This pizzelle recipe was a staple in my family growing up. My grandma made these year after year (along with these galettes, or French waffle cookies I posted about awhile ago!), and it didn’t seem like Christmas without plates of pizzelles around the house.

If you’re unfamiliar with pizzelles, they are thin wafer-like cookies with snowflake designs and are an Italian Christmas cookie tradition. They require a pizzelle iron, which looks a little bit like a waffle iron.

Even after she moved into an assisted living facility, my grandma coordinated a pizzelle baking day with the staff and other residents. Now my mom has my grandma’s pizzelle iron, and when I was home last week we decided to dust it off and get out my grandma’s old handwritten recipe.

The cookies are light and crispy and just like I remember them.  They are traditionally made with anise flavoring, but I prefer vanilla, so that’s what I used in this recipe.

This cookie is a classic, and is well loved by so many people. I dressed a few of them up with drizzled chocolate on top (yum!), but the cookies are delicious just as they are. Of course Zeke preferred the ones with chocolate. 😉

If you’re looking for a classic, tried and true pizzelle cookie recipe, this recipe is for you. It is sure to become a family favorite. It just doesn’t feel like Christmas around here without these cookies! 🙂

The pizzelle iron we used was my grandmother’s, but you can buy them on Amazon!

See this link for comments from bakers who tried and LOVED this recipe on Pinterest!

Classic Italian Pizzelles are day 12 of the 12 Days of Christmas Treats! I posted a new cookie every day for the first 12 days of December. You can see all these recipes from over the years under my Christmas Cookies tag. 🙂 See all of this year’s cookies here: 12 Days of Christmas Treats 2015. Enjoy! And, as always, let me know if you try any and how you liked them.

P.S. If you want to try Mike’s all-time favorite dessert, check out this delicious Blueberry Pudding Dessert from his grandma!

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Would you believe these cinnamon cookie sticks are the first slice and bake cookie I’ve ever made? I’ve always steered clear of those cookie doughs that you roll into a log, refrigerate, and then slice off pieces to bake because I didn’t think the cookies ended up being very pretty.

Well, it turns out if you make cookie sticks instead, and of course drizzle some glaze on top, the cookies end up being quite pretty, and very delicious. 🙂

These cinnamon cookie sticks are very easy to make. You press the dough into a loaf pan, refrigerate, then slice into sticks and bake. The cookie end up being a little bit funny shaped, but once you drizzle the glaze on, they look perfect.

The cookies are a little bit crunchy and a little bit chewy, and we ate them as an afternoon snack with a glass of milk. They would also go great with a cup of coffee. 🙂

They are simple little cookies with a big cinnamon taste – you are sure to love them.

Cinnamon Cookie Sticks are day 11 of the 12 Days of Christmas Treats! I will post a new cookie every day for the first 12 days of December. You can see all these recipes from over the years under my Christmas Cookies tag. 🙂 See all of this year’s cookies here: 12 Days of Christmas Treats 2015. Enjoy! And, as always, let me know if you try any and how you liked them.

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Don’t these turtle candies look delicious! There is just something about crunchy toasted pecans, gooey caramel, and melted chocolate that is irresistible.

This is an easy version of an old traditional recipe. I love making recipes like this at home because you can customize it to your own tastes. Plus don’t they look nice and fancy to set out for guests??

I skipped the homemade caramel and opted for melting Kraft caramel baking bits to save a little time and effort. I also used white chocolate to top the candies and added just a drizzle of the traditional milk chocolate. I think the white chocolate makes them look a little extra special and gives them an added dose of sweetness.

The end result was so good that it was hard to stop eating them! I ended up giving half away just to make sure we didn’t eat all of them ourselves. 🙂

These caramel pecan turtle clusters are the perfect candy if you want to impress your guests (or gift recipients!) but don’t want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. You will love them!

Caramel Pecan Turtle Clusters are day 10 of the 12 Days of Christmas Treats! I will post a new cookie every day for the first 12 days of December. You can see all these recipes from over the years under my Christmas Cookies tag. 🙂 See all of this year’s cookies here: 12 Days of Christmas Treats 2015. Enjoy! And, as always, let me know if you try any and how you liked them.

