Lots of cookies...

Back in the day, when there was a little kid needing to fix Santa Claus his midnight snack, shaped and decorated sugar cookies were an annual tradition around our house at Christmas time. I'd gather up all the paraphernalia we needed -- cookie cutters, candy sprinkles, colored sugars, Karo syrup, cheap little paint brushes, etc. -- and we'd make a night of it.

Nowadays, my little kid is far from little and is off making his own, so sugar cookies don't get baked here anymore. Neither Lew nor I need the extra calories and quite frankly, I just can't be bothered. I was never too good at it anyway and only made them because my little guy liked them. I've never really mastered the art of rolling out cookie dough and usually overwork it, which ultimately ends up with cookies tasting like, in my humble opinion, sugared sawdust.

However, since that same kid and his family will be here to celebrate Christmas this year, I've been a cookie-baking fool the past couple of days... none of which needed rolling out!

Chocolate chip and snickerdoodles...

butter cookies rolled in colored sugar,
my one concession to decorated sugar cookies!

'Course I had to sample them to make sure they'd be fit for human consumption and I declare them all right tasty, even if I do say so myself! ;)