Your sweet holiday cookie memories — and recipes!

Jess Fleming, Pioneer Press
·25 min read

It’s time once again for our annual Holiday Cookie Memories feature, where readers share their memories, recipes and photos.

This year, we have some amazing stories — from a mouse trap in a cookie jar to Christmas cookies shaped like pumpkins to a recipe acquired from a lunch lady generations ago.

It’s always such an honor to edit and give you the space to share your special family stories. Enjoy!

Carrying on Italian customs

Fortunate to grow up across the street from my Italian grandparents, and two miles from my other grandparents, I have fond memories of time spent in the kitchen; cooking, baking, eating, learning. The people in my life were great cooks and bakers; good roots and recipes, tradition. Hopefully we are passing that on to our kids and grandkids.

We always host a cookie day in preparation for the holidays. We’ve turned it into more of an open-house cookie-making day, as grandkids are busy with hockey, friends and naps.

This ciambella recipe is from my Italian nonna. We pronounce it “shar-mella,” but I think it’s supposed to be “chahm-bella.” Either way, the word means ring-shaped.

When I asked cousins from Italy if we could make ciambella, we basically made a bundt cake. My family all love ciambellas, even my son- and daughters-in-law, and we make them year-round. They are delightful dunked in a cup of coffee! The cookie isn’t very sweet, similar to biscotti, though not as crunchy. Kids love to help with the sprinkles, but I think it’s just a ploy to eat some as they work!

— Mary Kosel, Roseville

Nona’s Ciambellas

Ingredients

6 cups flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup shortening

⅓ cup margarine

1 ½ cups sugar

3 eggs

1 ounce brandy

2 teaspoons pure vanilla OR anise

¾ cup milk

Optional: 1 cup chopped nuts may be added to dough

1 egg, beaten, for egg wash

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cream sugar with shortening and margarine. Add eggs and liquids. Mix, then add dry ingredients and mix again. On a floured surface, roll dough into ropes, about the thickness of a finger and cut into approximate 5-inch lengths, or form into circles. Place on a greased (or use parchment paper) cookie sheet, 1 inch apart. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with candies before baking.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Last-minute addition is a hit

My cousin and I have been baking holiday cookies together for over 12 years. We take a day off work every December to devote a day to making several types of cookies and candy to enjoy and share with our family and friends. Part of our tradition is to try at least one new holiday treat in addition to many favorites.

A few years ago, we had time to make one more batch of cookies, and we were looking for a new idea. We found a can of Solo brand almond filling with a recipe on the label. We had ingredients left over from cookies we had made earlier, so we modified the Solo recipe to include lemon and cherries and finely ground almonds. It turned out to be the most popular cookie we ever made. We have yet to find anyone we know who does not love this cookie, so we decided this was a great one to share with you. Enjoy!

— Tara Thompson and Therese Scherbel, St. Paul

Cherry Almond Drop Cookies

Makes about 48 cookies

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter

⅓ cup white sugar

1 can almond filling (found by fruit pie fillings at the grocers)

1 tsp almond extract

2 cups all-purpose flour (plus ½ teaspoon)

Zest from one large lemon

1 cup dried sour cherries

2/3 cup blanched slivered almonds

1 ⅓ cups powdered sugar

Pre-heat oven 325 degrees. Beat butter and sugar in mixer until fluffy, add almond filling, almond extract, and lemon zest and mix until well blended. Add flour and mix until well blended.

Mix ½ tsp flour and the cherries together in a separate bowl, coating cherries with flour to prevent cherries from sticking together and aid even distribution. Stir in the dusted cherries to the cookie dough by hand.

Paying attention to even cherry distribution, use small scoop or spoon to drop cookie dough in cherry size balls onto cookie sheets about 1½ inches apart. Dough will be quite sticky. You should have about 48 cookies.

Process the almonds in a food processor for two minutes or until they are finely chopped and look like bread crumbs. Add powdered sugar and process for another 20-30 seconds. Put this mixture into a bowl for coating the cookies after baking.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Cookies will be a bit brown at the bottom. Let cool for 5 minutes on cookie sheet then roll the warm cookies in the almond and sugar mixture.

