How Cookies Saved Christmas

Growing up, I used to love Christmas. It was, hands down, the best time of the year (as all the songs can attest to). My dad was in the Air Force so we were constantly moving around, but Christmas meant flying or driving to Texas to spend the season with my mom's extended family. Presents, a ton of food, and my granddad.

My granddad and I had the best relationship pretty much from birth. He was my best friend, my confidante, and the one person I would call for just about everything. When I started at college, he and I had a weekly phone date where we discussed what books we were reading, any new music I thought he might enjoy, and our favorite TV show (Castle).

He was diagnosed with cancer during my freshman year. It went into remission, but immediately came back with a vengeance. I flew down to visit him the summer before my junior year and it was rough. There's something about seeing the person you love the most wasting away to just a shell of themselves that makes you feel incredibly helpless. He passed away that October. I remember that day so vividly. I had an 8am class and my mom called me as I was getting ready and I collapsed. I couldn't breathe. It felt like the world stopped and I was enveloped by a grief I've yet to experience since, and I have no desire to ever feel that way again.

His birthday was on Christmas, but I couldn't bring myself to go down to Texas with my family that year. I spent the holidays alone in my parents' house. To add insult to injury, the girl I was dating at the time cheated on me on Christmas. So, after that horrific holiday, I decided that Christmas sucked and I had no desire to partake ever again.

Fast forward a few years, and my now-wife and I celebrated our first Christmas in our very first apartment. We were broke and the apartment was tiny so our "Christmas tree" was actually a cardboard cutout of Liam from One Direction with a Santa hat and tinsel. We started to create our own traditions and her family brought us into their own holiday traditions after my extended family disowned me (a story for another time).

Her family has a ton of money, which kind of made giving them gifts a bit awkward. We knew that we would never be able to give them presents on par with the gifts they gave us, so we came up with the idea to bake them cookies and treats in lieu of physical presents. It's been about three years now, and I'm convinced that they keep inviting us to more and more holiday celebrations in hopes of receiving the gift of cookies.

Y'all, these cookies changed the game. The best part is that you can essentially put in whatever you want and they're still going to taste amazing. I had no idea that the simple act of baking (which is a huge stress reliever for me) would help me to forge relationships with my new family. Even though my granddad's passing still hurts, I've been welcomed into a new family that has reignited my love of Christmas.

So, yes, these cookies quite literally saved Christmas.

Oh, and pro tip: Use Guittard chocolate chips. You can find them at Target or Whole Foods, and probably Amazon because they have everything. Trust me, you'll thank me later.

I've used caramel bits, espresso chips, dark chocolate covered pecans, and even added cocoa powder to make a chocolate-based dough. You cannot go wrong with these cookies.

The Cookies that Saved Christmas

Makes a boatload of cookies (perfect for gifting)

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

2 tsp salt (I use fine sea salt, but kosher works)

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

3 sticks of butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar, packed (light works best, but dark is fine)

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

Rice Krispies

Oats

Butterscotch chips

Chocolate chips (semi-sweet, milk, dark - mix and match!)

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 375 F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or a silicon mat.

2) Mix together the dry ingredients in a medium/large size mixing bowl. You can use a whisk or a fork for this. You just want to make sure everything is evenly distributed.

3) Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. It only takes a few minutes, but you want it to be fluffy.

4) Add the eggs and vanilla to the mixer and beat until you can't see the egg anymore.

5) Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in small batches. I usually use a 1/2 cup measuring cup and add it one at a time.

6) Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, fold in your add-ins until just incorporated. I didn't add measurements for these because the sky's the limit. Literally add to your heart's content.

7) Scoop 1 tablespoon of dough onto the cookie sheet until you have about a dozen scoops on each sheet.

8) Bake for about 10-12 minutes until golden brown. Let cool on the sheet for a minute or two before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

9) Eat all of them.