love + merriment = family: ho ho ho, merry....cookies

mama and her little baker

this morning when we rose, diegas asked e, "do you know what you're doing today?" she looked at him with big sleepy eyes and answered "yeah"...which usually means you're about to tell me, right? "you're making cookies with cousin isei" (forget the word cookies she was concentrating on the word isei. her big boy cousin. at the age of four he's definitely her mini-hero!) the cuteness continued as diegas said "you come from a long line of cookie monsters." diegas and i pretty much eat more cookies than anyone should. we like cookies!!and after evia got to have her first cookie (a homemade coconut-cranberry, grandma t success) two nights before at tio gamz's bday dinner, we knew she liked them too!

bizcochitos recipe in "twelve days of christmas a pinanta for the pinon tree"

evia showed me a recipe in a book that her grandma lu just bought her called "the twelve days of christmas a pinata for the pinon tree," by philemon sturges. the story is the classic tale, but with a pinanta instead partridge and silver beads, kachina, mariachi and a host of other native american/southwest "gifts" for the tree. it's a absolutely gorgeous book. i hadn't noticed the recipe at the back for "bizchochitos" which reads: "this state cookie can be found in every new mexican home at christmas time." but evia had noticed the illustrations of the cookies. hmmmm sounds like mama "has" to make cookie dough. similar to a regular sugar cookie recipe the book's recipe includes anis seed and lemon zest.

two batches:anis seed/lemon zest, nutmeg/orange zest (flax meal for egg)

for our sugar cookies this year, i was tempted to do something "healthy" you know substitute sugar for honey or agave nectar or use applesauce or bananas or something of that nature and then i thought, what?! for xmas?! no, i think the real thing will be just fine. i made one batch of the recipe from the book and one batch with coconut oil instead of butter and spiced my own concoction of nutmeg and orange zest. of course in our house we always do flax seed instead of eggs for little e. so the the nutmeg recipe wound up being totally vegan, kinda-fun until i added traditional frosting.

cellophane wrapped cookie dough balls ready for fridge

ingredients were put together the evening before, while my dad visited and e entertained us both! the batches were shaped into round balls and put in the refrigerator to cool and set for cousin isei's arrival the following day for our first annual "cousin cookie extravaganza." oh the fun! aunntie becca, tio gamz, isei and i listened to christmas music and got a few batches made. see photos below of our very merry family making these delicious treats! merry christmas!