Krumkake for life!

I am now 100 years old. My first experience eating a krumkake cookie was when I was about 6 years old. It was Christmas Eve and great aunt Tona, from Norway served us krumkake. I loved them! Mother soon bought the cast iron baker and continued the tradition.

When I married in 1945, it was almost the first household item I bought. One puts dough on the baker and when the sizzling stops, you turn it over to bake on the other side. You then quickly roll it up on a wooden cone shape dowel. It is very time consuming. My children heard about an electric baker that made two krumkakes at one time and they gave it to me for Christmas. I enjoy it very much, but there is still the nostalgia thinking about the old cast iron baker.

Ladies of old talk about rolling the krumkake on a piece of wood from an old broom stick. Some also say they would use a carrot.

— Delores Mixer, North Oaks

Krumkake (on newer electric baker)

Ingredients

4 large eggs

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted (1 stick) cooled

2 tablespoons corn starch

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon cardamom seed or ground cardamom (if desired)

Directions

Beat eggs and sugar until light yellow. Add cooled melted butter and vanilla and cardamon.

Sift flour and corn starch and add to egg mixture. Batter will have a near dough like

consistency. Use a spoon to place on grids. Remove and roll.

A cookie trap

Mom made chocolate chip cookies for Christmas, but with five kids, limited us to two a day. I’m the oldest and wanted more very badly so I went to bed early, inspiring our family to do the same. After awhile I slowly got up, opened the door quickly, promising to oil the hinges ASAP. I stepped on the sides of the stairs so they wouldn’t make noise, either.

Not daring to turn on any lights, I searched the kitchen spots and finally found the cookie jar and put my hand inside. BANG! My fingers were caught in a mouse trap!

When I said, “OUCH!” my mother flicked on the kitchen light, and with her long Norwegian forefinger going up and down said, “Be sure your sins will find you out!”

— Roger Barcus, St. Paul

Sugar cookie traditions

My mom passed this recipe on to me. I come from a large family. I am the oldest, having three sisters and two brothers, and my mom always made a double batch of these, yielding 12 dozen cookies! When I was dating my husband, we had the task of frosting and decorating these 12 dozen cookies. The trees were frosted with green frosting, Santas with red, stars with yellow, bells with blue, camels and candy canes were left white.

Over the years we have added other shapes. including snowmen, reindeer and mittens. Then each cookie was individually decorated with a variety of colored sugars and sprinkles. Candy canes always included some striped with red sugar. Once we had children, we continued the cookie decorating tradition with them, and we have passed the recipe on. After 53 years of marriage, my husband and I continue this cookie-decorating tradition with our grandchildren. It is a tradition we cherish and is always a part of our holiday festivities.

— Bethany Ketchum, Woodbury

Mom’s Sour Cream Cutout Cookies

Makes about 6 dozen cookies

Ingredients

1 cup shortening

2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

5 cup flour

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon soda

1 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

In a large bowl beat the shortening and sugar until smooth. Blend in the egg and vanilla. In a separate bowl, sift all of the dry ingredients.

Blend in the dry ingredients into the shortening, sugar, egg and vanilla mixture alternately with the sour cream, being sure not to overwork the dough.

Refrigerate the dough covered overnight, or at least a couple of hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place half the dough on a floured surface. Press the dough out with your floured hands. Use a flour coated rolling pin to roll the dough out evenly to about 1/4 inch thickness.

Coat your cookie cutters with flour and cut out shapes. Transfer cookies to parchment lined baking sheets.

Repeat the second and third baking steps with the other dough half.

Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes or until just very slightly golden brown on the edges. Keep a close eye on the cookies, because you want them a beautiful light color for the best texture.

Allow the cookies to completely cool on cooling racks before frosting. Store in an air-tight container.

Get the kids involved

This recipe is so very easy to make and are favorites of my grandchildren and greats. They enjoy helping make them. They are called Pretzel Turtles or Pretzel Rolo Pecan Cookies.

