Tins of Cookies & Sweets…

A holiday spread of cookies or sweets is always a big hit in our home. Guests who come for holiday dinners are bashful at first, but when gently coaxed into picking out a tin, they take pleasure in choosing a selection of cookies or sweets to take home with them. Sometimes they have kids (a reason for taking the largest tins), but many times they don’t. Not many people still bake up a storm at this time of year, so I suspect the “kid in the candy store” transforms into an “adult in a cookie buffet”… We had intended to bake at least 5 more kinds of cookies this year, but never got around to it.

We have three kinds of biscotti, a hit with the grown-ups. Almond and cranberry, pistachio and cranberry, and finally, almond and chocolate chunks. We also have classic chocolate chip cookies, chocolate crinkles, gingersnap cookies and not in the photos, rolled sugar cookies that never made it to the decoration phase. We also have lemon/orange flavored butter cookies. It’s interesting to watch folks pick out their loot… some think in terms of after dinner treats, others their coffee and yet others what their kids would like. I also managed to get several large chocolate Santas for the very reasonable price of PHP140 at S&L Fine Foods which will be given out to kids of crew, etc.

The holiday tins are leftovers from previous years, purchases at close-out sales or recently purchased at the home section of Landmark department store. They are lined with holiday waxed paper and there are ribbons at the standby for anyone who fills a tin. These photos taken after one holiday dinner and there are replenishments in the kitchens so we can keep this table of treats right up to Christmas Day. If we have done our estimates right, nearly every cookie and treat will find a taker. :)

The classic red and white candy canes arrived late this year, I finally found them at Metro Grocery and just in time for them to make the cookie table really feel like Christmas… Now if only I had more arms and hands to make the planned linzer cookies, banana cupcakes, ensaimadas and cinnamon rolls for which the ingredients await…

Note: Glass jars and ceramic cookie jars a present from Sister. I don’t buy these things… they take up a lot of storage space and are used for only a month every year. But with a spread like this one, it’s obviously worth it. Thanks Sister for the jars and several cookie recipes over the years!