Cookies: Literally.

I know Christmas is in full swing when this twentysomething year old goes completely domestic!  I want to decorate everything in sight, I listen to KOST 103.5's month-long Christmas music, I drink as many gingerbread lattes I can possibly afford (Coupons post to follow on SBUX holiday drinks), I donate to as many gift drives as I can, and best of all... I bake.  I absolutely LOVE Christmas time.  So much that I actually spend an entire day (or two) in the kitchen baking.  Plus, the boyfriend gave me a Kitchen Aid stand mixer last year for Christmas, and you know that makes baking soooo much better!

Every year, I give a batch of homemade cookies as gifts.  Everyone enjoys loves Christmas cookies.  Well, except for my boyfriend with chocolate allergies... BOOOOOO!  It's time consuming, but it's an inexpensive way to give a gift.  Wrap them up nicely, and BAM!  You've got a great gift.  Plus, I'm not going to lie... people think very highly of you when you're a good baker ;)  I live for those compliments, haha!  I'm so vain.  Whatever.  It's my holiday too!

I never go crazy with trying to make the cookies holiday-themed.  Why?  It's too much work.  I stick to the classics and recipes that don't take too much time.  As long as they taste great, people will be thankful (and again, think highly of you).  Here's my list of the usual suspects:

• Snickerdoodles
• Oatmeal chocolate chip
• Mini red velvet cupcakes with green cream cheese frosting
• Sugar cookies
• Peppermint dark and white chocolate bark

This year, I'm thinking of adding another cookie to the list, and maybe slices of my famous banana nut bread.  Ok, it's not famous, but to my friends and family, it is.  I'm also considering adding these... http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/desserts/chewy-chocolate-gingerbread-cookies/

Maybe I'm biased, but my recipe for Snickerdoodles is the best I've found.  It's from an old white lady who used to reside in Montana (my mom's boyfriend's mom, if that's not confusing), so I consider it vintage.  The oatmeal chocolate chip cookies sound gross, but they are always the most popular.  The secret?  I add in maple syrup.  The red velvet cupcakes are always cute, festive, and yummy.  The secret?  Box mix ;)  There's nothing special about my sugar cookies or chocolate bark, but they're holiday staples and always tasty.

See?  Simple, but effective.  It's all about presentation.  I'll post the recipes to my Snickerdoodles and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies once I pull them out.  

What is everyone else planning on baking for the holidays?