All that is needed are mini pretzels (I like to use the small square grid shape), a bag of Rolos with foil wrappers removed and pecan halves.

Heat the oven to 300 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Place pretzels in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Place one unwrapped Rolo caramel on top of each pretzel. Place cookie sheet in the oven for about three minutes just to soften the Rolos then carefully remove cookie sheet from oven.

Watch the little hands as the cookie sheet will be hot. Immediately place a pecan half on top of each warm Rolo and push it down slightly.

Let cool and store in an airtight container at room temperature.

— Vicki Baker, Inver Grove Heights

Bonding over peanut bars

I remember making these peanut bars with my Grandma and my Mom every Christmas. Back then, my Grandma would make angel food cakes from scratch. It was really an assembly line cutting, frosting and rolling these bars in peanuts.

It was always fun to go to Grandma’s to bake. As she got older, she switched it up to store-bought cakes wherever she could find them. Grandma has been gone for many years now but the tradition continues. My niece, Erin sets aside a Sunday morning in December to head over to Mom’s to help make peanut bars. Over the years they’ve perfected their own assembly process. Erin enjoys the alone time she gets to spend with her grandma, rolling the bars in peanuts, drinking coffee, and telling stories. Their friends and family look forward to enjoying these tasty treats each year.

The cake has morphed over the years and now we purchase the plain little pound cakes at the Dollar Tree. You could use angel food cake or here is a recipe for the cake if you are really inspired to make this “homemade.”

— Kim Shawbold, Maplewood

Peanut Bars

Ingredients

For the cake: 3 egg yolks

1 cup sugar

1 cup flour

1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

½ cup boiling water

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 egg whites

For the glaze: 2 ½ cups powdered sugar

½ cup melted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

For rolling the bars:

1-2 jars (large) of salted peanuts- process in a food processer to a crumble

Directions

Beat egg yolks until light, continue beating as you add the sugar, flour, baking powder and vanilla.

Add boiling water and mix. Lastly, fold in the eggs whites which have been beaten to stiff.

Bake in a lightly greased 9×13 pan at 350 for 25 minutes.

Cool and then cut into bars. We usually make them 1 x 2 inches or so.

Mix glaze ingredients, using milk as needed to thin frosting. It should be like a thick glaze that sticks.

Frost on all sides with glaze and roll in the crushed peanuts and lay out on cookies sheets to dry.

Note: Gloves are very helpful with frosting and rolling as it can be a bit of a mess.

600 cookies a year!

I have been baking Christmas cookies for as long as I can remember, carrying on the tradition my mom started over 60 years ago. I used to make 10-12 different kinds every year, but now that I’m retired, I bake about 20 kinds (600+ cookies total). Most are given away as gifts to friends and family.

Every year I make many of the same ones, but I try several new recipes, too. With that many options, it’s hard to choose one favorite. However, I’ve made Dipped Cherry Cookies every year for well over a decade. I have three (now adult) sons, and this has been one of their favorites for years.

— Barb Schiroo, Lakeville

Dipped Cherry Cookies

Makes about 4 dozen cookies

Ingredients

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup cold butter, cut in cubes

1/2 cup finely chopped maraschino cookies, drained

12 ounces white baking chocolate, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Few drops red food coloring, optional

Directions

In large bowl, combine flour and sugar; cut in butter until crumbly. Knead in the cherries, 2/3 cup white chocolate, extract, and food coloring until dough forms a ball. Shape into 3/4” balls. Place 2” apart on ungreased baking sheets. Flatten slightly with a glass dipped in sugar. Bake at 325 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. Melt remaining white chocolate. Dip half of each cookie into chocolate. Place on waxed paper until set. Store in airtight container.

Notes: I add enough food coloring to make the dough a pretty shade of pink, although that’s optional. I use the bulk white chocolate often called almond bark, which is found in the baking section.

Giving the gift of cookies

I have special memories of decorating cookies with my mother and younger brothers since childhood.

My mother loved gift-giving. Many were edible. She gave cookies, homemade breads to neighbors, family and friends.

