Chocolate-Dipped Orange Cookies

As I stated before, Anthony likes those chocolate oranges. So I decided to use this as inspiration for his present this year. I also decided that this would be one of the recipes from my physical copies since orange and chocolate are both popular ingredients. I finally settled on one from one of the Taste of Home mini magazines that you can get at the cash register.

Grandma's Coconut Chews

For the third year in a row (apparently), I decided to stick with coconut as the main ingredient in Nonni's gift. I also, once again, tried to find something that was heart-friendly and at least looked like it would go well with a morning cup of coffee. After a search through Pinterest I finally settled on the coconut chews from Barefeet in the Kitchen (the grandma referenced is the blogger's grandma).

Pinipig Cookies

For the last several years I've been wanting to make Helen a Filipino dessert (specifically a cookie) recipe for Christmas since she grew up in the Philippines. However, the rare time I searched I didn't find any that I would be confident in making. This year was a little different: Kevin and Helen got engaged in September. Which is why I decided I would for sure make a Filipino cookie for her present this year.

The search results were interesting though - cookies that were more what I think of as American (e.g. chocolate chip cookies) but were mainly from bloggers of Filipino descent/origin. A bit confusing. While there were some that sounded like Filipino cookies, I was still a bit unsure for some reason. So I decided to ask my co-worker who's Filipino (I have several co-workers who are). She gave me a recipe for Pinipig cookies by a Boston chef of Filipino heritage, posted to BostonChefs.com.

Chocolate-Brownie Biscotti

Confession: Kevin's recipe was a backup. I didn't know what to make for Kevin at first. My indecisiveness kicked in, as always. I did, however, pick out a recipe for Helen (his fiancé[!!]) as a backup in case I couldn't find a Filipino cookie recipe. When I did find a recipe, I decided to use the other recipe as Kevin's gift. I found it in one of the grocery store magazines I used to constantly buy. This one was from Good Housekeeping and specific to the holidays.

Coconut Brookies

I almost didn't do anything for Barba John and Auntie Paldina. At one point in December I got an email from Nonni saying the three of them had decided that they wouldn't get Christmas presents for the others' grandkids. In other words, for example, I wouldn't be getting gifts from John and Paldina. Understandable. I still felt I should make them something at least this year, to kind of even things out from the past. So I searched for a chocolate coconut dessert for Barba John. I eventually settled on Coconut Brookies from Crazy for Crust.

Oatmeal Scotchies

Choosing and Christmas presents this year was a bit easier: my mom asked me to not bake her something because she was still working on the cookies I'd made her for Mother's Day. And eventually I decided that instead of the frustrating process of making candy for the 5 cousins (I have a neat tool that allows me to melt the candy in the same container that I distribute it out of - except it's hard to get it out into the molds) I would make one batch of M&M cookies and divide it up amongst them.

I still had 7 recipes to choose (8 to make - Dad's is always easy to pick). I added to the ease by choosing Lemon Coconut Squares for Auntie Paldina (I first made them for Mom for Mother's Day 2015). And at one point in the last year, Mom mentioned to me that Kati loved Oatmeal Scotchies (oatmeal butterscotch cookies). At first I was just going to find a good Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookie recipe then substitute butterscotch chips. But I couldn't find one. However, when I looked in the Nestlé Best-Loved Recipes dessert book I have for Dad's cookie, I noticed there's actually a recipe called Oatmeal Scotchies. Did not know this. Don't think I've ever noticed it in all the times I've flipped through that book.