The Very Best Christmas Cookies Ever

It's December, and you know what that means. That means holiday cookies.

My family has high expectations when it comes to cookies. So with every cookies recipe I try, I ask for reviews.

Well, these delicious Honey-Molasses Ginger Cookies were declared the best cookies in the entire world. not just by my family, either — I shared them with friends and they asked for the recipe, declaring that these cookies were the best they had ever tasted.

And now, dear friends, I share the recipe with you.

My entry for Guinivere's food photography challenge.

You will need:

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup honey
2 egg yolks
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground cloves
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions:

ONE. Cream together the butter, sugar, molasses, and honey in a bowl with an electric mixer. Add the egg yolks and mix well.

TWO. Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices; stir into the butter mixture. Wrap the dough in plastic and chill overnight.

THREE. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut out shapes with your favorite cookie cutters; transfer to lightly greased baking sheets.

FOUR. Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake cookies for 8 to 10 minutes. (Do not overbake.) Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets until they are firm, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

My mother consumed an alarming amount of first raw cookie dough, then the finished (and still piping hot!) cookies. I told her that she needed to save some for my dad, and she got all Gollum-ish and protective over her cookie.

Of course, how can one make Christmas cookies without a Christmas playlist? See, the wonderful thing about an iPod is that you can play as much Christmas music as you like and nobody will get annoyed with you for getting the song stuck in their head. I'm giving you the choice whether or not to listen; be warned, these songs can and will get stuck in your head.