I’m not going to mention how many days we have left for our gift-knitting, but suffice it to say that it’s not enough. At all. (Next year I’ll plan better. That’s what I always say.) I finished up this scarf and had fun knitting it. It’s made out of Alpaca With a Twist Socrates, so a very fine fingering weight yarn (in Wendy’s Feather and Fan scarf pattern.) It’s soft and warm and lacey looking and I’m almost sad to send it off. 
But I’m happy to think of it with the person that it’s going to! I have another Feather and Fan scarf to finish up this week, and then I might be on to another scarf addiction, or two. I’ll keep you posted. I have 3 more in-progress that I love and want to get finished up sometime during the holidays. So many fun scarf patterns, so little time. (For those of you who bought up all of the Jojoland Scarf patterns this week, more are already on order. Hopefully we’ll have them re-stocked for you by next week. That is one of my new scarf addictions – the Jojoland patterns and yarn.)
Because life can’t be all about working at Loopy Central and knitting (although most weeks it usually seems that way), there have also been Christmas Cookies made. This is our favorite frosted sugar cookie recipe and we make them for almost every season. YUM. College Guy and College Girl always like it when I send a container full up to school for them. Our other favorite holiday cookie is here. They smell heavenly when they’re baking in the oven. Those are on my list for later this week or this weekend. And speaking of making wonderful things, my friend Meg sent a tin of her Peppermint Pudge to all of us here at Loopy Central, and I’ll share that recipe (and name explanation) on Friday’s blog post.
So I have two questions for you today: 1) Are you done with your gift knitting? and 2) What is your favorite holiday cookie recipe?
Sheri thinkingthatcookies,knitting,andafireinthefireplace
soundslikeanicewaytospendafewhours
I would be finished with my knitting but I keep adding things like fingerless mitts that I’m now addicted to knitting. (Thanks.) I still have some other craft things to do too.
My favorite holiday cookies are Moravian spice cookies. I buy these because they are very very thin and better when bought from Moravian bakery in Winston Salem. My favorite holiday cookie recipe is cowboy cookies (chocolate chip, pecans, coconut, and oatmeal). I use a recipe based on one credited to Laura Bush.
I can’t wait to see the peppermint pudge recipe.
I’m close to done. Sort of. I do keep adding small presents, too. I have to finish a Lady Eleanor for my mom in law then some fingerless mitts for a friend. Anything else is a bonus.
Fave cookies? chocolate covered cherry cookies; similar to brownies w/ maraschino cherries. Can’t remember where I found the recipe but maybe at allrecipes.com?
I’m almost done! Hubby wants socks and now I just have to figure out heel flap, heel and gussett – he has very developed calves and small feet so I’m winging it 🙂
Hmm – favorite Christmas cookies – my mom used to make the jam filled cookies where you cut out 2 sets of cookies – one was solid and the other had a hole in the middle. Stack them together and add jam or jelly and then cook.
The other one is some pumpkin cookies – they make the house smell so nice!!
Yes, I am done with my Christmas knitting. I only made 2 pairs of socks this year. I am giving my mom a skein of Keegan Lane yarn with the understanding I will make a pair for her after Christmas. That will be her first pair of handknit socks.
My favorite Christmas cookie are Rolo Cookies. I blogged about the cookies I made last weekend. All I have to do are the cut-outs. Maybe this weekend.
The Peppermint Pudge sounds very intriguing….
I look forward to New Years Day in which I stay in my jammies all day, knit, and watch a marathon of Twilight Zone episodes (well that was last year anyway).
two more gifts to crochet, one more to needle felt, and 3 dozen cookies to bake for my dad and I will be done with the handmade gifts. My favorite cookie (holiday or not) are chocolate chip with walnut. My hubby prefers gingersnaps, but I am bad at making them. They are always soft and not snappy.
I’m no where NEAR being done with my Christmas knitting – that’s part of the fun, isn’t it? “having” to knit?
We love sugar cookies – I can’t wait to try your recipe. I’ve been subscribing to the Food Network’s 12 days of cookies and some of those look good and fun to try. Pudge, indeed!
I have one baby sweater to put the sleeves into and sew up the side seams, one baby sweater that is only about 1/4 knitted, and at least one pair of fingerless gloves to knit, probably two. It’d help if I could stop being at work for 60 hours a week.
Favorite holiday cookies…hmm…we don’t have a tradition of baking cookies. We make fudge for all the neighbors – the standard fudge recipe on the back of a jar of marshmallow fluff. Though a couple years I made a yummy batch of mini pecan pies with chocolate chips, done in a mini muffin tin. Those were tasty. And I really like the chocolate crinkle cookies – the ones you cover in powdered sugar that crackles when they bake.
