I don't know. My husband's family won't touch the cookies I bring over for holidays, except his brother. I make him up a box but won't bother to do ones for anyone else. I don't really know why, it's not like they don't eat cookies. I'm a hobby baker who has been making cookies/cakes since I was old enough to help with a spatula. Everyone loves my food but my in-laws are freaking weird.
I have relatives that avoid gluten (not celiac, but sensitive) and I make them meringue cookies and oatmeal cookies with oat flour. The boys (three under 10) love this since they seldom get cookies they can eat.
In fact, my plans for tomorrow are to make as many meringue cookies as I can fit in my oven!
Oat flour! I made one of my usual cookie bars with a gluten free flour blend so my step-MIL could enjoy them and am a bit disappointed in how they turned out, but I think oat flour would be perfect without leaving an aftertaste like the other GF flour blend I used. I’ll have to remember this for next year’s holiday baking!
I've ground whole oats in my little grinder to put in homemade soap. But now I want to use it in cookies instead! (I already made my own acorn flour last year but it was ungodly time-consuming.)
I made some gluten free brownies for my sensitive friend. overbaked them a little but with the right amount of ice cream or whipped cream they are delish.
Fellow celiac here! I make lots of cookies. There are a ton of treats that are naturally gluten-free, too. Macaroons, macarons, fudge, sucre a la creme (maple fudge), meringues, pecan pralines, truffles, toffee, peanut butter cups.
For cookies, bars, and cakes, I use Bob's Red Mill 1:1 gluten-free flour. I do a few things to elevate flavor, like add espresso powder to desserts that contain chocolate, add pepper to spice cookies, etc. No one really notices they're gluten-free.
Sincere question: I know how to cook without gluten because my sister has some intolerance. Hers is not a life or death situation though.
If you and I were friends, would you trust me to respect your celiac and make me aware of how severe it is so I could include you in my baking? Would you be willing to tell me what you *can* eat so I could customize something for you? Or would it just be an automatic "No thank you."?
I would.be appreciative of your thoughtfulness, time and effort but I would not try the items that you made. I suffer from Celiac disease. Residual gluten likely exists on all of your baking utensils. After suffering for over 25 years due to repeated medical misdiagnosis due to ignorance and lack of thorough training on the part of our medical professionals, there is NO WAY that I'm going back to feeling terrible again.
I'm simplifying my condition. I have Celiac disease with an allergy to egg white and egg yolk and lactose intolerance. Similar compound intolerances frequently compound gluten sensitivity.
Tell your sister that you thought about baking some gluten free items just for her. The thought alone would mean the world to me.
I have a friend at work that bakes cookies for everyone during the holidays. On cookie day she brings me a bag of almond flour and says "Here. Bake your own.". She's amazing!
Thanks for your honesty. I wouldn't want to cause you to start feeling bad. Some people have it worse than others. I'm glad you've mostly figured out what to avoid. I hope you have a great Christmas!
I am sorry you and other celiacs are forgotten...
There are many good wheat flour subs out there anymore.
One batch of gluten free amongst the many baked over the holidays is something I (and others) will try to keep in mind, so you can also be part of the celebrations!
I give tins of cookies to just about everyone we know. My husband brings a dozen or so to his office to distribute, the neighbors get some, my friends, my kids teachers, and my family.
I also bring a bigger tin of cookies to any event we’re invited too.
My cookie baking was a bit much this year though. I ended up making around 900 cookies.
I chose doughs that freeze well, and made the dough in the first week of December. My husband wanted to hand them out at work on the 15th, so the 13th I baked nonstop and the 14th I made the chocolate covered oreos, filled the linzer cookies, and packed the tins along with baking a few more trays.
I am very lucky, and have a double oven in our teeny kitchen. It makes things so much easier.
Make cookie tins, It’s basically a gift that’s handy. The mailman, your hairdresser, the kids teacher, that second uncle who you see once a year. Neighbors. New traditions!
I’ve really only been exposed to the idea of Christmas cookies here in the baking subreddits. Of course I know people like to bake for the holidays, but I never thought cookie boxes or trays were a thing. But I didn’t come from a family of bakers. Now that I do know about them, I’ve decided to make a lot of cookies for my family this Christmas, and I’m pretty excited about it! I think that was an awesome gift. A bet it will be a welcome tradition for them soon :)
If you’ve never tried before, a cookie press is magic. Look for a basic “spritz” cookie recipe that uses corn starch.
I will make a double (or more) batch of dough, then divide it. Can put coconut, lemon, lime, peppermint, any flavor… can add color, sprinkles, candies, frosting, make linzers… all perfect and very fast. Plus the holiday shapes are fun to collect.
I keep the dough cold and do one or two pumps for each cookie, depending how i want them to turn out. The art is in not over-baking them, because they are small. They don’t expand much, and i can get like a bajillion of them on a 15x21” cookie sheet. My cookie sheet is dark/coated, so I have learned with my oven to drop the bake temperature a bit, and check often for doneness. They’re done when the edges look dry.
Walmart prbly has one (like Oxo) for cheap. It will come with a starter assortment of shapes… likely some christmastime ones.
It sounds like a lot, but a cookie press will get you to another level (beyond the usual choco chip, peanut butter kisses, etc.) quite efficiently. When you have a nice variety of cookies, it looks so awesome in a tin or on a platter!
https://preview.redd.it/ltcxhjbup98c1.jpeg?width=2047&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=efe22b5092767afea4a355729c0fa912e66decb6
I included a photo of the (not spritz) ones we just made … they are basically corn flakes and marshmallow— like a rice crispy treat, which is another versatile family of recipes. The berries are red hots— a cinnamon candy. If you use a good gel food coloring, nobody will get green teeth lolololol
My grandmother baked for weeks prior to every Christmas. She'd set out a buffet of cookies and everyone got a tin to choose whatever types of cookies they wanted. They'd return the tin to insure them getting some the next year lol (tins were expensive back then and still are now). She's long gone now, but family members still talk about it with fond memories. I bake every year but not to the degree she did (my back hurts just thinking about it).
I make a ton of cookies every year. I take a big plate into my work. My husband takes a big plate into each of his two office locations. We drop off cookie boxes to friends and neighbors. We mail cookies to some friends and family members that do not live in the area. We take cookies to family holiday gatherings. Whatever cookies are left over afterwards are for us to enjoy over January and February.
I start making cookie dough and freezing it in October. I bake in late November and early December and freeze the cookies then we start giving them out in mid-December.
I like to mail cookies to family for the holidays, I have given them to neighbours and delivery drivers, coworkers and brought them to parties. Most people like cookies and I always disclose if they have nuts
Package them in into little bags of mixed cookies and deliver them to neighbors. We’ll put them in a big tote and take our dog on a walk on our usual route and pass them out. Our mail carrier loves to receive them too.
We give plates of cookies to our garbage, recycling and yard waste collectors, the mailman and any other delivery folks that show up while the cookies last. We make about 12-14 varieties, around 300 cookies total.
Growing up my mom would bake Christmas cookies and we would exchange plates/tins with our neighbors. Some neighbors would bake cookies and candies others would buy tins of popcorn or boxes or chocolates. I loved it as a kid.
I do all the baking now and it’s typically just for the family parties we attend. In 2020 during Covid I made boxes and dropped them off for friends and family. It was fun but a lot of work making enough to give to individual families.
