I usually make more sweet treats in November and December than I do all the rest of the year, mostly because I’m sharing them widely. Last month I was using homegrown fruit in Crumble-Top Deep-Dish Apple Pie and cherry pie. This month is all about cookies, as I share this week and next in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon.

These cookies will travel with me across three states when I visit family over Christmas. Some will find their way to gatherings and parties. Others will become my favorite chairlift snack in our just-opened local ski area. So the cookies I make each holiday season vary widely, from aged family favorites, to eye-catching sweets for party trays, to sturdy treats that tuck into a ski jacket pocket.

Learn more about upgrading cookies and get the complete recipe for Smoky Oatmeal–Cranberry Cookies in my column.

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Twice as Tasty

Like many bakers, there are particular cookies I rarely make outside the holiday season. I finished baking two of them last night: Vanilla Bean Cookies and Chocolate Rum Balls. These family favorites need to sit for several weeks to fully develop their flavor, so prepare them now if you want to enjoy them before the year ends. I’ll share another popular holiday cookie next week that tastes best when freshly made.

The oatmeal cookie recipe in this week’s column is always popular on a holiday tray but works as a lunchbox cookie any time of year. Here are three other cookie recipes on the blog that I often share with it during the holiday season. You can find more options in the recipe index.

• Peanut Butter Thumbprint Cookies with Ganache
• Pumpkin–Chocolate Cookies
• Triple Gingersnaps

You can also learn more about packaging and mailing 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.