Likes to Bake Holiday Cookies

by Lynn
(Tampa, FL)

I like to bake cookies on various holidays and give them as gifts to friends and co-workers. I use an old family shortbread recipe which is rolled out and cut into different shapes – I buy cookie cutters from craft stores or specialty kitchen stores for different holidays. The cookies are quite thin and once they are baked I put some fruit jam on one cookie and stick another one on top to make a double layer. I then use confectioner’s sugar to mix up icing and put icing on the top cookie. This is known as an “Empire biscuit” in the UK where my family comes from. Decorating the cookies is fun and can be done differently for each holiday – for example one year for Thanksgiving I used leaf shaped cutters and dyed the icing golden brown with food dye. It’s a great way to get creative and to give a personal, thoughtful gift.