From TPR Community Advisory Board member Jenni Colon:
My nephew, Aaron, now 19, and I have made Christmas cookies every year since he was a young child. Initially, my mom and I decided to make cookies with him to teach him how to count and measure, but we quickly noticed that he really enjoyed it. And it turned into a family tradition.
We play Christmas music and my mom and aunt are the official taste testers. After the cookies are done we have my father do the final taste test. He's our toughest critic!
As a child Aaron enjoyed making sugar cookies and decorating them for Santa, but as he grew older we began to experiment and create our own recipes. Below is the latest iteration of my family recipe. It combines all of our favorite things into one spectacular cookie. My dad doesn't approve of the oatmeal, but we LOVE it!
My nephew and I lived in the same neighborhood for many years and it was easy to get together for the holidays. Eventually, we both left the neighborhood and I now live in San Antonio and he lives in Canada.
However, we always found a way to get together to make cookies.
Sometimes we can't get together on Christmas day, but we always manage to make our Christmas cookies. Even if we are a few weeks early or a few weeks late the sentiment is the same. The memories are deeply cherished and carried with me year-round.
This year, we plan on making cookies Christmas day because he is visiting the family for the entire month of December!
Choc-coconut-oat Cookies (working title- we are open to suggestions!)
Every year for the past 3 years we discuss the darn title of the cookies.
- 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 stick and 6 tbsp of softened butter
- 1/2 cup of sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tbsp milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups of oats
- 3/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup coconut shavings
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. In a larger bowl beat brown sugar, butter, sugar, vanilla extract, and milk until it is smooth and creamy. Add egg to creamy mix one and a time and mix well before adding second egg. Gradually add in the dry mix to the wet mix.
Lastly, fold oats, chips, coconut and nuts into the cookie mix. Use a tablespoon to measure the mix and create smalls drops of dough. Place them on a nonstick cookie sheet and bake for 9 minutes or until golden around the edges.
