Christmas Cookies!

Every year at Christmas, I prepare cookies for my husband's colleagues and it's become a bit of an event at his office. He said that when the season approaches, they already begin to anticipate the little packets of goodies with much enthusiasm.  I know it's more of an American thing to give out Christmas cards, but not sure if giving out homemade baked goods during Christmas is something the Italians do on a regular basis like back home.  Well, in any case, it is fun to give out something in which people look forward.

Anyway, this year the featured cookie was "phantoms", which sounds more Halloween than Christmas, but the richness of the treat makes it a perfect giveaway for this crowd.  I have learned that, for the most part, Italians love hazelnuts and chocolate (Italy is the home of Nutella!) so I tend to concentrate on these flavors more.  The recipe came from Rose's Christmas Cookies by Rose Levy Bernbaum, however since macadamia nuts are not so commonly found here in Italy, I substituted them for the much-loved hazelnut.

Also, wanted to share a couple of jokes with you regarding the cookie-making event.  The first talks about how dangerous cookie-making is.

And this second one is a result of the first.  In case it's too subtle, my mouth is covered in chocolate and crumbs are all over me in evidence of my cookie-tasting crime.

Again, take care everyone!  Have a safe and happy holiday!