What’s the best way to celebrate the birthday of someone special? Cookies, of course! Presents wrapped in bright colors are also welcome, but first come cookies, followed by singing off-key and finally come the presents. This order must be maintained because something sweet always shows the way to something spectacular.
It’s easy to feel invisible as your social interactions shrink to fit into a small box inside a 40-minute Zoom meeting. As thankful as I am to be able to connect online in this way with colleagues, friends, and family, I yearn for more. Surprisingly, my wish was granted by doing something for someone else. In return for my help, I have been rewarded with hours of exchanging ideas, life experiences and hopes for the future. I found out for myself the truth of the saying that “it's better to give than to receive.”
When my sister told me she was getting married again I was thrilled for her. Her husband had died several years ago and I knew she had been lonely. She and her new beau had originally planned to have an April wedding, but a little thing called a worldwide pandemic interfered with those plans. The date was finally set for August and I started planning what Wedding Cookies I would make for the occasion.
My goddaughter loves Peanut Blossom Cookies. In fact, it’s her favorite cookie and I make them for her every year. I wondered if I could add a bit more flavor to this classic cookie and I found the solution in The Perfect Cookie from America’s Test Kitchen. The original recipe on the Hershey’s package of Kisses calls for shortening. While this ensures that the cookies don’t spread all over the baking sheet, shortening doesn’t bring a lot of flavor to the party....
There just haven’t been enough special occasions lately so I decided to make cookies just because. These “No Special Occasion Cookies” are perfect for any no-occasion occasion. Chocolate cookie...yes! Frosted with chocolate...yes! Sprinkled with chocolate...oh, yes!
Did I mention that they are chocolate?
One of our deacons celebrated his Silver Anniversary as a deacon this year and that called for cookies, of course. Why doves? Well, doves bring to mind peace and inspiration and are a common symbol of the Holy Spirit. And silver, of course, is traditionally associated with a 25TH anniversary. So those two elements naturally inspired these dove-shaped cookies decorated with silver embellishments. Thank you for your service, Deacon! May you continue to be filled with God’s grace.
A new friend of mine was planning an event to congratulate everyone on her team for a job well-done and she asked me to make gold star cookies to honor them and recognize their efforts. I immediately thought that my shortbread recipe would be the perfect cookie and started planning “Operation Gold Stars.”
These soft, chewy, and spicy cookies are my nephew’s favorite cookies. He likes them so much that he asks for them on his birthday. And I happily grant his birthday wish.
Most of my family already knows this about me so you might as well know it, too. I am not a tea drinker. The only teas that I like are herbal teas and even among those there are only a few that I will drink. However, if you invite a cookie to the tea party, well, I’m willing to drink the tea too. These Gingerbread Tea Cookies are the perfect companion to any tea, but my favorite pairing for these delicious cookies is Lemon Ginger Tea.
I’m fascinated (aka obsessed) with snowflake cutout cookies and this is a quick-and-easy way to decorate them when I have no time or have run out of “cookie decorating steam.” Yes, there are occasions when even I don’t want to spend all day decorating cookies. Sometimes I want (or need) to bake, decorate and package my cookies all on the same day.
