Mom went to heaven on March 31st of 2012, and in honor of her, I celebrate the holiday she loved best – Christmas. Mom always did up Christmas big. It was truly her favorite time of year. And her biggest gift was baking varieties of cookies.
In our house, Mom would make over a dozen different kinds.
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| Lots of storage containers contained the cookies |
The list is big, but these are the ones I recall. Mexican Wedding cakes. Marshmallow Treats. Spritz. Icebox cookies. Date Pinwheels. Sour Cream cut-out cookies (which we always iced and decorated on Christmas Eve). Frying pan cookies. Chocolate Butterscotch clusters (recipe below). Fudge (this was my duty – to make this treat for the family). Chocolate crinkles. Coconut meringues. Hershey Kiss peanut butter drops. Fruitcake. And more.
When I was little, Mom took out some shoe boxes and made cookie boxes for neighbors and friends. It was one of the highlights of the Christmas season for me, delivering the neighbor’s cookie box. Oh…and sneaking homemade cookie dough out of the freezer or fridge! One year I ate a whole bunch of Mexican Wedding Cakes stored up in a closet. When Mom went to fetch them for the cookie boxes, the can was nearly empty. Mom said nothing but took out her recipe book and made more. The same for the sugar cookie dough that vanished from the fridge.
That was the kind of woman she was.
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| This was Mom’s last Christmas with us and she still had a huge plate of cookies to celebrate! |
Here is a family recipe for one of my favorite candy cookies. It’s so simple to make, even the kids can help!
Chocolate Butterscotch Clusters
1 6 oz pkg semisweet chocolate chips
1 6 oz pkg butterscotch chips
2 Tbsp peanut butter
4 cups Rice Krispies
Melt the chocolate and butterscotch along with the peanut butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture melts. Remove from heat. Stir in Rice Krispies. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto wax paper. Cool until firm. Store in a container.