Christmas Cookies

    

Over the next few days I'll be blogging about the Christmas cookies I made.  You see, every year I make a variety of cookies to give a gifts.  This year I made (clockwise from top), brownies, bourbon currant cookies, my cream cheese mints, gingerbread cookies, and (center) coconut macaroons.  I think that gave a pretty diverse selection of flavors while still keeping in the Christmas-y cookie tradition.  And they looked so nice together too!

Cookies are wonderful to give as gifts (and to receive, I'd imagine).  I just arrange them on a white paper plate and wrap in plastic wrap.  Either I tape the ends of the cling wrap together under the plate or tie them with ribbon on the top (though, that's a bit of a pain because usually you have to use two very long strips of the cling wrap to get the plate wrapped properly, so I don't tend to do it the ribbon way.)

By the way, when picking cookies to put together there are no firm rules (at least that I'm aware of).  I personally like to do one really chocolaty thing, at least one crunchy/crisp cookie, and one soft/chewy cookie.  In addition, I like having one that is slightly unusual and one that is pretty common.  Of course these can overlap...for example a chocolate brownie would be a chocolaty, chewy, and common cookie.  Don't ignore brownies or other bar cookies--cut into small squares, they count as a cookie for the purposes of a cookie plate.  I tend to avoid cookies with nuts unless I'm sure the person I'm giving them doesn't have nut allergies.  I also like to include at least one gluten free thing in case of someone being celiac (though that may just be because I know enough many people who can't eat gluten that now I'm used to making gluten free things.)