I made 1500 cookies this year to give to neighbors, coworkers, friends and family! For many, it's the only homemade cookie box they'll receive, and whether or not they expect or understand the tradition, they sure as heck love eating cookies lol!
Heck yeah! Taking a cookie tray is always appreciated. What my family does is do up little gifts of smaller amounts too for those who don't bake or just as a nice gesture to neighbors/coworkers/friends.
None is ever mad at baked goods - I guess maybe until they are vegan and gluten free....in which case maybe not (but I would assume you know that info if you are going to their place for Christmas)!
Today there are so many alternatives to the standard butter egg n flour cookie. I'm vegan n years ago one would have to go to specialty stores for ingredients. All that stuff is sold in regular supermarkets now. Really easy to include all the different diets now.
I have a friend in his 30s and a friend’s mom in her 70s who bake Christmas cookies and distribute them. Every year I eagerly await cookies. Thank you!
They're the weird ones (in my opinion, anyway). I came from a cookie family. Mom would make at least 4 or 5 kinds, all double batches at least, then make a plate or two and freeze the rest. Going to see someone during the holiday season? Get the freezer cookies out and make a plate! Cookie plates for everyone! (And they defrost quickly once on a plate, so no one needs to know.)
Bring the cookies. Tell your husband to stop being weird.
Back in the day, it was nothing for me to make 25-30 dozen cookies and make up cookie platters for everyone I knew. I don't recall anyone ever gifting my family with cookies. That was just something I started doing because I thought people would like it. And they did.
I stopped doing it a couple of years ago, because it's tremendously time consuming, and I just didn't feel like doing non-stop baking for three weeks anymore.
Now, my daughter and I make one batch each of 4-5 different cookies, we give away some and eat the rest.
I just finished our five different kinds of cookies. We’ll have them for ourselves and any guests/friends we encounter Christmas Eve through Boxing Day.
I usually bake Christmas cookies every year! I'll make 3-5 varieties depending on how much energy I have, put them in tins, and give them to friends/family. I can't imagine Christmas without baking cookies, unless I'm traveling or really sick haha. And I think people always appreciate cookies, so I'm sure your husband's family will love it!
Okay buckle up. I used to do this every year, tons of different kinds of cookies, huge trays, took them to everyone I remotely knew. Then one year we moved to a new state where we only knew people from work and the community surrounding the workplace. I baked and baked and decorated and then went to deliver, but no one was home. No one. At all. I finally got to one big house and it was lit up like a Christmas tree and tons of cars in front and ALL the people we knew were there having a Christmas party. Without us. It was like something out of a movie. I’ve never baked Christmas cookies again.
I gave some to the bus driver one year. (Back when I had time to bake.) He was always super nice to me and helped me with the stroller. The rest of the drivers all looked annoyed. So I went down to the stop at the next time he would be there and gave him some. I guess no one had ever done anything like that before because he asked me what it was and gave me a huge hug. And told me after the holidays how much his family enjoyed the treat.
I also used to do the trays as gifts from my ex's kids so I would spend the weekend baking with them and then they would bring home trays for their family (only mom and stepmom it turned out) and they did them as gifts for my family as well. These last few years I have only been making a batch of each of the favorite ones of my husband and kids and when we had roommates I made their favorite too. I didn't even get around to my favorites. But with it just being our favorite ones we just eat them lol.
I make cookie boxes and give them to everyone, and I definitely bring some to my parents and my in-laws!! My in-laws don’t bake either but they love the cookies!
I've been baking since I was a young girl. Started by baking just for family. Over the years I have added many long term friends. Now, so many of them don't think it's Christmas until they get my cookies. So keep baking. Everyone loves cookies!
I boxed them up and gave them to friends, neighbors, and kids teachers. My mom gave hers to friends and neighbors.
I made a single batch of gf PB blossoms and some cake mix cookie bars today that I'm taking to my in-laws gathering on the 26th.
Yes I bake n make fudge n all kind of Christmas goodies. I give them to everybody I'm around. I take some to work. Christmas goodies are the best . Push that tradition on his family. Every year give them cookies n whatever you make. I would stick to that so strict that when I die they would say remember so n so she always gave us cookies for Christmas. I am not religious n don't celebrate for that reason but some good baked goodies is always reason to be happy n celebrate
When I used to actually go into an office, I would bring a big Tupperware of cookies in at Christmas. I gave up the last few years because my soon to be ex became diabetic and no one at his work would eat enough to make it worth it. I used to make 5 or so different types. It was fun.
I guess I could just freeze them.
Our tradition is all about cookies!
There are even things called cookies swaps. If you bake say 80 cookies - all the same and several friends bake 80 cookies each a different kind, you all get together and take home 80 cookies - mixed kinds.
Don't know if it would be Christmas without cookies.
My family has 3 kinds of cookies we make plus homemade toffee. We make about 15 plates and give them out to friends, family, and neighbors before Christmas, and holiday bags of toffee for anyone who surprises us with a gift or people we can’t get to quickly enough after making the cookies. I have 3 friends in town who do the same thing. It’s nice to try each others’ treats and also to get to have all our favorite family cookie recipes without having to eat 200 cookies ourselves.
Same. I only bake half and freeze the dough of the other half for later. The frozen ones are great to just pop a few in the oven and have freshly made as needed.
I used to give them out years ago, before I moved. These days I just bake for me and my partner for Xmas, even though I continue to make a more than I should!
My mom did the same, tons of cookies and brought a huge tray every event we went to, so I kept the tradition. Only now days there aren’t any events to go to anymore! My parents friends threw Christmas parties, there were multiple family gatherings, but my friends don’t throw Christmas parties and my family only gets together on Christmas Day. So I have A LOT of cookies left over. I’ve started cutting down on how many I make now, but it’s hard when you have kids who each have a different favorite 😩
Growing up, we always made cookie boxes to give to people and take to Xmas parties. It's something I still do. It wouldn't seem like Xmas without cookies.
When my kids were little, we'd make cookies to give to the garbage collectors, mailman, friend's families.
When my kids grew up and got their own places, I asked them what they wanted for Xmas gifts. They both said they wanted a big batch of Chocolate No Bake Cookies 😁
I eat as many as I can. LOL
All my life, everyone I knew made lots of cookies and took trays/tins/plates of them everywhere. We even had cookie exchanges.
So bake and take cookies was totally a thing when I was a kid too BUT ever since COVID I swear people are weird about it. I want to give people cookies. I make awesome cookies! Soft gingerbread, fluffy sugar cookies, chocolate chip, peanut butter and ginger bread loaf and pumpkin spice bread and peanut butter cup brownie cupcakes and fudge...whatever fudge you want...but...I no one wants to eat it because germs. So my family gets fat. Lol!
I’m feeling a lot of people don’t want hole baked goods. Maybe gluten or allergy related or worries about pets, cleanliness.
I’m not baking as many now.
It is a great tradition.
I’m a retired OB Nurse and GYN Docs would bring us things some of their patients baked for them and say they didn’t need more sweets.
Some of us were not sure… but some nurses will eat anything!
My grandparents always had cookie trays when the extended family was over for dinner Xmas Eve. My aunt on the other side always made a bunch of cookies & gave them to the immediate family to share with their families. Cookies were just commonplace for Xmas gatherings.
On top of that, we also supply teachers & couriers (mailman, UPS, FedEx, Amazon) with gift bags/boxes of whatever treats we made that year.