Almost…and it’s not really a Christmas knit, it’s just sort of working out to be done around Christmas so it’s turning into a Christmas knit.
My favorite Christmas cookie? Hard choice. Could be the Swiss Chocolate Almond Hearts my mom always made. But I think it’s more likely to be the Welsh Currant Cookies she made. I loved them and I was feeling very sad this Christmas that, with Mom gone, there would be no Welsh Currant Cookies. But then I went to a Cookie Walk with my brother and the first table I stopped at….had Welsh Currant Cookies. And the woman behind the table spoke Welsh to the gentleman behind me, so these are the real deal. Yum.
You should collect all these recipes people are mentioning and have a Loopy Cookie Cookbook! (Like you have nothing else to do…)
Well, I haven’t started my holiday knitting, but I’m done! Simply because I decided not to do any *holiday* knitting (i.e., for gifts) this year. I am knitting a sock that I designed for a sock club, which has to be done this month (and will be!), and I’m knitting on a project for my Loopy swap partner. 🙂
I haven’t made cookies in years, but I used to love to make Mexican wedding cakes and those chocolate crinkle cookies (the ones that Alicia mentioned, which I’d forgotten all about!). A couple of times, I made rugelach. And one year, I bought a pizzelle maker and made a whole bunch of pizzelles. (I’m not that ambitious any more!)
I definitely agree that cookies, knitting, & sitting by the fireplace sounds great; the first two components are easy enough, but how do I get me a fireplace?!
I have two scarves to finish, but both of them are halfway done. Scarves tire me out, so I need to distract myself with small projects. I have a pair of mittens to do as well, but they’re quick. For the first time, I’m almost on schedule!
Favorite holiday cookie (or anytime) is ginger snaps. At the holidays I add some icing 🙂
Short answer: 1. no. I have 1/2 of 1 sock left. 2. none. I don’t bake. My attention span is such that I can’t remember to take the cookies out of the oven. Makes for crispy cookies!
Yes. All done with the knitted christmas gifts, almost done with gift purchasing too 😉
favorite cookie recipe? Andes mint cookies. They are yet another thing to look forward to during the christmas season.
Cheers!
Sara
I’m not done yet, but I have an extension by proxy as the people I’m gifting will be away from next week until the first week in January.
I like oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, not exactly Christmas Cookies, but cookies none the less and fudge – here’s my easy, no fail recipie for fudge:
In a bowl, put in 12 squares of Bakers Semi Sweet Chocolate
40 After 8 Dinner Mints (the ones in the brown paper envelopes)
1 Can of Sweetened Condensed Milk
Melt in Microwave 1 minute at a time, stirring after each minute (or it will burn) – total melting time varies
Pour into a pan and refrigerate overnight and enjoy – oh, and don’t forget to lick the bowl 🙂
Your scarf looks great! I didn’t do any Christmas knitting this year…did needlepoint ornaments instead. The cookies look delicious and I’m guessing that the Peppermint Fudge is called Peppermint Pudge because that is the result if you eat too much of it!!
I feel you for the knitting and fireplace thing. Realized over the weekend that there will be a few IOU’s this Christmas for knitting I have decided not to stress about (it should be fun, right?). Favorite cookie is Peanut butter with Hershey’s kiss on top. Simple but delicious and reminds me of my childhood Enjoy the lead up to Christmas.
I think I’m over 1/2 way done with my Christmas knitting. I have 3 pair of fingerless mitts to do, 4 mini sweater ornaments, 8 mini scarfs for the sweater ornaments, Gust (which I have been working on since this summer(!), a pair of socks for DH (if I get them done) and a stuffed airplane for DS (again, that’s kind of iffy).
Oh and I have to weave in ends and block several scarves and fingerless mitts that have been completed.
As for my favorite Christmas cookie isn’t really a cookie. It’s peppermint bark. I have to make several batches because I eat it all before I can give it as gifts.
As for my knitting… I think I am delusional… I think I am delusional… I think I am delusional….
yes, I’m done with my gift knitting — because I didn’t knit any gifts this year! 🙂 I’m quilting instead and have one left. My favorite holiday cookies? Nutmeg Butterballs, Molasses Crinkles, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies, Spritz … I can’t limit my choices to one!
Well, not exactly. My family gets a pair of handknit socks each- it is the new tradition. This year I planned ahead so yes, the family ones are done. So mum and I decided to knit socks for friends too. We may have bitten off more than we can chew or knit but we will see!!!!!
