Just last night, I finished preparing my make-ahead cookies for the holidays. I rolled the last balls in powdered sugar and stacked them in a cookie tin, where they will sit untouched for the next 3 weeks to age before they are ready to be shared and eaten by family and friends.

Each year, in the days after Thanksgiving, I bake two kinds of cookies that taste better the longer they sit: Vanilla Bean Cookies and Chocolate Rum Balls, the recipe I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon. I’m at least the third generation in my family to create these cookies, and friends have adopted them as part of their own holiday tradition. These recipes are such a sweet way to end the year and remember past baking days with my grandmother, mom, sister, and others.

Learn more about make-ahead cookies and get the complete recipe for Chocolate Rum Balls in my column.

Make it, share it.
Tag @twiceastastyblog and #twiceastastyblog

Twice as Tasty

As I mentioned in this week’s column, my recipe for Chocolate Rum Balls evolved from my grandmother’s Walnut Brandy Balls into the version I make with homemade vanilla wafers. What I neglected to mention is the biggest challenge with these cookies: Making a batch without being able to eat any straightaway. If you just can’t wait, there is an easy solution. Mix up a double batch of the vanilla wafer dough, and roll out half until it is about 1/3-inch thick. Cut shapes, such as a smooth or fluted circle, with a cookie cutter, and bake just like the rough pieces you will grind to crumbs. The cutout cookies can be dipped in Chocolate Ganache, frosted, or iced and enjoyed while you finish preparing the rum balls.

Make-ahead cookies kick off a full holiday season of baking in my family. Here just a few other family recipes on the blog. You can find more in the recipe index.

• Old-Fashioned Gingerbread Cookies
• Peanut–Ganache Thumbprint Cookies
• Biscotti Master Recipe
• Cranberry-Orange Quick Bread
• Gingerbread Loaf
• Crumble-Top Deep-Dish Apple Pie
• Creamy Roasted Pumpkin Pie

You can also learn more about packaging and gifting cookies in this blog post.

Want more Twice as Tasty recipes? Get my books! Click here to order a personally signed, packaged, and shipped copy of The Complete Guide to Pickling directly from me. I also share tasty ways to use pickles in The Pickled Picnic; it’s only available here.