I’m finally over the flu, and I’ll be baking Christmas cookies this weekend. Yep, Christmas cookies. The holidays are too darn crazy, so my mom and I make time in late winter/early spring to enjoy a day in the kitchen baking cookies. This year, our plans may be foiled by the new arrival in our house (a Wii), but I’m hoping to get a few batches in between rounds of boxing. :)

I have a few new recipes lined up to try, but in case you are in the mood for a sugar-riffic weekend, here are some old standbys and new favorites from the Catch the Spoon archives to get you started:

• Magical Mint Cookies
• Nutmeg Sugar Cookies
• Date Squares
• Bacon Cookies

Happy belated holidays to one and all! After the semester ended, Mer and I got to work on our holiday baking. We split our projects between family traditions and our own take on other bloggers’ recipes. Our other projects included Mer’s Date Squares, our version of the Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies from Never Bashful with Butter, and our version of the Ginger-Cinnamon Caramels posted at The Kitchn at Apartment Therapy.

Concluding our Holiday Baking Recap are my Magical Mint Cookies. This recipe holds a special place in my heart and stomach, as it is the first recipe I ever remember “creating”. I tweaked a basic cookie recipe to use ingredients that I had on hand, and served the results to the girls that my mom worked with. The cookies looked disgusting - flat, wrinkled, and brown - but damn, they tasted good. While they haven’t gotten any prettier over the years, my Magical Mint Cookies have become a holiday tradition.

As a special bonus, these cookies freeze extraordinarily well. I like to keep a batch in my freezer all year, and I toss one or two into the microwave for 30-45 seconds to warm them up and make them gooey when I’m in the mood for a treat. they also make great ice cream sandwiches!

Magical Mint Cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup cocoa
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 10 oz. mint chocolate chips or chopped mint chocolate

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients and set aside. In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar. Slowly beat in eggs and vanilla. Beating with a wooden spoon or with mixer on low speed, add dry ingredients one cup at a time until just combined. Stir in chips.

Using a small small disher, drop dough onto greased or non-stick cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake for 8-9 minutes, but do not overbake - cookies will be very soft. Cool on pans until cookies have firmed and can be transferred to wax paper without the edges collapsing. Cool completely before storing.

Makes approximately 4 dozen cookies.