Tunes for Christmas Baking

Having now had a couple of days to recover from marathon baking, I have decided to give the McCormick’s double chocolate chunk mint cookies another try (I’ll update with a picture if they turn out well). While I’ve been doing all of this baking I’ve had Christmas songs playing loudly through the house…frequently on Pandora, but also on my IPod. I thought I would share a few of my favorite songs.

One of my new favorites. I don’t know why, but it just gives me the warm fuzzies.

This is one of my all-time favorite hymns and while I don’t typically think of it as a Christmas song, I love it on Sufjan Steven’s Christmas album.

I am one of those people who will only listen to Christmas music from after Thanksgiving through the end of the year…this is one the first song I want to hear when i bust out the Christmas tunes.

This song is from the middle of Andrew Peterson’s “Behold the Lamb of God: The True Tale of the Coming of Christ.” I love this whole album. I’ve seen Mr. Peterson on his Christmas tour performing this album from start to finish twice. When I need a reminder of why I celebrate Christmas, this album is what I listen too. I love this song in particular because I always found “Silent Night” to be a ridiculous notion.

This is not a Christmas song, but when it comes on it always makes me happy. Besides, the spiritual heritage of Christianity comes from Judaism so…

As it is the season of giving I thought I would highlight a charity/aid organization that helps children in need: Sweet Sleep. This is a faith-based organization that provides beds and mosquito netting for orphaned and abandoned children. Don’t forget to give…in this busy season of the year, sometimes the most precious thing you can give is a little of your time.

New Theme, Decorating, and Cookies

Blogging has had to take a backseat the last few days. But now the house is completely decorated…two Christmas trees and a ton of seasonal chotchkies. I did have some time this afternoon to play around with both Photoshop and GIMP-making a header and a background for my blog (both gifs). I thought snow and Mr. Thornton were perfect for the holiday season!

Now it is time to work on a list of cookies and fudge to make for the neighbors. It probably sounds really old-fashioned (baking for the neighbors), but I love it. When I was still in grad school, holiday baking was a great way to whined down from the stress of 20 page papers and finals. Grad school is several years in the past, but the tradition continues. I’m planning on trying to make some of our favorites (just for our family) gluten-free. The neighbors are getting plain old wheat flour.

Here is a list of the must haves (based on neighbor feedback):

• Gooey Butter Cookies
• Raspberry and Almond Shortbread Thumbprints (Sometimes we top them with Kisses instead of jam and glaze.)
• Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies
• Peanut Butter Fudge
• Chocolate Fudge (We use the recipe on the marshmallow cream jar, which is exactly like this one.)

Does anyone out there have any favorite cookie recipes to share? I’m all ears!