I think I am done with my gift knitting. I am debating whether I want to knit an item as a Christmas gift/stocking stuffer or as a random surprise. If I do knit it, it shouldn’t take more than an evening or two so I am not too worried about it. I don’t have a favorite Christmas cookie, I was raised on homemade chocolates for Christmas. My favorites are the buckeyes and the white chocolate with peppermint. Yum!
I no longer knit officially for Christmas — if it’s done, it gets in the package, but if it doesn’t all guilt is waived. I do knit for birthdays and random occasions throughout the year for a few special people — it’s kind of fun to get a Groundhog Day or Mardi Gras or Bastille Day present. Favorite cookies? I’ve never actually made these myself, but even though my mom hates to make them because they’re a little bit fiddly, she still makes one batch for me. Very thing molasses cut-out cookies, with a white glaze and red or green sugar sprinkled on them. It’s my grandmother’s recipe; she made them twice as thick. Still wonderful, but a whole different cookie. (Thanks, Mom!)
I’d love to say I’m finished …. and I even started in September to be ahead of the game (and also finish two quilts as well as the knitting), but sad to say, I’m not done. Part of the problem, I have lots of people, relatives & friends, who love being on my gift list because I make them socks for Christmas. And one daughter and one grandson both love the socks so much, that I end up trying to make them each at least four pair of socks just for Christmas … and then there are the sisters who each get a couple of pair …. and the new neighbors who have already discovered the love of wool socks from me … well, you get the picture. At least one quilt is nearly done, and the other will be completed shortly after Christmas, plus my hairdresser is hoping for a pretty lacy scarf (not even begun yet), and then there’s all the baking I want to do for the neighbors in lieu of socks …. Every year I swear I’ll start early, and I did this year, but didn’t take into account that I’d end up being more generous as a result, nor did I remember that I usually catch cold about this time and lose over a week of knitting & quilting time just because I was so sick. I still love Christmas, even with how frantic I get, so I guess some things will never change.
Oh yes, what’s peppermint pudge? Maybe I could add that to the baking I’ll do of my favorite big cookie batch of Stormy Weather Jumbles, which has everything plus the kitchen sink in it. It makes a lovely chewy cookie in about a 12-dozen batch which is great when you have a lot of people to make cookies for. Add to that, loaves of bread, fruit/nut bars, and decadent brownies, and I’ll be done with the baking … eventually.
Well, the knitting is done, but we’d probably better not speak of the finishing… I did pretty well this year – only two must-knit gifts, and they’ll be ready to go on time (barring a major catastrophe).
Favorite holiday cookie recipe? With two small boys in the house, right now it’s Pillsbury. I do make my own almond buttercream frosting and glaze though… And fudge (not quite in the cookie category though). 🙂
Sheri — one skein or two for that scarf? Can’t believe I’m thinking of making something white — the last time I made that pattern it was 3 bright shades of pink plus gold plus a teeny bit of white. Looked beautiful — but not as cool and classic as that one in the picture.
I love Wendy’s scarf pattern. I’m working on one myself, but it’s not gift knitting. I decided not to stress myself out this year, so I skipped the gift knitting altogether. I gave handknit gifts last year to family I thought would appreciate a hand knit gift, so I think I’m good for now. There are always birthdays. : )
As far as favorite holiday cookie recipes? Hmmm…. I do like the sugar cookies with frosting too. My mom always makes them. She likes to make it a family thing and puts the Christmas music on and asks everyone to help frost. I also like the peanut butter blossoms too. Yum!
Yes..No..Maybe…I too, keep adding things. I think “Maybe hat and scarf sets for the kids next door might be nice….or Oh, maybe, so and so would like a scarf.” I need to learn when enough is enough or I might NEVER get done. 🙂
I would have to say that my favorite christmas cookie is not so much a cookie at all. It would be my moms carmels!( I will scrounge up the recipie for you….I think you would LOVE them!) They are to DIE FOR!! She only makes them once a year around Christmas, so I tend to think of them as a Christmas Treat!
Thanks Sheri for all you do. Merry Christmas
I am not even half way through my holiday knitting. I always wait until the last minute and then I see something on a sneak-up and change my mind about what to make. Every year I say I am going to nit all year for presents but never do. Alas, I am too old to change.
My favorite holiday cookies are plain sugar cookies. Love all that butter and sugar taste.
I am keeping my Christmas gift knitting simple this year. I usually make each of my boys a little fun knit thing to have peeking out of their stocking(I tell them I set it by the stocking at night and Santa knew to tuck it in the top when he was done!)
One year I made goldilocks and the three bears finger puppets! This year both boys have sock monkeys. One down, one to go! Plus, I usually knit my self a pair of socks in Christmas colorways, just for kicks!