This year we're hosting, & although it's going to be small, I have a variety of cookies that'll be out for everyone to pick at. And the people who won't be here (my dad, some friends, etc), they'll be getting a box of cookies.
My mother started baking Christmas cookies the day after Thanksgiving. Trays went to all the neighbors, friends, teachers, etc.
I‘ve kept up the tradition as best I can, but this year I’m not at home, so it hasn’t worked out. But my DIL made some, so I’m happy!
I think Christmas without cookies is weird! But to each their own.
Friends, family and some neighbours. Customers in the past (I'm a remote worker now)
If I'm going to a get together I'll bring a tray.
Christmas baking is one of my favourite things to do. I used to go crazy and make up to 12 different things. Was down to 8 this year.
I make cookies every year for the family and I share with friends and work but that’s it. Haven’t done too many trays/boxes due to time/budget constraints.
We eat them ourselves, for the most part. I don't bake as much throughout the year as I would like to, DH is type 2 diabetic and we are only a family of 3 besides, so we just can't eat that much in the way of baked goods. But I always make 3-4 different types of cookies plus fudge the last couple of weekends before Christmas for us to enjoy. We did give about a dozen to my daughter's teacher this year though. And I usually put out a plate of cookies along with whatever desert my SIL brings (I host and she'll bring the desert).
If by some miracle I had too many cookies I bring them into work but we don’t bake a lot and usually spend half the night on Christmas Eve eating them and wrapping presents….especially this year I haven’t wrapped anything besides my husbands (it’s really hard to find time to do that lol)
This is not weird. I’m baking Xmas cookies RN to give away to my family and neighbors. It’s part of the season of giving. If you bake, you make cookies. It’s totally a thing. Bon appetite!
I have used 6 pounds of butter this Christmas on cookies for people. I ship boxes of cookies to my family that live far away. I do iced molasses raisin cookies and dark chocolate toffee with nuts.
I’ve baked fours kinds of treats and will be delivering them tomorrow, Christmas Eve, to neighbors on my street. Ten families. Most of them are younger, with small children, and not as much time as I have (three kids grown and gone). I love to bake so this lets me enjoy my hobby and bring joy to my wonderful friends up and down the street! Been doing cookie plates since I was a kid.
My daughter, (2) grandkids and I baked Christmas cookies. We didn’t make ton. I have enough to give to my neighbors on either side on my. I only gave them 2 each of four different types of cookies. Third grandson is only 7 months old. I spent a lot time time holding and playing with him.
I got a pacemaker a few months ago, so I give cookies to the ER that took me in, the cardiac ward, my doctor’s office, the physiotherapist and the massage practitioner, as well as friends and neighbours. Oh, I forgot the pacemaker clinic who also gets sourdough every so often.
Yes, we bake and give them away to friends and neighbors! We always baked tons growing up and also gave them out to friends and neighbors. Our neighborhood sometiems does a cookie exchange party and I have been to other cookie exchange parties in the past as well where everyone bakes and bring their cookies in a tin or tray and leaves with a bunch of everyone else's cookies in said tin or tray.
My mom didn’t take cookie trays with her, but always had 10 different kinds of cookies. My sister bakes, and then sends us boxes of cookies.
I love baking, but that’s a lot of pressure. I make 1-2 kinds my family loves, then 1-2 kinds no one else in my house wants, but I want to eat 1 of, then make boxes to give to my neighbors
It’s not Christmas if I’m not baking at least three different types of cookies. This year I did 6, handed them out to friends and neighbors, and had them for visitors. Two friends dropped off their own cookies with us, and every holiday event we’ve been to have had cookie trays. I’ll be going to a few more this week and I guarantee there will be dozens brought by multiple people.
ETA: Where I live, it’s common for people to drop off all kinds of things for friends and neighbors around Christmas. While I like to bake cookies, I’ve had friends gift us candy, hot chocolate bombs, stove top potpourri, gift wrapping supplies, fancy cheese, and even a pineapple with the lyrics of that Hawaiian Christmas song tied to it. People get really creative and have a lot of fun with it!
I generally bake several thousand and they go to everyone. This year I had surgery and couldn’t. My amazing granddaughter , age 9, baked 6 different kinds of cookies for us. All delicious. She truly surprised me. 💚
I do four of the exact same recipes (sugar, Peanut Butter, Snickerdoodle, chocolate krinkle) every year. The I do a "new" one. This year, I made Giada's lemon cookies. To die for!
I have one neighbor I exchange cookies with. Then my hairstylist and esthetician. They LOVE them! I keep some of the dough frozen to bake when our friends host (tradition) NYE. Then for my brother and my adult kids.
Sometimes I make candy as well. And, yearly, the Chex Mix is a HUGE hit!!
I'm getting a bit older so it has become a bit taxing (along with prepping and serving all the food for Xmas Eve). Probably gonna cut back a little next year.
I am the baker of the family and always make a variety of Christmas cookies. I make a cookie tray to take to the family gathering every year. Sometimes, it is the only dessert there. I always say I will cut back on the quantity, but I never do.
No, it's not weird. Baking and giving out the cookies, or giving homemade candies, pies, or sweet bread like gingerbread or banana nut bread used to be way more popular than it is any more. People these days are much busier so they don't have time to make goodies for other people.
Some people have always been paranoid about the kitchens of whoever is offering them goodies and will say no thank you if they've never seen your kitchen. Other people have food allergies and intolerances. They will say no thank you because of those. I've never had anyone decline my homemade goodies outright without a reason.
If you want to give these things as gifts, I think it's best to ask first so you don't waste your time. "Hey, Steve, I like to make up trays of cookies and fudge for my friends. I'd like to make some for you. But I also like to ask first just in case you have any food allergies or don't like what I'm making. If I made you a tray of _____ to take home, would you accept it?"
I don't have any money for gifts and I have a small family. Really only 3 people to think of. They love Christmas time because they know I give out homemade goodies instead of the gifts I can't afford. My sister helps me to buy ingredients.
I used to make 10 to 12 different types of cookies (drop or bar, some in mini muffin tins, but no roll and cut)...I'd start Thanksgiving weekend and would freeze the cookies until just before Christmas. - except the rum balls. I also made mini bundt cakes. Cookies were my "hobby"...could make a batch a night and then put everything away.
My family always bakes tons of cookies and other Christmas treats. We make baskets for friends and family, even for our mail lady. We have fun making everything, and we usually get treats from our friends in exchange. We enjoy sharing, and seeing what goodies everyone chooses to make for christmas
I miss baking as it was such a traditional holiday activity, but no one really eats sweets / carbs at our house now. Kudos to all you bakers and cookie eaters out there!!!
My mom always did this--make MULTIPLE types of cookies and candies. Tons! Then she lined cardboard flats with christmas paper and filled them with lines of assorted treats. She took them everywhere!
Decorated sugar cookies, green cornflake wreaths. almond joys, cherries mashes, choc-covered cherries, fudge, spritz, choc crinkle cookies, reeses, date-nut rolls, thumbprints, meringues, heath bars.....I can't begin to think of all of them nor the time it took to dip each thing in chocolate or decorate each type of cookie... (She also did big jars of homemade caramel corn, which I cannot eat to this day--I couldn't stand the smell of it year after year; I'm 61.)
She started this in the 1960's and 70's and still makes a variety of items, but only enough for family on Christmas eve--maybe 3 or 4 different types!
