People like cookies too

I got to thinking and, really, why should the dogs get all the treats? My mom was kind enough to pass along some of the family's traditional Christmas cookie recipes - from her to me to you.

Spice Cookies - from my Grandma Bee. Bee was a great cook: her chicken-n-dumplings are legendary and are my homecooked birthday meal of choice. Her cookies ain't bad either. These spice cookies are best when dunked quickly in cold milk.

1 lb. butter
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
1 1/2 c. white sugar
5 c. flour
1/2 Tbsp. ground cloves
1 Tbsp. allspice
1 Tbsp. nutmeg
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1 Tbsp. baking soda
1 c. chopped nuts (doesn't specify but don't go with peanuts)

Cream the butter and two sugars together well. Dissolve the soda in 1/4 c. boiling water and add to the creamed mixture. Then sift the flour and spices together and add to the mixture. Stir in the chopped nuts; mix well. Refrigerate in rolls for at least a couple of hours. Slice the chilled dough thinly and bake at 350-375 for 10-20 minutes on an ungreaseed cookie sheet.

Grandma's Christmas Cookies - these are amazing cookies that I hated when I was little. But I loved making them because my folks would invite a bunch of people over to chop the nuts and dice the fruit; we'd all sit around the kitchen table, talking and laughing, the occasional brazil nut flying across the room. Now I like eating them too.

1 10 oz. package of dates
1/2 c. in-the-shell brazil nuts (it's more fun when they're in the shell)
1/2 c. in-the-shell almonds
1 c. in-the-shell pecans
1/2 c. candied pineapple
1/3 c. candied cherries
1/2 c. butter
1 egg
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 c. flour
3 Tbsp. fruit juice

Cut the dates into medium pieces. Shell the nuts and chop them, and the candied fruit, coarsely. Combine butter, sugar, egg, salt and spices and blend well. Sift flour with baking soda and stir into creamed mixture with the fruit juice. Add nuts and fruits and mix well. Drop rounded tablespoonsful onto lightly greased cookie sheets about 2 inches apart and bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes. Let the cookies cool a little before taking off the sheet - they get sticky.

Giant Ginger Cookies - Mom usually doubles this recipe. These cookies are so good (I really like ginger) and nicely chewy.

2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
3 tsp. baking soda
3/4 c. shortening (butter is recommended)
1 c. sugar, with extra sugar set aside for sprinkling
1 egg
1/4 c. molasses

Sift the flour with salt, spices and baking soda. Cream the butter and work in the cup of sugar. Stir egg and molasses into creamed mixture. Add in flour mixture gradually; mix well. Shape the dough into 1 1/2 inch balls. Roll in the set-aside sugar; place on ungreased cookie sheets. Flatten the dough balls with fingertips and sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.