My Gram was famous for these Peanut Butter Cup Cookies!  And when I was a little girl, I was quite certain that she was internationally famous for them...as her recipe was published decades ago in the Dayton's Marketplace cookbook and her church cookbook - it was only years later that I figured out that this was pretty much one of the most common Christmas cookie recipes out there!

​But she was famous for making more than 25 dozen of these every holiday season and sharing them with family, friends, co-workers and shut-ins.  Back in the day she would buy Reese Miniature Peanut Butter Cups in a large box that were unwrapped - boy, do I wish they still made those!  For many years, Gram would always stay with us the week before Christmas and thru the New Year, and she loved helping with the cookie baking.  She especially loved making "her" cookies with my little ones, and sneaking them candy that had been peeled for baking when they thought I wasn't looking!

​On National Cookie Day, and in celebration of my Gram, it just seems like I need to share this recipe with all of you again!

Chewy, fudgy and thick sugar cookies made fresh from scratch.  These are simply wonderful all by themselves, plain and simple with no embellishments, warm from the oven!

​You may not recognize these as the base for my famous Chocolate Sugar Cookies with Dark Chocolate Buttercream, but in order to have a great "fancy" sugar cookie, you need to start with a fabulous base sugar cookie.  And through the years, this one has always been a family favorite!

If there is one appetizer that I make that is anticipated more or gets gobbled up fast, this is the winner!  I'll bet you've never heard of "Snausages", but they have been a family tradition for decades!  Single bites of caramelized kielbasa and onions...what could be better?  And these are a holiday tradition at our house! 

Five simple ingredients, but the special little something in this thick and caramelized sauce is the beer, plain and simple.  Here in Cleveland we're lucky to have a wonderful selection of local craft beers, and it is so much fun to use seasonal beers throughout the year!  For Thanksgiving, I usually use a hearty stout (Great Lakes Brewing Company Octoberfest) or an orange-infused Blue Moon; for Christmas time I pull out the traditional Great Lakes Christmas Ale.  St. Patrick's Day celebrations usually mean a traditional Guinness dry stout.  And when we're sailing or partying at the marina, I love to pour in a hearty Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald - a wonderful porter beer.  And each variety is absolutely wonderful and sure to become your favorite too!

Santa's not the only one making a list this year!   And I'm so excited to share the first of three fabulous recipes that I'll be creating for Rodelle Kitchen to share their month long holiday cookie celebration Cookies By The Dozens - the best of 2017 holiday cookies!  You'll want to check back daily to make sure that you see and discover all of the wonderful recipes that the Rodelle Brand Ambassadors are sharing this year!

​We love chewy sugar cookies, but my family LOVES these chewy Chocolate Sugar Cookies even more - and when frosted with Dark Chocolate Buttercream Frosting and sprinkled with holiday sprinkles?  These are MAGICAL!  These are always the first cookies to disappear from cookie trays, and I'll be baking many delicious batches this Christmas season.