The kids are home from school and while they may not be super enthusiastic about helping with the holiday house cleaning and gift wrapping, they'll be very eager if the chores are followed by something really important: cookie baking.
About.com's baking and food guides have assembled a Cookies hub, with recipes for every conceivable type of holiday cookies. I've also been dipping into Alice Medrich's divine new "Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies" - the cornmeal biscotti with dried apricots and cranberries are particularly amazing. And, of course, gingerbread men are just plain fun to dress up. So preheat the oven, break out the flour and butter, and appease some of that holiday angst and stress with a family bake-fest.
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