The last time my mother, three of our grandchildren and myself decorated cookies together was Dec 23, 2020. Our daughter was taking care of her newborn and helping me with care-giving.

We had moved my parents in with us because of the Covid lockdown and the care they needed. Mom passed Dec 28, 2020, surrounded by family with our grandchildren singing Jesus Loves Me at her bedside.

We are still a four-generation household, with dad nearing 91.

The love of sharing with others throughout the year and especially at Christmas will continue. This recipe made with love is a family favorite.

— Gizelle Smothers

Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies

King of Kings Lutheran Church, Roseville, MN pink flip recipe book

Ingredients

3 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup soft butter

1 egg, slightly beaten

3 tablespoons whipping cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

Sift flour with sugar, baking powder and salt into mixing bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until particles are fine. Add egg, whipping cream and vanilla. Blend throughly. Chill dough for about 15 minutes for easier handling. Roll out on a floured surface, 1/3 of the dough at a time, to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, sprinkle with sugar or frost when baked.

Bake at 400 degrees for 5-8 min. until golden. ( Edges will turn to a light brown.)

Straight from Italy

This is an Italian cookie that my families and friends just love! I make it often and especially at Christmas time. Biscotti means twice-baked cookie, which contains nuts and was made originally in Italy. My mother, who emigrated from Italy in 1918, made biscotti with anise seeds and other key ingredients. This one is our favorite.

— Gena Schottmuller, Vadnais Heights

Cocoa-Almond Biscotti

Makes 2 1/2 dozen

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 tablespoons coffee liqueur (or chocolate syrup)

2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoon cocoa

1 cup whole almonds

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine butter and sugar in a large bowl; beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, beating well. Mix in liqueur.

Combine flour and next 3 ingredients; add slowly to butter mixture, beating well. Stir in almonds.

Divide dough in half. Shape each portion into a 9×2-inch log on a greased (or parchment paper-lined) baking sheet.

Bake for 30 minutes or until firm. Cool on baking sheet 5 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely. (This is necessary or the next step won’t work well.) I sometimes wait several hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut each log diagonally into half-inch slices with serrated knife.

Bake for 5-7 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool.

These keep well in a tightly closed jar or container.

Some generous students

Many years ago I contacted the coaches at Macalester College inquiring if any of their students would like to help operate a small business in St. Paul. Many of the students called and said yes. After working a wonderful season with them, I said, “We have enough money to either have a party or bake cookies for the neighborhood.”

Each one of them came to me and said they would prefer to bake cookies. I am so proud of the students for this. That year we baked over a thousand cookies in fourteen varieties. This turned into an annual tradition of cookie baking day. We enjoy the experiences and will cherish them as long as memories last. Thank you Macalester students for your kind actions all of these years.

— Dean Schaeffer, St. Paul

Pumkins for Christmas?

In December of 2007, my widower boyfriend, his son Joey, and I went to his late wife’s grandmother’s house to make Christmas cookies. We used Grandma Ruth’s cookie cutters. Joey and his cousin Amy asked me, “Can we use whatever cookies cutters we want?”

I said, “Sure,” and went back to making frosting.

Soon they called me, saying that they had cookies ready for the oven. I noticed that some cookies were not exactly Christmassy. There were dog bones! There were pumpkins! I said “Why a pumpkin? This is not Halloween!”

They quickly reminded me that I told them that they could use whatever cookie cutter they wanted. I nodded and said, “Yep, that’s what I said. Carry on!”

Two days later, family came to celebrate on Christmas Eve. Uncle Bob picked up the pumpkin cookie and asked, “Just how old is this cookie?”

I said, “Two days, Bob!”

— Barbara A. Jeffers, Roseville

White Christmas Cookies

Ingredients

2 cups shortening- part butter (I use 1 cup butter flavored Crisco and 1 cup butter)

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

5 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

2 teaspoons vanilla

Optional: Lemon or nutmeg to flavor the dough

Directions

Preheat oven to 375. Mix all ingredients well.

Roll and cut and put on greased (or parchment-lined) cookie sheet.

Sprinkle with sugar. Bake 10-12 minutes or until light golden brown.