Cookies? My mom and grandma used to bake chocolate cookies with red or green frosting on top. The green frosted ones were peppermint, the red frosted ones were anise, yummy!
I just looked through the 1963 reprinted book of Betty Crocker Cooky Book, and wow, did that book ring memories of holiday baking. Lots of old fashioned favorites.
not gift knitting, and not making holiday cookies. life is too insane rightnow
Yep, my Christmas knitting is all done: Baby Alpaca cabled scarf for my cousin; a silk lace scarf for his elegant wife and 5 pairs of adult thrum mittens for various people. And my favorite cookie is the pizzelle. I make hundred of them each year to give as gifts; and LOVE the wonderful anise aroma that fills my house for days afterward. Looking forward to your Peppermint Pudge recipe.
I’m almost finished with my knitting, but not shopping! Still OTN – Pirate Mittens for my 5 year old DGS and simple ribbed sock for my dear friend to give to her boyfriend. I’m taking a vacation day tomorrow to shop and bake and knit.
My mother used to make wonderful Christmas cookies. She always entertained all the groups she belonged to. She typically made 12 – 14 different kinds of cookies and hundreds of sugar cookies. She made intricate designs with different frostings. They were almost too pretty to eat. I loved helping her. She also made Lep Kucken from a family recipe. It made so many that she would mix it in a dishpan and my father would have to help stir. I seldom bake cookies any more because I eat too many of them:-) My favorites would be the peanut blossom or chocolate crinkles.
I’m done with my gift knitting and knee deep in charity knitting for the homeless that must be handed over next Monday evening.
Well, the ginger cookies are of course my favorite, but I also love an espresso orange shortbread cookie that Martha Stewart published in a special cookie issue a few years back. We have done cookie swaps at work in the past, but this year we’re all on diets so no one wants to go home with 3 dozen assorted cookies!
Christmas knitting is going along – several cowls, and a pair of fingerless mitts are done, one pair of socks 1/2 done, one shawl not quite halfway, one pair of socks not yet started. But I’m knitting as fast as I can! Maybe you could turn your scarf addiction into a cowl addiction – they’re much faster!
I’m making your mint sugar cookies tonight for my daughter’s open house at school tomorrow – with mint M&M’s! yum.
No, not finished knitting here. I keep finding things getting in my way of knitting. Our favorite cookie is a Chewy Molasses cookie. They smell so good and taste even better!
That scarf would be nice in JoJoland. Just placed an order for another pattern as well and … enough for 4 scarves. I knit all year for Christmas. What doesn’t get done now will go into next year’s Christmas chest. it’s like shopping from home when I open it to see what goes to who. Merry Christmas!
I have two more items to knit and I am through!! Your Feather and Fan scarf is beautiful. How long does it take you to knit one up? My favorite cookie recipe is a version of the Candy Cane cookie and I have been making it for just about every holiday for thirty years. My kids wil actually “guilt” me into making them at Christmas every year!
almost! 3/4 of a hat to go and one slouchy hat…they both need to be mailed but hopefully by friday they will be in the mail
fav cookie: hmmm, anything soft-ish and dunkable!
Christmas knitting is not quite done. For my mother, I have the 2nd foot to complete; for stepdaughter, straps on a vest; and a scarf for a co-worker. The scarf has been a secret group project and I’m the last one to knit on it so it’s about finished.
My favorite cookie…such a hard one. I love the Toll House Chocolate Chip cookie. They are my comfort cookie. A family recipe that I love with a cup of cofee are Coconut-Date-Nut bars, a cooked date puree sandwiched between a crumbly pecan-coconut base. Now I want one!!
Luckily (for me), I didn’t do a whole lot of Christmas knitting this year. I’ve done a lot of knitting for myself….and gifts for recent babies.
My favorite cookie recipe is the Big Ginger Cookies recipe from Martha Stewart. I just made them this week, and was reminded why I adore these cookies so much. They smell like Christmas, taste like Christmas, and just make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside!
Here’s the link – GO MAKE THEM! 🙂 http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/big-ginger-cookies?autonomy_kw=Big%20Ginger%20Cookies&rsc=header_2
Done with Christmas knitting? Heavens, no! I keep adding to my list too, which certainly doesn’t help. Oh well, if I don’t finish those gifts this year, I just look at it this way – I’ve got a jump start on next year’s gift giving ! 🙂
My favorite cookies are frosted sugar cookies and I can’t wait to try your recipe. They look delicious! But my family begs me to make my Dutch great grandmother’s recipe called St. Nikolaas Kuekges. They have lard in them! It’s a good thing we only eat these once a year!