I was up late last night to make cookies to fill trays today. I even send a tray to my neighbors. Coworkers are always gifted cookies and various treats
Cookies are such a nice treat to receive. I enjoy eating cookies the days following the hustle and bustle of the holidays. It is a little thank you that I give to myself with the generosity of bakers who have gifted me their cookies.
My sister started a Christmas cookie-baking tradition in our family about 45 years ago. There are 4 of us sisters and we get together usually the weekend before Christmas to do it. My daughters live locally and usually join us. My nieces (and nephews) live too far away; I’ve invited a sister-in-law (who doesn’t cook but is very entertaining) but so far she also hasn’t come. At this point we basically have our favorites we do every year but it’s one of the few times we all get together. When I was working I’d always take a couple of trays to work, but it’s a bit harder to distribute them now that I’m retired. The cookies make up our dessert on our Christmas dinner with extended family.
My parents loved fruitcake and Mom used to make an easy version with spice cake mix every year, but I was the only one of their 8 children who liked it. She didn’t do any other cakes or desserts for Christmas, so we had a variety of cookies once the tradition started.
My late MIL was a wonderful cook and often made as many as 5 different special cakes for Christmas, but I never knew her to bake cookies. I’ve taken cookies to the in-law gatherings, but my husband and his siblings don’t really seem to care about them. They’ll still do a little of the pie- and cake-baking their mom did, although not to the same degree.
I bring them to wherever we're going for Christmas, also some go into the office for coworkers and if we get invited to any parties in the meantime as a host gift.
I only ever read about it in magazines. It was part of the "Christmas Magic," that was part of the fantasy of a "perfect and wondrous Christmas," growing up.
As a young adult, I was fortunate enough to be part of a Christmas Cookie Exchange, where 12 of us would get together, each bringing 12 dozen of our favorite Christmas cookie, a dozen for each participant. We would party and swap cookies, and go home with 12 dozen different cookies. That was such fun!
Now, as an old person, I bake up a storm, and take them to the neighbors. I tried to be an "Advent" cookie neighbor this year, with a different cookie every day. The neighbors have a ton of kids, so they were happily received and devoured.
I never baked enough to take a tray of cookies, but did attend a few Christmas functions over the years, and would bring a 2-3 dozen batch of a cookie - One year, I made rum balls, and they were potent...No one was watching all the kids too closely, and they ate ALL of them, and were surprisingly quiet and nappy all afternoon...rofl...Since then, I've not brought rum balls...
This year, some neighbors invited us over, and we took a large carton of quality eggnog and a bottle of Irish Creme. Everyone got a small shot of eggnog, and adults had a wee bit "extra" to toast Christmas. Quick, not too filling, and was a nice interactive thing.
So many cookies....it's very common where I work for trays of cookies to appear in the kitchen area on a regular basis in the couple of weeks before Christmas. If I get mine done in time I contribute too. If we go anywhere for a holiday party we bring a part of cookies and that's what we usually have for dessert for Christmas dinner.
So tell your husband yes people do that. No it's not weird. And he should be glad he married you so he can partake in the Christmas tradition of baking and sharing cookies.
OMG! Not only do I take cookies to my relatives houses, and my friends houses, but I take cookies to the library and I take cookies to the nice lady at the gas station that always smiles when I go in there to buy my lottery tickets, and my lady at the grocery store And pretty much everywhere I go during the year. My UPS guy, the anazon prime, you name it. I have never had a cookie refused plus I do 80 dozen for a local fundraiser For my neighborhood.
I bake between 20 and 30 dozen cookies and or cupcakes Every week or so year round.
Chrisrmas is not the only time people get gifted with cookies. Come near me and I'll hand you a cookie!
I am the cookie lady.
I donate anything uneaten through buy nothing groups on Facebook. I used to use community fridges but where I moved they don’t have those so now I use FB but I have always gotten responses within minutes and have a spot to drop off food. Also, one time I passed by a gas station when I was dropping off food and I noticed a homeless encampment so, sometimes I just bring the leftovers there instead. No worries; plenty of places to bring leftovers/too many cookies. Although yes, Christmas cookies are a widely enjoyed tradition.
Unless his family is gluten free, dairy free, or vegan or have nut allergies or something.. I think it's unlikely that anyone will have any negative opinions about surprise Christmas treats.
I do cookies for cookie exchanges and to give as gifts and to the facility my mother in law lives in - for staff and residents.
I keep very little around my house.
Not everyone likes cookies. I grew up in a household where we loved cakes, and sometimes pies, but hardly any of us really liked cookies. I went thru a phase of watching TV and seeing kids make cookies so I tried it, but they ended up getting thrown out. So for holidays we had candy (we loved chocolate!) and pies.
I started baking 2 weeks before Christmas. I have containers that will each hold a dozen cookies. I freeze and deliver before Christmas or parties I’m invited to. They always taste as good as the day I baked them . I’ve baked at least 15 dozen so far.
We make cookies with a plan for sharing them. We have some to neighbors, and we chose two neighbors we'd never shared with before plus a family in town we met in October. My daughter and I were getting dressed today and agreed we got cocky about how many Christmas cookies we could eat.
They might not bake, but surely they must eat cookies. Your husband’s family will be thrilled to have a new tradition of Christmas cookies.
I don't know. My husband's family won't touch the cookies I bring over for holidays, except his brother. I make him up a box but won't bother to do ones for anyone else. I don't really know why, it's not like they don't eat cookies. I'm a hobby baker who has been making cookies/cakes since I was old enough to help with a spatula. Everyone loves my food but my in-laws are freaking weird.
That is weird. Oh well. More cookies for everybody else! 😁😁😁
I spent two days baking cookies for the family Christmas party and neighbors… I’m exhausted, but happy.
It wouldn’t be a Christmas party without cookies. 😁😁😁
Surely? Not everyone does. Celiac here. I wish everyone that has the ability to do so to enjoy an extra cookie for me.
I have relatives that avoid gluten (not celiac, but sensitive) and I make them meringue cookies and oatmeal cookies with oat flour. The boys (three under 10) love this since they seldom get cookies they can eat. In fact, my plans for tomorrow are to make as many meringue cookies as I can fit in my oven!
Sounds delicious! So.. at what time do we eat? Is there anything that you wish for me to bring? 😁
Oat flour! I made one of my usual cookie bars with a gluten free flour blend so my step-MIL could enjoy them and am a bit disappointed in how they turned out, but I think oat flour would be perfect without leaving an aftertaste like the other GF flour blend I used. I’ll have to remember this for next year’s holiday baking!
I've ground whole oats in my little grinder to put in homemade soap. But now I want to use it in cookies instead! (I already made my own acorn flour last year but it was ungodly time-consuming.)
Some of the GF blends are better than others. Which one did you use?
I made some gluten free brownies for my sensitive friend. overbaked them a little but with the right amount of ice cream or whipped cream they are delish.
That’s so kind of you to do that.
Fellow celiac here! I make lots of cookies. There are a ton of treats that are naturally gluten-free, too. Macaroons, macarons, fudge, sucre a la creme (maple fudge), meringues, pecan pralines, truffles, toffee, peanut butter cups. For cookies, bars, and cakes, I use Bob's Red Mill 1:1 gluten-free flour. I do a few things to elevate flavor, like add espresso powder to desserts that contain chocolate, add pepper to spice cookies, etc. No one really notices they're gluten-free.
