Have a Looky at my Christmas Cookies

I had a super Christmassy weekend- it was so fun accomplishing several items on my December To-Do list! The weekend started with seeing David Sedaris’ Santaland Diaries at the Horizon Theater. I laughed so hard- it's a great and fun show and the Atlanta cast is marvelous. I also made my winter-themed playlist.

The best part though was being invited to bake a million, okay a dozen, different kinds of Christmas cookies with my dear friend Sandy. It was a perfectly Christmassy Saturday in her and Jack's beautiful home. As we baked cookies, Jack and his daughter Katy put up their Christmas tree in the living room. Our soundtrack was the holiday albums of the divas: Dolly Parton, Better Midler and Diana Krall. It isn't Christmas until you hear Dolly sing "We Three Kings" I tell you!

We made Gingerbread men and women, my favorite being the three-eyed Alien Gingerman in the corner:


We made Jack's favorite macaroons and delicious wedding cookies (referred to as "Nut Balls" on Sandy's mom's recipe cards):


We made several kinds of nutty cookies, including these hazelnut cookies dipped in chocolate:



I laughed so hard the whole time I was decorating these Mafiosa Snowmen- one is Robert De Niro and the other is Joe Viterelli (a.k.a. Jelly from Analyze This):


But my favorite cookies of all are the Ginger Rosemary cookies:


Sweet and savory at once, and they smell like rosemary heaven. Enjoy the recipe- my Christmas Cookie gift to you!

Ginger Rosemary cookies

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons dried rosemary
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar, plus more for dusting
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses

Directions:

Crush rosemary with a mortar and pestal or a bowl and the back end of a knife. YOu don't need to grind the rosemary, just break it into smaller pieces.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, rosemary and cloves. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Gradually add the 1 cup of sugar; beat until fluffy. Add the egg and molasses; beat well. Stir dry mixture into egg mixture.

Shape dough into 1 1/2-inch balls (1 heaping tablespoon of dough each). Place about two tablespoons of sugar in a small bowl. Roll balls in the sugar and place on ungreased cookie sheets about 2 1/2 inches apart; add sugar to the bowl as needed.

Bake in a 350-degree oven about 10 minutes or until light brown but still puffed. (Do not overbake.) Let stand on cookie sheets for 2 minutes; transfer to a wire rack and let cool. Makes about 24 cookies.