Well it’s finally here, my last Christmas recipe of the season. Pretty hard to believe it’s all almost over isn’t it? These are absolutely my favorite Christmas cookies so it’s only natural that I save them for last. There is, however, another reason I saved them for last…I am not actually giving you the recipe! This is probably the only time you will ever see this happen, but I have been forbidden from posting this recipe by both Derek and my mother-in-law. This is a family recipe that I was lucky enough to have passed on to me, and I don’t think it would feel like Christmas without them.

Thumbprint cookies are very popular around the holidays and you can probably do a Google search and find dozens of different recipes. What I really wanted to share was exactly how I make these thumbprints. The first few years I made them the original way, by placing an actual thumbprint in the cookie to make room for the frosting (could also be jam or whatever type of filling you’d like). Once I started making peanut butter cup cookies in my mini muffin pan, I started to wonder how the thumbprints would turn out if I made them the same way. The answer is fabulous! Instead of making an actual thumbprint in the cookie I just roll the dough into balls, place them in a mini muffin pan and use the end of a pizza cutter to make an indentation immediately after they come out of the oven. Once they have cooled we make our homemade powdered sugar frosting, add some food coloring and fill the cups. You still get the great thumbprint taste, but to me they taste even better in the shape of a cup. What I love most about this recipe is that this is the one thing Derek and I always make together: I do the cookies and he is in charge of the frosting. I actually hate the thought of making them without him, which is what makes these such a wonderful holiday tradition and treat. Enjoy!

Russian Tea Balls. Mexican Wedding Cookies. Whatever you’d like to call them I can guarantee you it will be followed by “yum”! I had always heard of these cute little shortbread-like cookies but never tried them until my sister-in-law made them for Christmas a few years ago. I just kept eating, and eating, and eating them all night. Derek loved them even more than I did, so he begged me to get the recipe and I started making them last year. They have since topped both of our favorites list, and are in fact #2 on Derek’s. (I have a really hard time picking individual favorites, but if I really had to pick I would say they are #3 for me).

The list of ingredients is very simple, and I guarantee most of you have everything in your pantry right now. Most recipes do call for some type of nut, which we don’t really care for so I just leave them out. Ideally you should let the cookies cool before rolling them in powdered sugar, but Derek usually can’t wait that long and he actually likes the taste of the warm, melt in your mouth cookies. Enjoy!

Russian Tea Balls
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1 cup (2 sticks) salted, butter, room temperature
½ cup powdered sugar, plus extra for coating
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large mixing bowl combine all ingredients using an electric mixer. Roll into small balls and place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Place in oven and bake for 15 minutes. Allow to fully cool, then roll in extra powdered sugar.