Can also be dropped with a teaspoon and flattened with a fork and sprinkled with sugar.

Frosting

Ingredients

3 cups powdered sugar

¼ cup butter-flavored Crisco

½ teaspoon vanilla

2-3 tablespoons milk (you can add more or less, depending on how you like your frosting.)

Directions

Mix ingredients. Separate frosting into 3-4 bowls, and add the desired food coloring colors. Frost cookies. You can either use a knife, or frosting bags. Your choice! After frosting, decorate with colored sugars, or other cookie decorations.

Grandma’s gingersnaps

They’re soft, rather snappy, and the glittery sprinkles sure are snazzy! This recipe is my “Little Grandma’s,” Delorna Grady of Lakefield, Minnesota. She herself was soft, snappy, and snazzy, like the women in our family who follow her.

— Briann Morbitzer, St. Paul

Gingersnaps

Ingredients

3/4 cup butter

3/4 cup vegetable shortening

2 cups granulated sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground cloves

2 teaspoons ground ginger spice

1/2 cup full-flavor molasses

Directions

Sift all dry ingredients together. With an electric mixer, cream butter and shortening together. Gradually work in sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Gradually incorporate dry ingredients into the creamed mixture. Scoop batter and roll into an even ball. Next roll the ball into your favorite ratio of granulated sugar, green sugar sprinkles, and red sugar sprinkles. Bake 8-10 minutes. Refrigerate the batter between bakes.

Lunch lady cookies live on

Every year, my mom would make dozens of cookies in preparation of a giant Christmas Eve gathering. When it came to party prep chores, buttering the bottom of a drinking glass and choosing the colored sugar that would adorn these beauties was the best possible assignment. Family legend is that my uncle obtained this recipe from a lunch lady at Lane Tech High School in Chicago, Ill., after he inquired about the ingredients. Although the family that could corroborate this legend are no longer with us, the magic of these cookies lives on.

This holiday, my daughter and I will butter the drinking glass and sprinkle on the colored sugar in preparation for our own party. I’ll tell my daughter about Christmas party prep when I was a girl, all about my Mom’s panache for numerous Christmas cookie varieties, and, of course, the legend of the Lane Tech lunch lady.

— Erin McCoy, White Bear Lake

Lane Butter Cookies

Ingredients

1 pound (four sticks) softened butter, plus a cold stick of butter for flattening the cookies easily

3 ½ cups flour

2 teaspoon vanilla

1 ½ cups sugar, plus extra for topping cookies

Optional: Colored sanding sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Using a mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add flour a little at a time, beating at a low speed. Add vanilla extract and mix until just combined. Roll tablespoons of the heavy dough into balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Place extra sugar on a small plate and butter the bottom of a flat drinking glass using the cold stick of butter.

Put buttered glass in extra sugar and then press down each cookie ball until flat. When the cookie balls begin to stick to the drinking glass, wipe the bottom of the glass clean and repeat the butter/sugar process. Sprinkle colored sanding sugar on cookies if desired.

Bake cookies for 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

Party cookies from Grandma

These nutmeg butterfinger cookies are simple and make a bunch. You can make them anytime. My grandma found these in a small tiny cookbook long ago. She liked them because they were different than the traditional cookie. “Makes a very nice party cookie. I like these!!” she says. I love them for the same reason; I always have looked forward to them. I am so happy to carry on the tradition of this unique cookie. Now if my husband stops eating them long enough for me to frost them is another question.

— Lyndie Hanson, Rochester

Nutmeg Butterfingers

Ingredients

1 cup butter or margarine, softened

¾ cup sugar

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 cups flour

¾ teaspoon nutmeg

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using an electric mixer, mix butter and sugar at medium speed until creamy. Add egg and vanilla. Reduce speed, add flour and nutmeg. Shape into log shapes. Bake for 13-15 minutes. Do not over bake.

Nutmeg Butterfingers Frosting

Ingredients

2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1/3 cup soft butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 teaspoon rum extract

Directions

Mix ingredients and frost cookies. Freezes well.

