went over beautifully, except with my 4 year old who has become obsessive about "things" touching her food.  Suddenly, all food must to be served in it's natural state with no visible seasoning or complimentary ingredient stuck to it.  Yeah, right.  "Eat it or don't" is the rule in our house but remember, there is no more food until breakfast :)

I acquired some monster sized mushrooms from Sam's Club so most of my mushrooms had to be cut down to a smaller size, but if your mushrooms are normal size, just roast them whole.  Be prepared for these to shrink, a lot!  I would say the volume was easily reduced by half.  Next time, I will definitely be making a double recipe because for our big family, one pound just didn't go far enough.  They were that scrumptious!

Parmesan Garlic Roasted Mushrooms
1 pound mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed and large ones cut in half
3 large cloves garlic, minced
2 Tb olive oil
2 Tb chopped olives or capers
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 C chopped flat leaf Italian parsley
salt and pepper to taste
3 Tb butter
1/4 C fresh parmesan cheese, shredded

1.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees and lightly spray a shallow casserole dish with nonstick spray.  In your dish, toss together the mushrooms, garlic, oil, olives or capers, lemon juice, parsley, salt and pepper.  Dot the butter evenly over the top of the mushrooms and roast for 20 minutes, stirring half way through the cooking process.
2.  Remove from the oven, turn on the broiler and place the oven rack on the highest level.  Sprinkle the cheese over the mushrooms, return to the oven on the top rack and broil until the cheese melts and begins to brown,  about 3 minutes.