Alissa's favorite: Gingerbread cookies

Alissa and I met in college as journalism undergraduates but really became close after college, living in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood. We have tried so many restaurants together, including Cafe 28, Cyrano's Bistrot and Las Tablas. We've braved the chocolate bar at the Peninsula and over afternoon tea at the Sofitel, Alissa told us she was pregnant...with twins! I've had many good meals made by her and her husband Andy. My favorite is Indian food from their kitchen. (They introduced Jeremy and me to the book Quick and Easy Indian Cooking, which I highly recommend!) And, come to think of it, Alissa is the only person I know who has ever contacted a cookbook author to correct a recipe.

Alissa, Andy and their twin boys recently moved to Columbus. We are SO excited to visit them during the holidays. This recipe is from her mom, who says these make great gifts:

Gingerbread Cookies
5 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 tsp cinnamon
2 1/4 tsp baking soda
2 1/4 tsp ginger
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 cup molasses
2 eggs
1/3 cup water

- Stir together flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, ginger, salt and cloves.
- Cream butter until light. Beat in molasses. Beat in eggs. Stir in water.
- Stir dry ingredients into wet.
- Chill dough at least one hour or overnight.
- Roll out dough into 1/4-inch thickness on lightly floured surface. Cut into shapes.
- Place on greased cookie sheet and bake 10-15 minutes at 350 F.

Yield: 3 1/2 dozen

Amy W.'s favorite: Peanut butter no-bakes

I have enlisted the help of family and friends to complete the 25 Days of Cookies. The first is from my childhood friend Amy, who is probably my oldest friend whom I still stay in touch with today. We met in third grade, and my family lives within walking distance of her family's farm.

We have had a lot of culinary adventures together...sharing recipes in 4-H Club, making doughnuts from scratch (that was a project), collecting the buckets that held sap for maple syrup on her farm, and most recently, making some fabulous meals with our dearest girlfriends and families at her house in August 2008.

Here's a preface to her recipe, in her own words:

Not gourmet by any means, but a favorite at the Wyatt house. It is the only known instance where peanut butter trumps chocolate, as we like them way better than their better-known cocoa counterparts. I have heard no-bakes called “preacher cookies” before - you could see the preacher coming down the road for a visit and have them done before he got to your house. I’m thinking that probably refers to a preacher coming by horse. They are fast and easy, and around the holidays, a good one to have for the family so they don’t devour all the fancy labor-intensive cookies before they make it to a party or as gifts!

Peanut Butter No-Bakes
Boil and stir for 2 minutes:

2 c. sugar
½ c. margarine
½ c. milk

Remove from heat and add:

½ c. creamy peanut butter
1 t. vanilla
3 c. quick oats

Quickly drop by spoonfuls on waxed paper.

If mixture is boiled too long, the cookies will be dry and fall apart. Add a little milk to get them back to the right consistency before spooning them out.

Mom's favorite: Sugar cookies

Is it normal to keep a record of the Christmas cookies you make each year, listing the number of dozens you've made of each? Is it normal to have a freezer full of cookies just in case you have guests stop by during the holidays? Is it normal to tell your daughters you're cutting back this year, and we can only pick our 5 top favorite cookies this year? I think this is very normal because my mom has been doing all of this for years. This is the first of 25 posts of Christmas cookies in honor of her and the sweet smells of holiday baking. Enjoy!

This sugar cookie recipe is a family favorite. My mom clipped it from the Pittsburgh Press in the 1970s when she and my dad were first married. This cookie has taken many forms in her kitchen over the years...hearts at Valentine's Day, turkeys at Thanksgiving and snowflakes at Christmas.

Sugar Cookies

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 cup butter, softened

1 egg

1 t. vanilla extract

1/2 t. almond extract

2 1/2 cups flour

1 t. baking soda

1 t. cream of tartar

Mix powdered sugar, butter, egg, vanilla and almond extracts. Stir in flour, baking soda and cream of tartar. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Divide dough in half. Roll each half 3/16-inch thick on a lightly flour-covered surgace. Cut dough in desired shapes with cookie cutters. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for about 7 to 8 minutes (until edges are slightly browned). Frost and decorate as desired.

Creamy Decorators' Frosting

Beat 1 cup powdered sugar, 1/2 t. vanilla extract and about 1 T. water or 1 to 2 T. of half and half until smooth and of spreading consistency. Tint with 2 to 3 drops of food coloring, if desired. Makes enough for 3 to 5 dozen cookies.