True confession: I always wanted fancy home-baked Christmas cookies when I was little, but I never got them. You know, the royal icing, the piping, the silver nonpareils (tiny and round sprinkles), etc. Oh, I had plenty of cookies at Christmas; they just weren’t all that fancy. The number one cookie we made at home was called a Pecan Crescent. I still have the recipe from The Modern Family Cookbook (not the TV show) with copyrights from 1942 through 1964! These cookies were pretty delicious but not all that pretty to look at, with their hand-formed shapes and varying degrees of powdered sugar coverage.

I later learned that Pecan Crescents were actually a very traditional holiday cookie. In the US, they were more often called Pecan Snowballs. Other countries had unique names for them, like Mexican Wedding Cookies, Swedish Heirloom Cookies, and Russian Tea Cookies, to name just a few.

When I had children of my own, I still made Pecan Crescents. I also ventured into cutout cookies with gingerbread and sugar dough, but I never actually iced them. The family would pitch in, and we’d decorate them before baking with sprinkles, mini m&m’s, nuts, dried fruit, and pretzel pieces - safe, easy things. Did you know Queen Elizabeth the First used to have gingerbread figures baked to look like her dignified guests? She then gifted their cookie twins to them during their royal visit. Sugar cookies started as discs in the 1700s and were brought to America by German settlers in Pennsylvania. I’m not sure how they evolved into a decorating favorite, but they are versatile and tasty in any shape or way.

As my baking continued, I stumbled upon a Santa’s Thumbprints recipe by Quaker Oats (now called Holiday Thumbprints). With just a few ingredients, I added them to my repertoire, and they were a hit. They weren’t overly decorated but yummy with their fruity preserve center. Strawberry was the family favorite. Sometimes I would put a little square of dark chocolate under the preserves to satisfy chocolate lovers (myself included). I’m pretty confident you know where the name comes from. Squishing the dough is almost relaxing.

My love for cookies transferred into my first Christmas book, A Christmas Cookie Exchange. I released it in December 2017. I had never considered writing a Christmas book. While making a batch of thumbprints, the idea started swirling in my head like sprinkles. While the first edition was well received, deep in my heart, I knew it could be better. So this year, my illustrator, Ilona Stuijt, and I refined it. Much like a recipe, we made tweaks and additions and came up with a final recipe for what we hope to be a holiday classic.

The main character, Phil, was inspired by Santa’s Thumbprints. Being impossible to draw with an exposed fruity center, I made him a fruit-filled cookie (hence his name). A gingerbread man and sugar cookies are well represented in the story, along with something for chocoholics and the classic peanut butter cookie with criss-cross abs.

The 2nd edition was released in early October of 2022. It is also being adapted for an elementary school play! I’m so excited to see the video and photos from the event! Have you had a chance to read A Christmas Cookie Exchange yet? The ebook is free on Kindle Unlimited A Christmas Cookie Exchange also has cookie recipes in the back of the book, so be sure to look for them The paperback is on Amazon or you can get a signed copy from me. Want a word search to go with the book? It’s free to download on my website. Here’s to merry-making and cookie-baking this holiday season!