Christmas Cookies

This is for you Holly
One of my favorite things to do during the Christmas Holiday is bake cookies. I grow up on eating cookies all night during the Christmas Eve Party and all day during Christmas Day. So needless to say I like mine fresh, that is way I bake all my cookies 2 days before Christmas Eve. I usually bake 8 different kinds of cookies, banana bread and then I make a seasoning for stick pretzels. You could say that I don't leave the kichen for 2 days, I'm glad I love my kichen or this would not be an enjoyable time. I definitely could not do it all without my handy dandy kitchenaid machine, life with this is so much easier. ( well my life anyway.)

Here are 2 receipts that are my favorite.
Peanut Butter Hugs
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup shortening
1 cup peanut butter
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
2 tsp. vanilla
3 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 pkg. hershey hugs
Cream together first 4 ingredients. Add eggs, milk and vanilla and beat well. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl and then slowly stir it into peanut butter mixture, beat well. Shape into 1 in. balls and roll it into sugar and place on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 min. Then take out and place the hug in the center of each cookie and return to oven for 1 minute. Make 6 dozen.

Double Chocolate Mint Dream Cookies
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup baking cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups andes mints
Combine first 4 ingredients in small bowl. Beat butter, brown sugar, sugar, and vanilla in mixing bow; until creamy. Beat in eggs and then slowly beat in flour mixture. Stir in mints. Bake at 375 for 8 to 10 minutes. Makes 4 dozen.

I also love my sugar cookies but it has a secret ingredient that make them taste different from any other sugar cookie. Sorry, I'm not telling everyone in the blogging world.
I hope you enjoy these receipts as much as our family does. Happy Cookie Making!