Coming this Christmas: The family cookie car

Key ingredient: kindness

Coming this Christmas: The Family Cookie Car

Key ingredient: kindness

BY ASHLEY TREXLER
An award-winning blogger and writer for hire
liesaboutparenting.com

Want to encourage your kids to notice others and commit small acts of kindness? Baking and delivering cookies in “The Cookie Car” has become a heart-warming and simple way to remind our family that giving and gratitude are what matter most at Christmas.

Recipe: Christmas Cookies

WHAT YOU NEED

Time:  Low   Medium   High

Budget:   $   $$   $$$

  • Gift bags, ribbons, and tags
  • Ingredients for thumbprint thank you cookies (makes about 60 cookies)
    • 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
    • 1 teaspoon baking powder
    • 1 teaspoon salt (finely ground)
    • 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
    • 1 1/3 cups sugar, plus more for rolling
    • 2 large eggs
    • 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
    • 2/3 cup Christmas jam (can substitute with raspberry, strawberry, or cherry jam)
Cover image for recipe card.

DIRECTIONS

  1. Brainstorm a list with your kids of people you can help.
  2. Consider decorating your car for your cookie car runs.
  3. Make some thumbprint thank you cookies.
  4. Deliver cookies in your cookie car!

Recipe for 60 cookies:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line four cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  2. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
  3. In a mixing bowl, whip the butter and sugar with a mixer until fluffy (about five minutes).
  4. Beat in the egg and vanilla until just combined. Slowly add the dry ingredients, mixing until just incorporated.
  5. Using a cookie scoop, ice cream scoop, or your hands, roll the dough into one inch balls and roll in the sugar. Place them two inches apart on the cookie sheets.
  6. Using your clean thumb, make an indentation in the middle of each cookie. Fill the indent with about 3/4 teaspoon of jam.
  7. Bake about 15 minutes or until the cookie edges are golden brown.
  8. Cool the cookies on baking sheets. (Cookies can keep for up to five days in a tightly closed container.)

 

SEE MORE RECIPES LIKE THIS

Recipe: Christmas Cookies

WHAT YOU NEED

Time:  Low   Medium   High

Budget:   $   $$   $$$

  • Gift bags, ribbons, and tags
  • Ingredients for thumbprint thank you cookies (makes about 60 cookies)
    • 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
    • 1 teaspoon baking powder
    • 1 teaspoon salt (finely ground)
    • 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
    • 1 1/3 cups sugar, plus more for rolling
    • 2 large eggs
    • 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
    • 2/3 cup Christmas jam (can substitute with raspberry, strawberry, or cherry jam)

DIRECTIONS

  1. Brainstorm a list with your kids of people you can help.
  2. Consider decorating your car for your cookie car runs.
  3. Make some thumbprint thank you cookies.
  4. Deliver cookies in your cookie car!

Recipe for 60 cookies:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line four cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  2. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
  3. In a mixing bowl, whip the butter and sugar with a mixer until fluffy (about five minutes).
  4. Beat in the egg and vanilla until just combined. Slowly add the dry ingredients, mixing until just incorporated.
  5. Using a cookie scoop, ice cream scoop, or your hands, roll the dough into one inch balls and roll in the sugar. Place them two inches apart on the cookie sheets.
  6. Using your clean thumb, make an indentation in the middle of each cookie. Fill the indent with about 3/4 teaspoon of jam.
  7. Bake about 15 minutes or until the cookie edges are golden brown.
  8. Cool the cookies on baking sheets. (Cookies can keep for up to five days in a tightly closed container.)

SEE MORE RECIPES LIKE THIS

Get the 12 recipes download PDF

Make unforgettable memories with your family this Christmas with these 12 ideas!

DIY, Family Activities, Prayer, and more.

Get the 12 recipes download PDF

Make unforgettable memories with your family this Christmas with these 12 ideas!

DIY, Family Activities, Prayer, and more.

My 'Recipe' Story

My biggest wish for my daughter is that she is always able to find something to be thankful for — especially around Christmas when our focus strays to wish lists and vacation days.

For me, Christmas is about gratitude, and I find that the smallest acts of kindness remind me to be thankful for all we have.

I started baking Christmas cookies for service workers before I had a family. I wanted to show the people who work hard to keep our community running that I appreciated their under-recognized daily efforts. At first, I baked cookies and left my deliveries on top of trash cans and hanging from mailboxes, being too shy to offer my small gift of thanks in person.

But since then I’ve found that thanking people in person always means more. And now that my daughter is a bit older, I’ve improved the tradition by launching “The Cookie Car.” At Christmastime, our car turns into a mobile cookie delivery unit visiting fire stations, grocery stores, schools, and more. We bake, gift wrap, and deliver cookies with joy and gratitude.

I love watching my daughter get into the spirit of giving. But my favorite moments are when she asks to do something nice for someone, “just because.” The cookie delivery helps my family notice others and give thanks. And I see that the more we notice, the more we give.

Our gratitude for others has grown since “The Cookie Car” started. We search our recipients out and express our thanks in person whenever possible. This year, we plan to include friends and family in our delivery efforts and hope to hear some caroling too.

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