SMART COOKIE

I want to send Happy Hanukkah wishes to some of you, you know who you are.

So my little guy pointed out to me that each holiday has it's candy...Easter has the chocolate bunny, Valentine's day has candy hearts, etc... you get the idea and Christmas has the candy cane. However, I needed to point out to him that the Christmas sweet he likes may be the candy cane but to me - it's all about the Christmas cookies! This is prime cookie season and we need to embrace it!!

The primitive snow man is from Johanna Parker Design .com I like to intermingle snowmen with holiday decor because it's always so naked when I take down the religious what nots. With the snow men, things are not so stark until Valentines day rolls around, know what I mean?

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I say I like cookies but the truth is I like only peanut butter cookies, all variations of them and any other cookie I am willing to sample but most likely think "Meh, I wish there were peanut butter ones". However, cookies as gift giving or holiday items get a different approach: adorable cookies for the children, chocolate something for most adults and schmancy for the exchange. I have sworn off of cookie exchanges because of all the rules my group began imposing, that and the temptation of having 900 cookies whispering my name was too much. If you are not a cookie exchange wimp like myself I noticed these tasty morsels. If you are a cookie Scrooge, no matter, I wanted to show you something completely unrelated to cookies.

Ok, here's the non-cookie thing I wanted to tell you about. See, Santa dropped off iPods last holiday and I absolutely marvel at all that is available with them and for them. They are that great. Well, in the morning commute, I seem to leave the house just in time for traffic and weather and never get to do any duets with my favorite artists who live inside my iPod. No more!! Check out this thingamajigger: it's an iPod dock for your car... I know, right!! Let the concert begin!!! This little beauty will allow you to listen to your tunes or you can purchase the subscription of Sirius XM radio enhancements. I do not know if Santa provides that but you could always ask =) Enjoy the coming week, my friend and thanks for stopping by. Don't go telling Santa that you want a thingamajigger, see this is actually called a XM Sky dock.

Adorable cookie, hmmm, these are cute Simple Holiday Sugar Cookies dressed for the fun of children but now I have a male teenager in the house and only something morbid, offbeat or insane will count as a pre-adult cookie ... so I have to show you these excellent Christmas mice cookies by Rhonda with their disturbing eyes and that tail which my kids will try to tie into knots inside their mouths... yeah, this cookie does double duty |^_~|

My Own Grand Idea: Peanut Butter Chocolate Checkerboard cookies

Using your favorite Chocolate cookie recipe and Peanut butter cookie recipe or use these wonderful ones found here, create cookie doughs.

Grammy’s Chocolate Cookies

Irresistible Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe

(Both of these recipes call for 3 to 3 1/2 dozen cookies, unless you actually want to make a ton of these cookies, I recommend cutting both

of the recipes in half.) After creating your two cookie doughs, follow the Checkerboard cookie diagram shared from the wonderful cut out and keep website then bake your new creation in 350F oven for about 12 minutes. Keep eye on them and remember to tell your little cookie eaters that these contain peanut butter because surely they will think these are the tired sugar cookie checkerboards that we always see annualy. Perhaps they may have forgotten how unique and amazing you are because “We don't see things as they are, we see things as we are.” Anais Nin =)

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