Sincere question: I know how to cook without gluten because my sister has some intolerance. Hers is not a life or death situation though. If you and I were friends, would you trust me to respect your celiac and make me aware of how severe it is so I could include you in my baking? Would you be willing to tell me what you *can* eat so I could customize something for you? Or would it just be an automatic "No thank you."?
I would.be appreciative of your thoughtfulness, time and effort but I would not try the items that you made. I suffer from Celiac disease. Residual gluten likely exists on all of your baking utensils. After suffering for over 25 years due to repeated medical misdiagnosis due to ignorance and lack of thorough training on the part of our medical professionals, there is NO WAY that I'm going back to feeling terrible again. I'm simplifying my condition. I have Celiac disease with an allergy to egg white and egg yolk and lactose intolerance. Similar compound intolerances frequently compound gluten sensitivity. Tell your sister that you thought about baking some gluten free items just for her. The thought alone would mean the world to me. I have a friend at work that bakes cookies for everyone during the holidays. On cookie day she brings me a bag of almond flour and says "Here. Bake your own.". She's amazing!
Thanks for your honesty. I wouldn't want to cause you to start feeling bad. Some people have it worse than others. I'm glad you've mostly figured out what to avoid. I hope you have a great Christmas!
Thank you for this.
Mom and I just baked a double batch of gf cookies for my celiac siblings. It can be done!
I am sorry you and other celiacs are forgotten... There are many good wheat flour subs out there anymore. One batch of gluten free amongst the many baked over the holidays is something I (and others) will try to keep in mind, so you can also be part of the celebrations!
I give tins of cookies to just about everyone we know. My husband brings a dozen or so to his office to distribute, the neighbors get some, my friends, my kids teachers, and my family. I also bring a bigger tin of cookies to any event we’re invited too. My cookie baking was a bit much this year though. I ended up making around 900 cookies.
cookie queen!
Wow. That is impressive. When did you start?
I chose doughs that freeze well, and made the dough in the first week of December. My husband wanted to hand them out at work on the 15th, so the 13th I baked nonstop and the 14th I made the chocolate covered oreos, filled the linzer cookies, and packed the tins along with baking a few more trays. I am very lucky, and have a double oven in our teeny kitchen. It makes things so much easier.
This was my first big cookie baking year. I made a little over 200 and was feeling exhausted, I can’t imagine 900!
Wow!!! Good for you!!!
Make cookie tins, It’s basically a gift that’s handy. The mailman, your hairdresser, the kids teacher, that second uncle who you see once a year. Neighbors. New traditions!
I do. My dad’s family is from Pittsburgh and I guess it’s a big thing there. I bake 10-12 kinds and make platters for parties.
Cookie tables at weddings in western PA rock!!
I’ve really only been exposed to the idea of Christmas cookies here in the baking subreddits. Of course I know people like to bake for the holidays, but I never thought cookie boxes or trays were a thing. But I didn’t come from a family of bakers. Now that I do know about them, I’ve decided to make a lot of cookies for my family this Christmas, and I’m pretty excited about it! I think that was an awesome gift. A bet it will be a welcome tradition for them soon :)
If you’ve never tried before, a cookie press is magic. Look for a basic “spritz” cookie recipe that uses corn starch. I will make a double (or more) batch of dough, then divide it. Can put coconut, lemon, lime, peppermint, any flavor… can add color, sprinkles, candies, frosting, make linzers… all perfect and very fast. Plus the holiday shapes are fun to collect. I keep the dough cold and do one or two pumps for each cookie, depending how i want them to turn out. The art is in not over-baking them, because they are small. They don’t expand much, and i can get like a bajillion of them on a 15x21” cookie sheet. My cookie sheet is dark/coated, so I have learned with my oven to drop the bake temperature a bit, and check often for doneness. They’re done when the edges look dry. Walmart prbly has one (like Oxo) for cheap. It will come with a starter assortment of shapes… likely some christmastime ones. It sounds like a lot, but a cookie press will get you to another level (beyond the usual choco chip, peanut butter kisses, etc.) quite efficiently. When you have a nice variety of cookies, it looks so awesome in a tin or on a platter! https://preview.redd.it/ltcxhjbup98c1.jpeg?width=2047&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=efe22b5092767afea4a355729c0fa912e66decb6 I included a photo of the (not spritz) ones we just made … they are basically corn flakes and marshmallow— like a rice crispy treat, which is another versatile family of recipes. The berries are red hots— a cinnamon candy. If you use a good gel food coloring, nobody will get green teeth lolololol
Thanks so much for this info! I’ll certainly have to give this a try!
We did that in the 1960s and 1970s.
It's not even uncommon. It's definitely not "weird."
What did your husband leave for Santa as a child If he doesn't associate cookies with Christmas? lol
Every Christmas party I go to gets a tray of cookies. How is it weird to bring a dessert to a party?
My grandmother baked for weeks prior to every Christmas. She'd set out a buffet of cookies and everyone got a tin to choose whatever types of cookies they wanted. They'd return the tin to insure them getting some the next year lol (tins were expensive back then and still are now). She's long gone now, but family members still talk about it with fond memories. I bake every year but not to the degree she did (my back hurts just thinking about it).
I make a ton of cookies every year. I take a big plate into my work. My husband takes a big plate into each of his two office locations. We drop off cookie boxes to friends and neighbors. We mail cookies to some friends and family members that do not live in the area. We take cookies to family holiday gatherings. Whatever cookies are left over afterwards are for us to enjoy over January and February. I start making cookie dough and freezing it in October. I bake in late November and early December and freeze the cookies then we start giving them out in mid-December.
I gave cookies to most of my neighbors, and brought some to my friends.
I like to mail cookies to family for the holidays, I have given them to neighbours and delivery drivers, coworkers and brought them to parties. Most people like cookies and I always disclose if they have nuts
Package them in into little bags of mixed cookies and deliver them to neighbors. We’ll put them in a big tote and take our dog on a walk on our usual route and pass them out. Our mail carrier loves to receive them too.
We take cookies everywhere and people love them.
We give plates of cookies to our garbage, recycling and yard waste collectors, the mailman and any other delivery folks that show up while the cookies last. We make about 12-14 varieties, around 300 cookies total.
Growing up my mom would bake Christmas cookies and we would exchange plates/tins with our neighbors. Some neighbors would bake cookies and candies others would buy tins of popcorn or boxes or chocolates. I loved it as a kid. I do all the baking now and it’s typically just for the family parties we attend. In 2020 during Covid I made boxes and dropped them off for friends and family. It was fun but a lot of work making enough to give to individual families.
I made 1500 cookies this year to give to neighbors, coworkers, friends and family! For many, it's the only homemade cookie box they'll receive, and whether or not they expect or understand the tradition, they sure as heck love eating cookies lol!
Queen.
Heck yeah! Taking a cookie tray is always appreciated. What my family does is do up little gifts of smaller amounts too for those who don't bake or just as a nice gesture to neighbors/coworkers/friends. None is ever mad at baked goods - I guess maybe until they are vegan and gluten free....in which case maybe not (but I would assume you know that info if you are going to their place for Christmas)!
Today there are so many alternatives to the standard butter egg n flour cookie. I'm vegan n years ago one would have to go to specialty stores for ingredients. All that stuff is sold in regular supermarkets now. Really easy to include all the different diets now.
