October is the perfect time to start planning Christmas cookies.
Desiring that magazine-perfect Christmas, I invited Kelly-Across-the-Street to make Christmas cookie dough for the freezer. It will make baking Christmas cookies with little ones who will spill, eat the frosting and decorative sprinkles, have to go potty after you’ve washed your hands for the fourth time, or confide something important the minute you turn the mixer on.
Kelly is sifting with my Gramma Geneva’s flour sifter, working on her red chrome table, and using her recipe for rolled out sugar cookies. This cookie has been a holiday tradition as long as I can remember. But, for years after Gramma died, I couldn’t make her cookies. Only in the past few years have I been able to bring this tradition back into my life without pain.
The spritz cookie recipe was from Gramma Alice, a dear older Christian woman who raised six kids, saw them all marry believers and raise scads of Christian grandchildren for her.
Alice and husband Marvin welcomed Scott and I into their hearts and home and taught us much about marriage, parenting, and the Christian faith. I celebrate her spiritual influence on my life every Christmas by using her recipe for spritz cookies.
Gramma Geneva's Sugar Cookies
Gramma Alice's Spritz Cookies
Loved to hear how you have the tradition of the spritz cookie recipe from my grandma! How cool! She will be so blessed to hear that! My mom uses that recipe every year as well!
mindy,what a good idea!! i've always considered myself 'ahead' when i bake the cookies and freeze them before christmas but this….i did print out some return address labels today so i am getting things underway.
Emma,Great question! Thawing out the dough depends on how organized you are. Of course, fridge the night before would be awesome. You can also do the counter in the morning. The only caution is leaving it out at room temperature too long, but usually by the time it is room temp I am ready to use it. If I don't take it out soon enough, I cut the dough into smaller pieces to thaw faster. If it still isn't ready, I just warm it up with my hands, kneeding it until it is ready to be worked with. I know all the tricks for forgetting to take it out of the freezer in time. :)Thanks for stopping by!
Hi! I'm a friend of Kelly's from VA, but was wondering how you work with the frozen dough – do you fridge defrost overnight, or something different? Love this idea of getting these steps done ahead of time!
What a brilliant idea! It will definitely make the holidays more relaxed to have some of this out of the way now. Banking up for future family time.. 🙂
Stopping in to see how you are, as I am praying 😉 58 days! Wow, that is SOON.We are cutting back on Christmas spending this year, due to our adoption. So I am looking at lots of homey ways to celebrate simply and with lots of love.thanks for the recipes.Kimmiemama to 7one homemade and 6 adopted
Sounds like fun. You made me very grateful for my Bosch mixer my mom insisted I buy before I got married. 🙂 Since I grew up with them, I have to say I haven't really appreciated their superior power. I'll have to pull it out and make some cookies!
OOoh, you've gotten me in the Christmas spirit. Bah Humbug! 😉 It is snowing here so I'm not feeling very enthused about that thought.Thanks so much for stopping by my blog. I hope we "sisters in Christ", "story telling queens" can get to know eachother this way.Jessie at Blog Schmog