All butter, all the time

My mom taught me how to make traditional Christmas cookies, like spritz — always all butter since we were dairy farmers! The last couple of years 2 of my great nieces (Lucy, who is now 14 and Haddie, who is 9) have been part of my cookie-making tradition. We make a couple of hundred cookies, package individualized bags of cookies and share them with the emergency room staff at Regions Hospital. (My dog, Murphy, and I are a pet therapy team there.) Of course, there are cut-out sugar cookies with lots of bling frosting, but one of my favorite recipes comes from a Christmas cookie magazine from 2001. I am so proud of Lucy and Haddie for their spirit of giving each holiday season. My mom would be so proud of them, too — and we continue to use all butter in our cookies.

— Anne Dudley, Stillwater

Cherry Chocolate Kisses

Makes 48 cookies

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup sifted powdered sugar

⅛ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons maraschino cherry juice

¼ teaspoon almond extract

2 ¼ cup all-purpose flour

½ cup chopped maraschino cherries

Granulated sugar

48 milk chocolate kisses

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Beat butter in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add powdered sugar and salt; beat until combined. Beat in cherry juice and almond extract until combined. Beat in as much flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in the remaining flour and the cherries with a wooden spoon.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place balls 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Flatten to ½-inch thickness with the bottom of a glass dipped in granulated sugar. Bake about 14 minutes, or until bottoms are lightly browned. Remove from oven and press an unwrapped chocolate kiss into each cookie. Transfer to wire racks to cool.

These cookies funded a trip to Hawaii

Fifty years ago my amazing baker mom began selling Christmas cookies to help finance a family trip to Hawaii. (Dad’s still not sure if there was an actual profit.) My four siblings and I remember the trays and trays of cookies lining our dining room table in early December that we would meticulously decorate and pack into boxes every day after school for weeks.

Over the years, the cookie types have expanded to include new favorites. The boxes have continued as a tradition to give away to our teachers, extended family, friends, and co-workers. Although we’ve tried to slow down my mom’s production in recent years, we still average around 200 dozen cookies each year.

The family favorite is the sugar cookie. The children, grandchildren and now great-grandchildren have memories of gathering at my folks’ house for a decorating extravaganza of colored frosting, sugared fingers and red and green sprinkles everywhere!

— Annette Beaudry, Roseville

A cookie klatch!

For over 25 years, our Christmas cookie group — comprised of sisters, in-laws and friends — has been baking spirits bright using favorite cookie and candy recipes. We attempt to burn off those Thanksgiving feast calories by stirring up a labor of love in the kitchen. Black Friday is our day of gathering for baking, sharing and socializing, and by day’s end we have solved world problems and have laughed our way into the upcoming Christmas season. The “Nut Goodie” is our number one recipe repeat, but we are always on the lookout to try something new. We’re already making plans for next year.

— Angela Kondrasuk, Hudson, Wis.

Nut Goodies

Makes about 30

Ingredients

Fondant mix:

2 ¼ cups powdered sugar

1 cup sweetened condensed milk

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Coating:

1 12-ounce package milk chocolate chips

1 16-ounce package salted Spanish peanuts

Directions

Mix fondant ingredients together. Roll into small balls and flatten. Place on waxed or parchment paper.

Melt chocolate chips, add peanuts and stir. Spoon over fondant. Allow to cool. Store, covered, in the refrigerator.

Potato chip favorites

I remember as a child baking cookies with my mom, grandma and my sisters. When I became a mom, I made cookies every year with my children. They were one of my best memories! Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without cookies made with my grandchildren. Every December we set a date that all four of my grandchildren can be together and we bake and frost cookies. Potato Chip cookies are one of our favorites. This recipe was my grandmother’s.

— Cheryl Gackstetter, Cottage Grove

Potato Chip Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup butter

2 eggs, beaten

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoons water

2 cups crushed potato chips

1 cup chopped nuts

1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour and baking soda together. With an electric mixer, cream sugars and butter. Add eggs, then flour mixture. Mix well. Stir in water, potato chips, nuts and vanilla. Drop by spoonful on greased cookie sheet
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.

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