Done with Christmas knitting? Of course not! It’s traditional not to be! But I’m farther ahead than usual.
There’s a toffee bar recipe that’s one of my favorites year-round, but in the winter, it doesn’t get melty the way it can in summer! I posted it on my blog; it’s in this post.
http://hitherandyarn.wordpress.com/2008/01/02/now-were-cooking/
Didn’t plan any Christmas knitting – so anything I finish will be a PLUS! 🙂
My favorite cookie recipe? Hmmm… really like butter spritz in the old cookie press, or Nestle’s Toll House, or peanut butter, or oatmeal scotchies… not too many I don’t like! ; )
No… not done yet. I did finish and felt a Ball band felted bag today and am working on a Wollmeise feather and fan scarf. Also have a pair of fetching fingerless gloves to finish. How many days until Christmas??? Our favorite Christmas cookie around here is the cream wafer. Definitely a labor of love to make, but loved by all. Maybe I’ll have some around when you come next weekend!!!
http://jarladysrecipes.blogspot.com/2007/08/cream-wafers-1-cup-butter-13-cup.html
No, not even close! If I only had a few more weeks. And my favorite cookie is the homemade snickerdoodles a former student’s mom makes for me. Yum. It’s become a tradition! I don’t know what I’m going to do when she goes to jr. high! Two years ago I hid them from my hubby and forgot where I had put them. Needless to say, when I did find them they were as hard as rocks!
NOT done with my Christmas knitting as I’ve added two new projects.
My favorite Christmas cookies are Pizzles. They are made one cookie at a time over an open flame in my great Grandparents cast iron press which was a wedding gift to them in 1902 with they’re surname stamped in it. Very special and a lot of work but oh so worth it! Yum!
Almost done- a couple of ends to weave in on a scarf and 3 small purses to felt. I have a larger purse to knit and felt, but I think I will call that one a birthday present and that needs to be finished for an early January birthday. Plenty of time.
favorite cookie recipes- spritz cookies and sugar cookie/cut out cookies from Better Homes and gardens paperback cookbook from the 70’s. Also biscochitos (sp?), Santa Fe, NM newspaper recipe. A traditional cookie from northern New Mexico- uses lard- they are fantastic. The best.
Almost done! I have literally two more rounds on the second of a pair of fingerless mitts and the yoke of a sweater for my boyfriend (the yarn is chunky, so it’s flying by).
My favorite cookie recipe is just the good old fashioned Tollhouse chocolate chip recipe. Never goes wrong!
Gift knitting? Ah…no. But I’m working on sloooowly stockpiling so that NEXT year I can gift hand knits (ok, my mom gets some socks at Christmas because she is TOTALLY Sock Worthy).
Favorite recipe….well, Russian Teacakes, Thumbprints and Chocolate Crinkles are all must-haves. And I love iced sugar cookies (usually when somebody else makes them). My current “fave” is actually a candy called “Opera Creams” – I got the recipe last year I think from one of those ubiquitous cookie magazines. They’re maple flavored with toasted pecans. Yum.
I am done with all the gift knitting. Hooray!
I think my two favorite cookies are sprtiz and the iced sugar cookies. I am not ready to start the holiday baking yet though.
Technically, I am done since all I had was a crochet scarf that really might be a birthday present, but since the recipients’ birthday is right around Christmas, I’m letting him decide what its for. I am also knitting a pair of socks for a Christmas present, but she has no expectations to get them by Christmas, which is good because I haven’t decided on a pattern or ordered the yarn yet. (From TLE, naturally)
I really like the Spritz cookies (I prefer the green trees for some reason) but my absolute absolute favorite cookies are a bit of a mystery. I have no clue what they are called, and while my mom has the recipe, its missing all the amounts of each ingredient. My Grandma who made them has dementia, so I’ll have to find the full recipe elsewhere. All I remember is they have almond bark, peanuts (the reason my Grandma stopped making them so much in the first place, one of my younger cousins has a peanut allergy), rice krispies, I think marshmellows and probably some peanut butter. Its been years since I had some. I would eat so many of them during the holidays my Grandma gave me two boxes full of them for my birthday one year.
The better question is “Have I STARTED my Christmas knitting yet?” LOL I swore I wasn’t going to knit any gifts this year since I pretty much knit for family and friends all year anyway, but I do have a few ideas of small projects I’d like to do, but I refuse to give in and think of them as actual Christmas knitting, because I think that will be the kiss of death in actually completing them on time. :}
As for my favorite cookie, shortbread cookies…sooo good with coffee! A plain ol’ sugar cookie is always good too, though. 🙂