Merry Christmas! Have a Cookie…

I’ll be mostly offline for the rest of this week, but I wanted to leave you with some fun (and tasty) gifts. If you’re celebrating this week, I hope your plans all unfold smoothly, your travels all go safely, your family members all behave perfectly, and all your dreams for the New Year come true.

I managed to get everything on my Christmas to-do list completed yesterday evening, but haven’t done a thing on my writing to-do list all week. *sigh* I hope you all had more success on the writing front than I did, but I love Christmas, so I can’t complain too much.

Every year, I bake hundreds of cookies to share with my neighbors, friends, and family, and this year I made over 600 cookies. I lost count of the math because some of the cookies…er, failed, and I didn’t include them in the numbers.

My “Cookie Fail” was Chocolate Peppermint Patty Surprise Cookies. (Those are exploded peppermint patties, not eggs. *smile*)

Every year, I try at least one new recipe. Despite getting this recipe to work in later batches (above, complete with messy icing and sprinkles), we won’t be doing this recipe again. Although they were yummy (those “failures” disappeared quite quickly!), the work-to-yummy ratio was a little too high for us.

We found a much better work-to-yummy ratio with editor Angela James’s Cracker Candy. That stuff is addictive!

Below, I’ll share a recipe for one of my family’s favorites: Fudge Oatmeal Bars. We make this every year, and it’s now part of our traditional cookie selection.

Another tradition we follow started a few years ago, thanks to Janice Hardy‘s suggestion on Twitter. We watched The Nightmare Before Christmas on Christmas Eve. Here’s an animated version of Tim Burton’s original poem that gave him the idea for the movie (and it’s narrated by Christopher Lee!):

 The Nightmare Before Christmas – Tim Burton’s Original Poem

And my last little gift for you is the recipe for one of my family’s Christmas cookie favorites. Enjoy!

Fudge Oatmeal Bars

Servings : 30-60 (depending on size of squares)
Preparation Time : 0:30

Ingredients
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1 1/2 Cups Oatmeal, Instant
1 1/4 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1 Cup Brown Sugar — packed
1/2 Cup Butter — softened
1 Large Egg
1 1/4 Cups Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 Cups Semisweet Chocolate Chips
1/4 Cup Powdered Sugar

Directions
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Preheat oven to 350.

Combine oats, flour, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl. Set aside.

Beat sugar, butter, and egg in large mixer bowl until creamy. Stir in oat mixture, beat just until combined. Press onto bottom of ungreased 13 x 9 inch baking pan using wet fingers.

Melt milk and chips in small, heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring until chips are melted. Pour and spread over crust.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Top will be puffed up and dry.

Cool in pan on wire rack. Sprinkle powdered sugar over the top.

I typically make two batches of this recipe, one to give away and one to keep. In addition to these, the Peppermint Patty cookies, and the Cracker Candy, we also made two batches of chocolate fudge (one with nuts and one without), Reese’s Chewy Chocolate Cookies, Butterscotch Cookie Bars, and Snickerdoodles.

*shares platefuls of virtual Christmas cookies with everyone* Take as many as you want—I made plenty. *grin*

Do you enjoy rituals and traditions for the holidays? What traditions do you include in your celebrations? Do you have a favorite Christmas cookie recipe to share? Do you want me to share any of my other recipes from this year?

Whether you celebrate Christmas or not,
I wish you all the best during this season.
Merry Christmas & Happy Hanukkah—heck, Happy Everything!