Baking cookies with my dad during the holidays is one of my favorite traditions now for as long as I can remember. Now that I live in Tennessee and he lives in Georgia, these moments are even more cherished. Every year, we pull out the recipes, dust off the mixing bowls, and get to work turning simple ingredients into something meaningful. It’s not just about the cookies—it’s about the quiet rhythm of working together, the sound of the mixer, the smell of warm sugar and spices, and the occasional taste test to make sure everything is just right. As my dad has aged (he’s now 84), there’s something grounding about that treasured time in the kitchen, surrounded by the same tools and traditions we’ve used for years. While his hands may not be as steady as they have been in the past and we have a chair close by for rest time between recipes, each year I am grateful for each moment, each shake of powdered sugar, and each taste we sample.

Once the cookies are baked and cooled, we visit the local dollar store to grab the tins to pack them up to share with friends, family, and neighbors. Giving them away feels like wrapping up a piece of our holiday spirit for someone else to enjoy. It’s a small gesture, but one that connects us to the people we care about and brings a little extra joy to their season. For my dad and me, it’s become more than a holiday habit—it’s a way of celebrating one cookie at a time and each year of love together. Merry Chrsitmas to you and your family. And, may you enjoy our top recipes of the last few years.

Daddy’s Favorite No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

  1. Gather all ingredients.
  2. Bring sugar, butter, milk, cocoa, and salt to a full rolling boil in a saucepan for 2 minutes.
  3. Add quick-cooking oats, peanut butter, and vanilla; mix well.
  4. Working quickly, drop by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper and let cool.

Daddy’s Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Balls

Karen’s Favorite Pistachio and Cranberry Cookies
(From Cooking with Grammy)

3.5 oz lightly salted raw pistachios, toasted

3 oz dried cranberries

4 oz graduated sugar

8 oz unsalted butter at room temperature

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

12 oz all-purpose flour

Procedure

*Preheat oven to 350°

*Toast pistachios for about 10 minutes until slightly brown remove from oven and chop

*Place cranberries in food processor pulse until chopped into small pieces

*Place butter, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, and mix on medium speed until the mixture is smooth, about 2 minutes

* Stop the mixer, scrape sides of bowl, and add all of the flour at once

* Turn the mixer to low speed and mix until all the flour is just combined; the dough will be crumbly

* Increase mixer speed to medium and mix until the dough has completely come together

* Add pistachios and cranberries and mix on low speed until they are well combined into the dough

* Turn cookie dough onto a lightly flowered surface and shape into a rectangle, 1/2 inch thick

* Use a 2 inch round cookie cutter to cut out the cookies

* Place cookies on parchment covered cookie sheet about one inch apart

* Chill the cookie dough in the refrigerator for 20 minutes to an hour

* Then bake the cookies 20 to 30 minutes in a preheated 300° oven; the cookies will be a pale golden brown

* Remove cookies from oven and let them cool about 5 minutes on the cookie sheet before moving them to a cookie rack