christmas = cookies!!

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ever since i was a kid christmas has been all about the food. and the cookies.
i remember around third or fourth grade being home cuz it was christmas break and my mom made butter cookies. my brother and i got to "help" by putting the sprinkles on the cookies. (i remember distinctly breakin 2: electric boogaloo was on

my mom would make an array of cookies for christmas..butter cookies, pizzelles, almond balls, cherry almond balls, rum balls, and fruit cake. once i was old enough i really did help my mom bake the cookies, and roll all those damn balls! then i became the designated butter cookie maker, which was fine by me bc i got to use the cookie gun!
once i moved to la, i made the cookies for myself bc really its all i have left of how christmas used to be. (going to rob's brother's for christmas is good cuz they have 2 boys that are still all about santa, but really its not the same as being with my LOUD italian family, not to mention completely different food...no escarole soup or ravioli and forget about finding a nice SHARP provolone cheese out here!!)
so i decided to surprise my mom and mail her butter cookies. in return i get pizzelles and rum balls. and that's how it's gone for the past few years.
one year rob and i decided to mail cookies to friends and family back home (which is a pain in the ass to pack and ship so if any one ever sends you cookies be extra appreciative, not just for the home back goodness, but for the time finding a suitable container to pack them in for minimal breakage and then a suitable box/ envelope to mail them in. for real-zies), so we've done it for the past few years as well and i still haven't found the perfect way to ship them!
so today i decided to bake butter cookies and chocolate butterscotch chip and sugar cookies. i was going to try to make home made gingerbread men which i have never made before, but my kitchen is lacking ground cloves and allspice and i have fresh ginger, not ground ginger, so really i didn't have the right stuff for that recipe, maybe another day (and if they turn out ok you'll get a recipe!)
so, speaking of recipes i figured i'd post the butter cookie recipe!

my mom's butter cookies

1 lb butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking power
5 1/2 to 6 c flour

cream butter and sugar. add eggs and vanilla. add baking powder and flour.
add food coloring. shoot from cookie gun. decorate. bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes.

oh! did i forget to mention they cookies look way more awesome when colored and decorated? my favorite is the christmas tree. it's green and has the little colored balls. or there is the wreath with candied cherries- which i didn't make cuz i forgot to get the cherries
and the best part. they taste better after they sit a while. they are like the wine of cookies-best when aged!
so technically this is a spritz cookie. when you buy your cookie gun i will come with a recipe. my mom's is better. just sayin...cuz its true!
and if you find an electric cookie gun hook a sista up cuz i can only find the manual guns, which still work, but my mom's electric gun ROCKS!


ps- i could not get a good picture of the cookies, sorry!

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