Onto the next holiday!

Remember when I posted my kids' Halloween costumes and I said that I LOVE the holidays? Well, Christmas is certainly no exception. It is by far my favorite season of the year. I guess this is just a disclaimer that December is sure to be filled with lots and lots of Christmas posts... so be ye warned. (!)

Here is a picture of a portion of my Christmas tree...

You don't get the whole thing because only the top 2/3's of the tree is decorated! Thank Studley for that one.

Can you tell what my ornaments are? YEP! Gingerbread cookies! I made them the first year we were married, and we are still using them for our Christmas tree. With Knight being in school, we've had to find creative ways to stretch a dollar, and this was one of them. I remember when I was really little, we would make gingerbread cookies every year to put on our tree, so this was the perfect fit for us. And the cool thing is you don't have to make them every year, you just can't eat them. However, they will make your house smell absolutely heavenly!

What you'll need:

Christmas cookie cutters (I found mine at Wal-mart for $2.50)

Ribbon for hanging the ornaments (mine was left over from a different project- $1.00/spool)

Tool to cut hole in cookies (I used a metal straw we had)

Gingerbread cookie recipe (BELOW!)

Gingerbread cookies

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves or allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl, set aside.

• 3/4 sticks butter, softened
• 3/4 cups packed light brown sugar

Using an electric mixer, beat on medium speed the butter and brown sugar until fluffy and well blended.

• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup dark molasses
• 1/2 Tbsp water

Beat in the eggs, molasses and water until well combined.

Beat half of the flour mixture into the molasses mixture until well blended and smooth. Stir in the remaining flour. Knead (or use your mixer's dough hook) until well blended. If dough is too soft, add a little more flour.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least two hours, preferably overnight. You can make it up to 3 days ahead of time. Let sit at room temperature for at least 10 minutes before rolling out.

Roll out on flour and cut shapes (like you would with sugar cookies).  Don’t forget to poke the hole in the dough for hanging with ribbon! Bake on parchment paper at 350° for 11-13 minutes. Let cool. String ribbon through and hang on tree. Enjoy! 

Merry Christmas!