Lemon Cutouts

For Kati I also decided to stay away from chocolate. I focused specifically on lemon since I remembered that she likes limoncello, an Italian lemon liqueur (like my mom, she has happily embraced being an Italian-by-marriage). When I came across Lemon Cutouts in a Taste of Home Best-Loved Cookies & Candies magazine, it seemed perfect: a couple years ago for my birthday, she, Anthony, Kevin, and Helen got me a set of cookie cutters but I hadn't yet had the opportunity to use them. Until now.

Vanilla Wafer Cookies

Because I'm a chocoholic myself, I tend to gravitate for chocolate recipes when choosing someone's gift if I know they like chocolate. So for Kevin I decided to look at vanilla recipes. I eventually chose Vanilla Wafer Cookies in the Taste of Home Christmas Cookies 2012 magazine. (For some reason my thinking was "Ooh, wafers, just like in Kit-Kat bars." More like the Nilla Wafers you can get in the cookie aisle. Oops. Oh well.)

Citrus Shortbread Cookies

With the exception of my dad (more on that in another post), I like to change things up every once in a while when picking out recipes. Which means that because the last two cookies I made my mom had coconut in them, her Christmas present was going to be something different. I decided on citrus because I know she likes those flavors. In an effort to use more than just what I've pinned, I took to my recipe magazines and cookbooks before coming across Citrus Shortbread Cookies in the Betty Crocker Best Desserts 2011 magazine.

Coconut Chocolate Chip Biscotti

It's that time of year! Time for me to wear out myself and my KitchenAid mixer in order to give the best gift I can think to give: baked goods. Picking recipes out is often hard because even when I have specific flavors to go off of, there are a lot of options in the form of cookies, brownies, etc. Still, I somehow find recipes for everyone.

Nonni's was a bit easy. I decided to make her something with coconut in it. I do have a few coconut recipes saved for her and Mom on Pinterest so I looked at those before deciding on Coconut Chocolate Chip Biscotti from Desserts Required.