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I think I’ve mentioned before how much I love cookies with frosting on them. These soft iced eggnog cookies are no exception!

The cookies are lightly spiced and incredibly soft. They have a generous hint of eggnog flavor, but are not overwhelming. They taste more like nutmeg than actual eggnog.

The frosting is creamy and delicious and also full of a spicy nutmeg/eggnog flavor. The end result is an absolutely delicious soft iced cookie that is perfect for Christmas.  I’ve shared them with plenty of people who claim they don’t like eggnog, and every one of them has loved the cookies.

These soft iced eggnog cookies will definitely be pretty (and delicious!) additions to your cookie trays this year!

Soft Iced Eggnog Cookies are day 9 of the 12 Days of Christmas Treats! I will post a new cookie every day for the first 12 days of December. You can see all these recipes from over the years under my Christmas Cookies tag. 🙂 See all of this year’s cookies here: 12 Days of Christmas Treats 2015. Enjoy! And, as always, let me know if you try any and how you liked them.

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If you are a chocolate and peppermint fan (and a biscotti fan), you will love these chocolate peppermint biscotti!

I love almost any type of biscotti. Every year I make all these crazy decadent cookies, and every year I find myself choosing to eat the biscotti rather than the other, more fancy cookies. I think it’s because I like to make myself a cup of tea, sit down and relax, and enjoy my cookie and my warm drink. 🙂

The chocolate cookie base is everything biscotti should be – mildly sweet, crunchy, but not too crunchy, and full of chocolate. 🙂

Of course I also had to dress them up a bit. I added some white chocolate and crushed peppermint candy canes to give them more of a festive appearance and taste. Plus, you can never have too much chocolate, right? 🙂 I hope you enjoy these – we definitely did!

Chocolate Peppermint Biscotti are day 8 of the 12 Days of Christmas Treats! I will post a new cookie every day for the first 12 days of December. You can see all these recipes from over the years under my Christmas Cookies tag. 🙂 See all of this year’s cookies here: 12 Days of Christmas Treats 2015. Enjoy! And, as always, let me know if you try any and how you liked them.

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Don’t you just love no-bake cookies? These no-bake ritz cracker cookies are ridiculously easy and dangerously good!

I made these with my mom, and we had a fun time convincing people to try them and then asking them to guess what was in them. 🙂 I’m not sure anyone guessed correctly, but everyone who tried them absolutely loved them!

To make these “cookies”, all you do is take two ritz crackers, sandwich some peanut butter between them, and then dip the whole thing in chocolate. You can decorate the top with sprinkles or a chocolate drizzle, and then that’s it! You’ve made the easiest cookie ever, and it tastes so good.

When we made them, we took things a little further and replaced the peanut butter with nutella in the ones dipped in white chocolate – those were even better than the peanut butter version!

If you need a last-minute or easy, kid-friendly cookie to make, try these no-bake ritz cracker cookies. Everyone will be sure to love them. 🙂

No-Bake Ritz Cracker Cookies are day 7 of the 12 Days of Christmas Treats! I will post a new cookie every day for the first 12 days of December. You can see all these recipes from over the years under my Christmas Cookies tag. 🙂 See all of this year’s cookies here: 12 Days of Christmas Treats 2015. Enjoy! And, as always, let me know if you try any and how you liked them.

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If you are a fan of peanut butter and chocolate, you will love these peanut butter fudge puddle cookies! They are absolutely delicious and you really can’t go wrong with a soft peanut butter cookie filled with chocolate. 🙂

The chocolate center is soft and fudge-like, and the peanut butter cookie is perfectly soft and chewy. There is nothing better than the combination of melty fudgy chocolate and a soft peanut butter cookie!

These cookies are simple to make too. You actually bake the cookie dough in mini muffin tins, which gives them their cup-like appearance. As they cool they naturally form a little well in the center that is just perfect to fill with chocolate fudge.

