I cannot believe I haven’t written about cookies before this. They are one of my favorite things, and there is no better time than the holidays for some great cookie baking.

Just think about it. The smell of warm cookies permeating your home. The soft crunch as you bite into a fresh cookie, soft in the middle and nicely browned on the outside.  The haunting taste of ginger, the delightful smoothness of chocolate, all the buttery, sugary, now-this-is-a-cookie goodness.

Excuse me, while I go whip up a batch.

My personal favorites are, of course, the ones my Mom made while I was growing up. Chewy Noels. Chocolate Pinwheels. Pecan Sandies. I remember cookie-making days, when the rolling pin was out, flour was everywhere, and expectations of delight were high.

I was entranced at the idea of refrigerating cookie dough, watching mom roll it up in waxed paper. I got to help roll out the sandies, learning just the right amount of pressure to put on the little balls so they didn’t get smooshed flat. And, of course, the cook’s helper got to do the taste-testing, right out of the oven. Well, that is, as soon as they cooled—helped along by me blowing on them!

When I had kids, I followed the same pattern. We pulled out cookie cutters and made Santas, wreaths and candy canes. We had a batch of chocolate chip cookie dough continually in the refrigerator, ready to be turned into warm Christmas cookies for drop in guests and neighborhood kids. We gave cookies to friends, filled boxes, bags, and cookie jars galore, and took them to every possible function and event throughout the holidays.

This year I’m trying some of the new recipes created by the chefs in our own test kitchens at The Food Channel.

It just hit me. Now I know why I haven’t written about cookies before.

I’ve been too busy baking them.

There goes the timer!

See our 12 Days of Christmas Cookies, too.