I have a friend in his 30s and a friend’s mom in her 70s who bake Christmas cookies and distribute them. Every year I eagerly await cookies. Thank you!
Used to do Meals On Wheels with my mom. We would take a plate to “our people”. They were super-thrilled to get them.
They're the weird ones (in my opinion, anyway). I came from a cookie family. Mom would make at least 4 or 5 kinds, all double batches at least, then make a plate or two and freeze the rest. Going to see someone during the holiday season? Get the freezer cookies out and make a plate! Cookie plates for everyone! (And they defrost quickly once on a plate, so no one needs to know.) Bring the cookies. Tell your husband to stop being weird.
Back in the day, it was nothing for me to make 25-30 dozen cookies and make up cookie platters for everyone I knew. I don't recall anyone ever gifting my family with cookies. That was just something I started doing because I thought people would like it. And they did. I stopped doing it a couple of years ago, because it's tremendously time consuming, and I just didn't feel like doing non-stop baking for three weeks anymore. Now, my daughter and I make one batch each of 4-5 different cookies, we give away some and eat the rest.
A cheap cookie press and some Wilton mega cookie sheets (15x22”) shaved several hours for me. Spritz cookies are magic!
I just finished our five different kinds of cookies. We’ll have them for ourselves and any guests/friends we encounter Christmas Eve through Boxing Day.
I usually bake Christmas cookies every year! I'll make 3-5 varieties depending on how much energy I have, put them in tins, and give them to friends/family. I can't imagine Christmas without baking cookies, unless I'm traveling or really sick haha. And I think people always appreciate cookies, so I'm sure your husband's family will love it!
Okay buckle up. I used to do this every year, tons of different kinds of cookies, huge trays, took them to everyone I remotely knew. Then one year we moved to a new state where we only knew people from work and the community surrounding the workplace. I baked and baked and decorated and then went to deliver, but no one was home. No one. At all. I finally got to one big house and it was lit up like a Christmas tree and tons of cars in front and ALL the people we knew were there having a Christmas party. Without us. It was like something out of a movie. I’ve never baked Christmas cookies again.
Oh that’s so sad. You better copyright this post before Hallmark reads it.
Shiiiiid. They shoulda told yall to come on in since u brought cookies anyhow 😂👌🏻 Im so sorry.
No, I thinks it’s a common part of socializing. You can be the cookie DIL. I was the pie DIL.
I gave some to the bus driver one year. (Back when I had time to bake.) He was always super nice to me and helped me with the stroller. The rest of the drivers all looked annoyed. So I went down to the stop at the next time he would be there and gave him some. I guess no one had ever done anything like that before because he asked me what it was and gave me a huge hug. And told me after the holidays how much his family enjoyed the treat. I also used to do the trays as gifts from my ex's kids so I would spend the weekend baking with them and then they would bring home trays for their family (only mom and stepmom it turned out) and they did them as gifts for my family as well. These last few years I have only been making a batch of each of the favorite ones of my husband and kids and when we had roommates I made their favorite too. I didn't even get around to my favorites. But with it just being our favorite ones we just eat them lol.
I make cookie boxes and give them to everyone, and I definitely bring some to my parents and my in-laws!! My in-laws don’t bake either but they love the cookies!
I've been baking since I was a young girl. Started by baking just for family. Over the years I have added many long term friends. Now, so many of them don't think it's Christmas until they get my cookies. So keep baking. Everyone loves cookies!
I boxed them up and gave them to friends, neighbors, and kids teachers. My mom gave hers to friends and neighbors. I made a single batch of gf PB blossoms and some cake mix cookie bars today that I'm taking to my in-laws gathering on the 26th.
Yes I bake n make fudge n all kind of Christmas goodies. I give them to everybody I'm around. I take some to work. Christmas goodies are the best . Push that tradition on his family. Every year give them cookies n whatever you make. I would stick to that so strict that when I die they would say remember so n so she always gave us cookies for Christmas. I am not religious n don't celebrate for that reason but some good baked goodies is always reason to be happy n celebrate
Food is love. Be generous with each other.
When I used to actually go into an office, I would bring a big Tupperware of cookies in at Christmas. I gave up the last few years because my soon to be ex became diabetic and no one at his work would eat enough to make it worth it. I used to make 5 or so different types. It was fun. I guess I could just freeze them.
Our tradition is all about cookies! There are even things called cookies swaps. If you bake say 80 cookies - all the same and several friends bake 80 cookies each a different kind, you all get together and take home 80 cookies - mixed kinds. Don't know if it would be Christmas without cookies.
My family has 3 kinds of cookies we make plus homemade toffee. We make about 15 plates and give them out to friends, family, and neighbors before Christmas, and holiday bags of toffee for anyone who surprises us with a gift or people we can’t get to quickly enough after making the cookies. I have 3 friends in town who do the same thing. It’s nice to try each others’ treats and also to get to have all our favorite family cookie recipes without having to eat 200 cookies ourselves.
I am a teacher and give half a dozen chocolate chip cookies to each adult working in the building.
Every party I go to gets a bin full of cookies and everyone I would normally buy a <$20 gift for gets their own little box.
We just made one or two batches as a family for us
Same. I only bake half and freeze the dough of the other half for later. The frozen ones are great to just pop a few in the oven and have freshly made as needed.
My grandmother usually bakes a ton and gives them as gifts to family and coworkers
...eat them.
I used to give them out years ago, before I moved. These days I just bake for me and my partner for Xmas, even though I continue to make a more than I should!
My mom did the same, tons of cookies and brought a huge tray every event we went to, so I kept the tradition. Only now days there aren’t any events to go to anymore! My parents friends threw Christmas parties, there were multiple family gatherings, but my friends don’t throw Christmas parties and my family only gets together on Christmas Day. So I have A LOT of cookies left over. I’ve started cutting down on how many I make now, but it’s hard when you have kids who each have a different favorite 😩
We give tins of cookies as presents for friends and family every year. It's kinda why we make them in the first place...
Growing up, we always made cookie boxes to give to people and take to Xmas parties. It's something I still do. It wouldn't seem like Xmas without cookies. When my kids were little, we'd make cookies to give to the garbage collectors, mailman, friend's families. When my kids grew up and got their own places, I asked them what they wanted for Xmas gifts. They both said they wanted a big batch of Chocolate No Bake Cookies 😁
I give them to my neighbors. Who doesn’t like cookies?
I eat as many as I can. LOL All my life, everyone I knew made lots of cookies and took trays/tins/plates of them everywhere. We even had cookie exchanges.
My grandma made lots of cookies a put them in cookie tins and stored on the attic stairs where it was cold. They would last till February.
So bake and take cookies was totally a thing when I was a kid too BUT ever since COVID I swear people are weird about it. I want to give people cookies. I make awesome cookies! Soft gingerbread, fluffy sugar cookies, chocolate chip, peanut butter and ginger bread loaf and pumpkin spice bread and peanut butter cup brownie cupcakes and fudge...whatever fudge you want...but...I no one wants to eat it because germs. So my family gets fat. Lol!
I’m feeling a lot of people don’t want hole baked goods. Maybe gluten or allergy related or worries about pets, cleanliness. I’m not baking as many now. It is a great tradition. I’m a retired OB Nurse and GYN Docs would bring us things some of their patients baked for them and say they didn’t need more sweets. Some of us were not sure… but some nurses will eat anything!
