Some of the best Christmas cookies are those that we have from our memories from our childhood. Our family always had an assortment of cookies and candies but a few stood out as my favorites. Now that I am an adult with my own family, I notice that both my brother's family and mine still enjoy the cookies that we had as children. One of everybody's favorites is the Peanut Butter Thumbprint Kiss Cookie. This recipe can be made using jelly in the thumbprint but my family always enjoys the kiss. These cookies are simply great.



Peanut Butter Thumbprint Kiss Cookies

Heat oven to 375* and assemble ingredients. You will need: half cup granulated sugar, half cup packed brown sugar, half cup shortening (or margarine), half cup peanut butter, 1 egg, 1& quarter cup all-purpose flour, three-fourth teaspoon baking soda, one teaspoon baking powder, quarter teaspoon salt and a bag of Hershey kisses.

First, mix sugars, shortening (butter or margarine), peanut butter and egg. Once it is creamy, start to slowly add the dry mixture of flour baking soda, baking powder and salt, until it is mixed. Then shape dough into one inch balls and put them three inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Make the thumbprint (press the middle of each cookie with your thumb) and put a Hershey's kiss on each cookie, in the thumbprint.

Bake, 10-12 minutes, until the cookies are slightly browned and set, but not too hard. You may need to adjust your baking time as ovens differ. Cool the cookies, on the cookie sheet, for a few minutes then remove them to a cooling rack. I have found that I have less wasted time if I have a duplicate set of cookie sheets so I do not have to wait for the one from the last batch to cool. This will make about three & half dozen cookies that your family will love.

This recipe can be doubled if you are part of a Christmas cookie exchange group. To double it, you would need: one cup granulated sugar; one cup packed brown sugar, one cup butter or margarine, two eggs, two & half cup flour, one & half teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder, half teaspoon salt. Doubling the recipe will give you about 7 dozen cookies.

Because many people have favorites of their own, it is fun to see if someone in your family or a close friend wants to share their favorite cookies with you by becoming part of a Christmas Cookie Exchange. It is easy to do when you double your recipes. You will be able to share half of your baked goods and receive half of theirs so you will have different kinds of Christmas cookies. They get to enjoy a bigger variety that way. Many different varieties of chocolate chip cookies can be seen the article, ?Favorite Christmas Cookies two. You can also see other recipes in the article entitled ?Cookie Exchange Will Save at Time at Christmas?. Do try out these recipes this Christmas and holiday season and treat your family.