Coo-cookie-chew...

It's cookie time again.

Every year, I take part in a holiday cookie swap. A whole mess of us (that's more than a handful but fewer than a bunch) bake our favorite or best cookies, bring them to a central location, and divvy 'em up. It's a nifty way to get a slew of holiday type cookies without having to bake them all yourself.

In years past, I'd be baking by now, filling the house with the scent of Orange Blossom cookies, Snickerdoodles, Leftover Cookies, White Trash Cookies...I may not have told you this before, dear reader, but I may like to bake just a wee.

Actually, before Bird was born, I made hard candy for these events, suckers in a variety of shapes. No one minded too much - they liked all the colors, the flavors...and my house smelled insanely good. I have thirty-something cast iron molds waiting to be useful again, and make upwards of a dozen flavors, using a recipe handed down from my Mum's mum (family tradition - the recipe is never written down. Anyone wanting to learn it has to come into the kitchen and watch it being made, learn by doing). I don't make candy now because pouring off boiling sugar syrup just didn't seem like a good idea with a small child around. I hope to start again next year.

Meanwhile, there's a cookie swap this coming Sunday, and I have baking to do (with help from the Evil Genius, of course). I haven't decorated the house or anything either - I am thinking I'll do that between batches of cookies. This year it's Snickerdoodles (recipe later this week), and Leftover Cookies. I'll be making White Trash Cookies, too, but not for the swap - those'll go on plates and in boxes to give away.

Mum is making peppermint meringues, and cinnamon ones too. Addictive little buggers...

Do you have a favorite holiday cookie? Something traditional, maybe something you only make around this time of year? Tell...