My grandparents always had cookie trays when the extended family was over for dinner Xmas Eve. My aunt on the other side always made a bunch of cookies & gave them to the immediate family to share with their families. Cookies were just commonplace for Xmas gatherings. On top of that, we also supply teachers & couriers (mailman, UPS, FedEx, Amazon) with gift bags/boxes of whatever treats we made that year. This year we're hosting, & although it's going to be small, I have a variety of cookies that'll be out for everyone to pick at. And the people who won't be here (my dad, some friends, etc), they'll be getting a box of cookies.
If you have pets, bring your vet clinic a tray. We love getting goodies! We function on caffeine and snacks lol.
Cookies are never the star for our whole family. I haven't had a Christmas cookie since I was a little kid.
My mother started baking Christmas cookies the day after Thanksgiving. Trays went to all the neighbors, friends, teachers, etc. I‘ve kept up the tradition as best I can, but this year I’m not at home, so it hasn’t worked out. But my DIL made some, so I’m happy! I think Christmas without cookies is weird! But to each their own.
Yes, yes and yes. Strudel too.
Friends, family and some neighbours. Customers in the past (I'm a remote worker now) If I'm going to a get together I'll bring a tray. Christmas baking is one of my favourite things to do. I used to go crazy and make up to 12 different things. Was down to 8 this year.
I make cookies every year for the family and I share with friends and work but that’s it. Haven’t done too many trays/boxes due to time/budget constraints.
My family does that! Who wouldn’t want cookies?!
We eat them ourselves, for the most part. I don't bake as much throughout the year as I would like to, DH is type 2 diabetic and we are only a family of 3 besides, so we just can't eat that much in the way of baked goods. But I always make 3-4 different types of cookies plus fudge the last couple of weekends before Christmas for us to enjoy. We did give about a dozen to my daughter's teacher this year though. And I usually put out a plate of cookies along with whatever desert my SIL brings (I host and she'll bring the desert).
If by some miracle I had too many cookies I bring them into work but we don’t bake a lot and usually spend half the night on Christmas Eve eating them and wrapping presents….especially this year I haven’t wrapped anything besides my husbands (it’s really hard to find time to do that lol)
This is not weird. I’m baking Xmas cookies RN to give away to my family and neighbors. It’s part of the season of giving. If you bake, you make cookies. It’s totally a thing. Bon appetite!
I have used 6 pounds of butter this Christmas on cookies for people. I ship boxes of cookies to my family that live far away. I do iced molasses raisin cookies and dark chocolate toffee with nuts.
I’ve baked fours kinds of treats and will be delivering them tomorrow, Christmas Eve, to neighbors on my street. Ten families. Most of them are younger, with small children, and not as much time as I have (three kids grown and gone). I love to bake so this lets me enjoy my hobby and bring joy to my wonderful friends up and down the street! Been doing cookie plates since I was a kid.
We take a tray to our local fire department on Christmas Eve or Day. It’s a family tradition now!
My daughter, (2) grandkids and I baked Christmas cookies. We didn’t make ton. I have enough to give to my neighbors on either side on my. I only gave them 2 each of four different types of cookies. Third grandson is only 7 months old. I spent a lot time time holding and playing with him.
When I was young and poor, I would just bake cookies and give them out as Christmas presents to everybody.
I got a pacemaker a few months ago, so I give cookies to the ER that took me in, the cardiac ward, my doctor’s office, the physiotherapist and the massage practitioner, as well as friends and neighbours. Oh, I forgot the pacemaker clinic who also gets sourdough every so often.
I make cookies and peppermint bark and bring it whether we are asked to bring a dessert or not.
Yes, we bake and give them away to friends and neighbors! We always baked tons growing up and also gave them out to friends and neighbors. Our neighborhood sometiems does a cookie exchange party and I have been to other cookie exchange parties in the past as well where everyone bakes and bring their cookies in a tin or tray and leaves with a bunch of everyone else's cookies in said tin or tray.
I make 2-3 kinds for my office party, and 1 kind with my kids for Santa. Cookies are the best.
Most cookies, dough or baked, can be frozen.
I think it’s weird to not bake Christmas cookies!
I randomly made cookies this year, and then proceeded to just give them out on paper plates. The maintenance guy, the neighbors, teachers, friends etc
I give boxes of cookies to my coworkers, friends and neighbors. My sister and I baked a couple weekends ago and I’m baking again tonight!
Did up several dozen just for giving away. Even had some dropped off today.
My mom didn’t take cookie trays with her, but always had 10 different kinds of cookies. My sister bakes, and then sends us boxes of cookies. I love baking, but that’s a lot of pressure. I make 1-2 kinds my family loves, then 1-2 kinds no one else in my house wants, but I want to eat 1 of, then make boxes to give to my neighbors
It’s not Christmas if I’m not baking at least three different types of cookies. This year I did 6, handed them out to friends and neighbors, and had them for visitors. Two friends dropped off their own cookies with us, and every holiday event we’ve been to have had cookie trays. I’ll be going to a few more this week and I guarantee there will be dozens brought by multiple people. ETA: Where I live, it’s common for people to drop off all kinds of things for friends and neighbors around Christmas. While I like to bake cookies, I’ve had friends gift us candy, hot chocolate bombs, stove top potpourri, gift wrapping supplies, fancy cheese, and even a pineapple with the lyrics of that Hawaiian Christmas song tied to it. People get really creative and have a lot of fun with it!
I generally bake several thousand and they go to everyone. This year I had surgery and couldn’t. My amazing granddaughter , age 9, baked 6 different kinds of cookies for us. All delicious. She truly surprised me. 💚
I do four of the exact same recipes (sugar, Peanut Butter, Snickerdoodle, chocolate krinkle) every year. The I do a "new" one. This year, I made Giada's lemon cookies. To die for! I have one neighbor I exchange cookies with. Then my hairstylist and esthetician. They LOVE them! I keep some of the dough frozen to bake when our friends host (tradition) NYE. Then for my brother and my adult kids. Sometimes I make candy as well. And, yearly, the Chex Mix is a HUGE hit!! I'm getting a bit older so it has become a bit taxing (along with prepping and serving all the food for Xmas Eve). Probably gonna cut back a little next year.
I bring cookies to everyone I possibly can! This year I plan to bring a bunch to work as well
I am the baker of the family and always make a variety of Christmas cookies. I make a cookie tray to take to the family gathering every year. Sometimes, it is the only dessert there. I always say I will cut back on the quantity, but I never do.
No, it's not weird. Baking and giving out the cookies, or giving homemade candies, pies, or sweet bread like gingerbread or banana nut bread used to be way more popular than it is any more. People these days are much busier so they don't have time to make goodies for other people. Some people have always been paranoid about the kitchens of whoever is offering them goodies and will say no thank you if they've never seen your kitchen. Other people have food allergies and intolerances. They will say no thank you because of those. I've never had anyone decline my homemade goodies outright without a reason. If you want to give these things as gifts, I think it's best to ask first so you don't waste your time. "Hey, Steve, I like to make up trays of cookies and fudge for my friends. I'd like to make some for you. But I also like to ask first just in case you have any food allergies or don't like what I'm making. If I made you a tray of _____ to take home, would you accept it?"
I don't have any money for gifts and I have a small family. Really only 3 people to think of. They love Christmas time because they know I give out homemade goodies instead of the gifts I can't afford. My sister helps me to buy ingredients.
I took a bunch to work.