The fudge sets up quickly, so work fast. Although if they end up a little messy, no one will care, and you can always add a few sprinkles on top to hide any imperfections. 😉 The sprinkles help them look nice and festive on a cookie tray too! 🙂

Peanut Butter Fudge Puddle Cookies are day 6 of the 12 Days of Christmas Treats! I will post a new cookie every day for the first 12 days of December. You can see all these recipes from over the years under my Christmas Cookies tag. 🙂 See all of this year’s cookies here: 12 Days of Christmas Treats 2015. Enjoy! And, as always, let me know if you try any and how you liked them.

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This is my first time baking with dulce de leche, and I can already tell you it won’t be my last! I made a batch of homemade dulce de leche a few months ago (using this recipe – worked perfectly!) and then searched for all the different ways I could use it.

I stirred some into my coffee (yum!!), made dulce de  leche hot chocolate, and then used the rest to make these cookie bars. These cookies have a shortbread crust, a creamy dulce de leche filling, and a chocolate and pecan topping.

They are creamy and crunchy and sweet and completely delicious. Best of all they are a bar cookie, which means they are slightly less work than regular cookies. 🙂 If you don’t want to make your own dulce de leche, you can buy it at your local grocery store either in the international foods section or the dessert topping section, or of course you can buy it on amazon. 🙂

Give these bars a try – you’ll be glad you did!

These dulce de leche cookie bars are day 5 of this year’s 12 Days of Christmas Treats! Every year a share a new cookie recipe every day for the first 12 days of December. You can see all these recipes from over the years under my Christmas Cookies tag. 🙂 See all of this year’s cookies here: 12 Days of Christmas Treats 2015. Enjoy! And, as always, let me know if you try any and how you liked them.

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How cute are these Twix cookies? If you love Twix candy bars then these cookies are for you! They are the perfect combination of shortbread, caramel, and chocolate. Just typing that out makes me want to make more of these – yum!!

It goes without saying that they are delicious, but I also love how pretty they are – cute little round cookies with yummy layers of candy on top. And believe it or not, they really do taste just like a Twix candy bar!

I made these for my Christmas cookie trays this year and they are almost always the first ones to disappear when I set them out! I guess people just love the flavor of Twix. 🙂 Plus how fun is it to have a cookie version of a classic candy bar? I might try this with all my favorite candy bars!

Just like their candy counterparts, these cookies consist of three layers – a shortbread cookie on the bottom, creamy caramel in the middle, and chocolate on top. Yum!! Each layer is easy to make, and the only time consuming part is spreading the caramel and chocolate on each cookie. It’s worth it though, when you end up with a small army of delicious Twix cookies. 🙂

We couldn’t stop eating these – they are crunchy and creamy and sweet and delicious. Plus, they look really pretty on a cookie tray!

If you like Twix candy bars, you need to try these cookies – you will love them!

See this link for comments from bakers who tried and LOVED this recipe on Pinterest!

Twix Cookies are day 4 of the 12 Days of Christmas Treats! I will post a new cookie every day for the first 12 days of December. You can see all these recipes from over the years under my Christmas Cookies tag. 🙂 See all of this year’s cookies here: 12 Days of Christmas Treats 2015. Enjoy! And, as always, let me know if you try any and how you liked them.

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If you’re looking for an easy and delicious candy to make this Christmas, look no further than this easy sea salt toffee! It only requires four ingredients, and it certainly passes the “I can’t stop eating this candy!” test. 🙂 The toffee has a perfect sweet and salty taste, and the texture is deliciously crunchy. I’m serious when I tell you it is addictive! You need to immediately find some people to share this with or you will be in trouble. 🙂 This toffee makes a tasty Christmas gift and is perfect to set out for people to snack on when you have company. Best of all, you probably have all the ingredients to make it in your house right now. It’s so quick and easy to make that you have no excuse – give it a try and let me know if you like it as much as we do.

Easy Sea Salt Toffee is day 3 of the 12 Days of Christmas Treats! I will post a new cookie every day for the first 12 days of December. You can see all these recipes from over the years under my Christmas Cookies tag. 🙂 See all of this year’s cookies here: 12 Days of Christmas Treats 2015. Enjoy! And, as always, let me know if you try any and how you liked them.

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