It is that time of year when I decide what cookies I will be baking for the holidays. I always make my Grandma Yoder's sugar cookies. They are cake-like with raisins, not the traditional kind. I do a variety each year to give to the mailman, send to work with hubby and take to cookie exchanges. What cookies do you bake?

-- Jo (mamamia2kids@msn.com), November 26, 2001

Answers

I really like to bake at Christmas time. I don't make anything spectacular, just the normal ones like: chocolate chip, peanut butter, oatmeal, sugar, pumpkin, orange, double chocolate. Also I like to make candy like: fudge, chocolate covered orange slices, peanut butter fudge, buckeyes, chocolate covered nuts, marshmallows, raisins. This year I want to try taffy! I give big trays to lots of neighbors and friends. I usually have my big dining rom table just covered in cookies and candy!!!!

-- Melissa (cmnorris@1st.net), November 26, 2001.

I usually make gingerbread, butter cookies with thin powdered sugar icing and red and green sprinkles,and sugar cookies cut into shapes with red and green icing. My Mom usually sends us a care package with homemade turtles and peanut clusters. Sometimes I make fudge and this year I want to try homemade caramels and Tasha Tudor's Christmas cakes.

-- Terry - NW Ohio (aunt_tm@hotmail.com), November 26, 2001.

If you are not sure what cookies to make, just make a dozen of each kind and send them to me and I will give you my unbiased opinion.

Talk to you later.

-- Bob in WI (bjwick@hotmail.com), November 26, 2001.

And if you're planning to send some overseas to your favorite expatriates, you're already late!

-- Randal (randal@rhyme.cjb.net), November 27, 2001.

Mexican wedding cookies, chocky chips, whole wheat thumbprint(if I get the recipe again) and lots of gingerbread cookies.

-- Cindy (S.E.IN) (atilrthehony@countrylife.net), November 27, 2001.

Terry, What are Tasha Tudor's Christmas cakes? I love her art work.

-- Janet in Kansas (whisperingpines@terraworld.net), November 27, 2001.

I like making up the dough and freezing it ahead of time and then have a baking day before christmas with very little clean up. I don't like my kitchen under a sea of dirty dishes with people coming in and out.

-- Teresa (c3ranch@socket.net), November 27, 2001.

For the last several years my two grown daughters and I have designated a day early in Dec. for cookie baking day. We all meet at my house, and each of us make several batches of cookies, then divide them all up. Easier than each of us making many small batches. We make thumbprints, Russian tea cakes, Spritz, Cut out cookies (decorated sugar cookies), M&M cookies (basically choc. chip but w/ red/green M&Ms instead), lemon bars, and probably one or two others I'm not remembering. Other traditional treats are fudge, of course, and we always make the Chex party mix.

-- Lenette (kigervixen@webtv.net), November 27, 2001.

We do Scandanavian Christmas which is BIG on cookies. I could bake cookies every day and it probably wouldn't be enough. Must have cookies-Chocolate chip, Danish Wedding cookies (which is exactly the same as Mexican, but we're Scandinavian so.... But no whole wheat-I made w.w. Wedding cookies one year andI'm still hearing about it.) Thumbprint/jam cookies, Spritz cookies- my husband and I ate so many of these one year, we actually got sick-they are Sooooo good, and pecan Sandies and basic Chocolate and of course, decorated Sugar cookies. Then, after those are done, I can bake other types.

Tradionally-in this family anyway, theres cookies, a "plain cake"- usaully a pound cake-I make SourCream pound cake, and a "fancy Cake"- This is some sort of chocolate cake with icing and lots and lots of coffee-we all just kind of buzz for a few days. We don't do much candy-we might make a pan of peanut brittle or toffee but thats about it. There HAS to be a tea ring or coffee bread, and there has to be rice pudding. We have that for Christmas Morning Breakfast- the bread and pudding have fruit in them, but not much sugar.

-- Kelly in Ky (Ksaderholm@yahoo.com), November 27, 2001.

Janet,

Her recipe is in The Tasha Tudor Cookbook (our library has it). It seems to be a cake similar to a fruit cake maybe, but sounds better. They have butter, citron, raisins, currnts, orange juice, candied cherries, vanilla and blanched chopped almonds in them. I think the recipe is in some of her earlier holiday books too. I don't mind posting it if you'd like.

I know a lot of people don't like these kind of cakes (fruit cake type) but I want to try them this year anyway. I can't resist with her description of the smell waifting through the house and upstairs.

-- Terry - NW Ohio (aunt_tm@hotmail.com), November 27, 2001.

Terry- I think most people, myself included, dont like the "fakey" taste of the preserved fruits in fruitcake. Once I had real fruitcake where the fruit was real, and dried at home, Oh it was Soooo good! I bet Tasha Tudors cake would be like that.

-- Kelly in Ky (Ksaderholm@yahoo.com), November 27, 2001.

When I was a child, my mother and I made christmas trees from star cookies. We bought the package of star cookie cutters that are all different sizes. We made sugar cookies and dyed them green and stacked the stars, alternating points, from largest to smallest. We made homemade icing and used different colors to make the ornament balls on the tips of the stars. Cute decoration, proud kids, and the best part is they're edible :o) I know it's just a simple sugar cookie, but fun for families around christmas time.

-- Amity (amsdotcom@hotmail.com), October 18, 2002.