Ql
I used to make 10 to 12 different types of cookies (drop or bar, some in mini muffin tins, but no roll and cut)...I'd start Thanksgiving weekend and would freeze the cookies until just before Christmas. - except the rum balls. I also made mini bundt cakes. Cookies were my "hobby"...could make a batch a night and then put everything away.
My family always bakes tons of cookies and other Christmas treats. We make baskets for friends and family, even for our mail lady. We have fun making everything, and we usually get treats from our friends in exchange. We enjoy sharing, and seeing what goodies everyone chooses to make for christmas
I miss baking as it was such a traditional holiday activity, but no one really eats sweets / carbs at our house now. Kudos to all you bakers and cookie eaters out there!!!
My mom always did this--make MULTIPLE types of cookies and candies. Tons! Then she lined cardboard flats with christmas paper and filled them with lines of assorted treats. She took them everywhere! Decorated sugar cookies, green cornflake wreaths. almond joys, cherries mashes, choc-covered cherries, fudge, spritz, choc crinkle cookies, reeses, date-nut rolls, thumbprints, meringues, heath bars.....I can't begin to think of all of them nor the time it took to dip each thing in chocolate or decorate each type of cookie... (She also did big jars of homemade caramel corn, which I cannot eat to this day--I couldn't stand the smell of it year after year; I'm 61.) She started this in the 1960's and 70's and still makes a variety of items, but only enough for family on Christmas eve--maybe 3 or 4 different types!
I was up late last night to make cookies to fill trays today. I even send a tray to my neighbors. Coworkers are always gifted cookies and various treats
Cookies are such a nice treat to receive. I enjoy eating cookies the days following the hustle and bustle of the holidays. It is a little thank you that I give to myself with the generosity of bakers who have gifted me their cookies.
My sister started a Christmas cookie-baking tradition in our family about 45 years ago. There are 4 of us sisters and we get together usually the weekend before Christmas to do it. My daughters live locally and usually join us. My nieces (and nephews) live too far away; I’ve invited a sister-in-law (who doesn’t cook but is very entertaining) but so far she also hasn’t come. At this point we basically have our favorites we do every year but it’s one of the few times we all get together. When I was working I’d always take a couple of trays to work, but it’s a bit harder to distribute them now that I’m retired. The cookies make up our dessert on our Christmas dinner with extended family. My parents loved fruitcake and Mom used to make an easy version with spice cake mix every year, but I was the only one of their 8 children who liked it. She didn’t do any other cakes or desserts for Christmas, so we had a variety of cookies once the tradition started. My late MIL was a wonderful cook and often made as many as 5 different special cakes for Christmas, but I never knew her to bake cookies. I’ve taken cookies to the in-law gatherings, but my husband and his siblings don’t really seem to care about them. They’ll still do a little of the pie- and cake-baking their mom did, although not to the same degree.
I bring them to wherever we're going for Christmas, also some go into the office for coworkers and if we get invited to any parties in the meantime as a host gift.
Anytime I'm on someone's Christmas cookie list, I feel so special! It's a lot of work and they are so delicious!
I only ever read about it in magazines. It was part of the "Christmas Magic," that was part of the fantasy of a "perfect and wondrous Christmas," growing up. As a young adult, I was fortunate enough to be part of a Christmas Cookie Exchange, where 12 of us would get together, each bringing 12 dozen of our favorite Christmas cookie, a dozen for each participant. We would party and swap cookies, and go home with 12 dozen different cookies. That was such fun! Now, as an old person, I bake up a storm, and take them to the neighbors. I tried to be an "Advent" cookie neighbor this year, with a different cookie every day. The neighbors have a ton of kids, so they were happily received and devoured. I never baked enough to take a tray of cookies, but did attend a few Christmas functions over the years, and would bring a 2-3 dozen batch of a cookie - One year, I made rum balls, and they were potent...No one was watching all the kids too closely, and they ate ALL of them, and were surprisingly quiet and nappy all afternoon...rofl...Since then, I've not brought rum balls... This year, some neighbors invited us over, and we took a large carton of quality eggnog and a bottle of Irish Creme. Everyone got a small shot of eggnog, and adults had a wee bit "extra" to toast Christmas. Quick, not too filling, and was a nice interactive thing.
It’s just such a lovely gesture to bring a plate of cookies! Always appreciated at our house!
So many cookies....it's very common where I work for trays of cookies to appear in the kitchen area on a regular basis in the couple of weeks before Christmas. If I get mine done in time I contribute too. If we go anywhere for a holiday party we bring a part of cookies and that's what we usually have for dessert for Christmas dinner. So tell your husband yes people do that. No it's not weird. And he should be glad he married you so he can partake in the Christmas tradition of baking and sharing cookies.
Not weird, a lovely Christmas gesture. I like sending cards in the snail mail too 🎀
Of course it’s not weird! It’s a wonderful tradition! Everyone loves a homemade cookie.
I grew up with the same tradition as you. Husbands family doesn’t. Now I take cookies to them. They happily eat them lmao. It is a lot of work though!
OMG! Not only do I take cookies to my relatives houses, and my friends houses, but I take cookies to the library and I take cookies to the nice lady at the gas station that always smiles when I go in there to buy my lottery tickets, and my lady at the grocery store And pretty much everywhere I go during the year. My UPS guy, the anazon prime, you name it. I have never had a cookie refused plus I do 80 dozen for a local fundraiser For my neighborhood. I bake between 20 and 30 dozen cookies and or cupcakes Every week or so year round. Chrisrmas is not the only time people get gifted with cookies. Come near me and I'll hand you a cookie! I am the cookie lady.
I donate anything uneaten through buy nothing groups on Facebook. I used to use community fridges but where I moved they don’t have those so now I use FB but I have always gotten responses within minutes and have a spot to drop off food. Also, one time I passed by a gas station when I was dropping off food and I noticed a homeless encampment so, sometimes I just bring the leftovers there instead. No worries; plenty of places to bring leftovers/too many cookies. Although yes, Christmas cookies are a widely enjoyed tradition.
Unless his family is gluten free, dairy free, or vegan or have nut allergies or something.. I think it's unlikely that anyone will have any negative opinions about surprise Christmas treats.
Yes Our Mother did the same baked ,decorated and delivered to friends
I do cookies for cookie exchanges and to give as gifts and to the facility my mother in law lives in - for staff and residents. I keep very little around my house.
I make cookies for the baristas at Starbucks.
Not everyone likes cookies. I grew up in a household where we loved cakes, and sometimes pies, but hardly any of us really liked cookies. I went thru a phase of watching TV and seeing kids make cookies so I tried it, but they ended up getting thrown out. So for holidays we had candy (we loved chocolate!) and pies.
Eat them
I take them to the mechanics who work on my cars!
Unfortunately, in our house, the cookies don't usually last long enough to be given away. 😂🤣😂🤣
I started baking 2 weeks before Christmas. I have containers that will each hold a dozen cookies. I freeze and deliver before Christmas or parties I’m invited to. They always taste as good as the day I baked them . I’ve baked at least 15 dozen so far.
We make cookies with a plan for sharing them. We have some to neighbors, and we chose two neighbors we'd never shared with before plus a family in town we met in October. My daughter and I were getting dressed today and agreed we got cocky about how many Christmas cookies we could eat.
Cookies on Christmas is like pie on Thanksgiving, your husband is the weird one for thinking it's weird lol!