Monday Montage #106

Deck the halls and all that jazz!!! Can you believe we are only a WEEK away from CHRISTMAS???? WOWZA!!! Seriously not sure HOW that happened already!!! And at this point I figure I am as close to ready as I'm gonna get (except for wrapping ... and stocking stuffers!)! Lucky for me I am just finishing up with my neighbor gifts ... just in time to share them with y'all and my Monday Montage friends!!

The "cheat" about this is that it was created with my Cricut. In my favor, all the ribbon and the paper is Stampin' Up, so I guess I can claim that I am still using Stampin' Up goodies to make my neighbor goodies, right??? When you have a family tradition known as "Keebler Elf Sunday" (even though we made all the cookies on SATURDAY this year), you gotta just squeeze in the projects you can when you can!! And we honest bake about 1,000 cookies ... NOT kidding. But they are delicious, and it goes pretty quickly, so at least that part is happy!

Supplies: Circut "Very Merry Tags"
Paper: Basic Black, Very Vanilla
Accessories: Retired Real Red Ribbon, Rhinestone Basics Jewels

Each of these little bags contains 15 "lucky pennies". They stay soft FOREVER!!! And they are a TOTAL favorite of my family (and also of many of my friends at this point!)! Sweet side note ... I didn't even know that these were my dad's most FAVORITE cookies EVER until about two Christmases before he passed. He used to steal some of the ones that I had set aside for some friends that HE was supposed to deliver to!! I never knew that until he told me! So I made sure he had his very own batch after that!! So these cookies remind me of him and make me smile!

And before y'all ask ... here's my recipe!!! This has become an annual tradition here on my blog ... to share this recipe. The only "hint" I can give you is that you should NOT "double" this recipe ... each batch has to be it's own thing, or they won't turn out as well. Believe me, I've tried!!! And considering we have probably made about 10,000 of these cookies, I feel somewhat of an expert on the subject!

Lucky Pennies

2 1/4 C. all-purpose flour
2 t. baking soda
1 t. ground cinnamon
1 t. ground ginger
1/4 t. ground nutmeg
1/4 t. ground cloves
1/4 t. salt
3/4 C. (1½ sticks unsalted butter, softened)
1 C. firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 C. molasses
1 large egg
granulated sugar (for coating cookies)

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and salt. In a separate large bowl, use a wooden spoon to cream the butter and brown sugar until smooth. Stir in the molasses and egg and mix until well blended. Gradually stir in the flour mixture until combined. Cover the dough and refrigerate it for at least 1 to 2 hours or until firm enough to roll into balls.

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Use a teaspoon to scoop the dough from the bowl and roll the cookies into about 1"-in-diameter balls. Roll the balls in a shallow bowl of granulated sugar. Place the balls on an ungreased baking sheet, leaving 2 inches between the cookies. Bake for 6 to 9 minutes or until the cookies are crinkled and set.

Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for about 5 minutes. Using a metal spatula, transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat until all the dough is used. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 1 month and at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Makes about 8 dozen cookies.

Click "Back" for Melissa Stout and "Next" for Amy O'Neill ... their projects are joyful AND triumphant!!