Dear Mr. Claus,

I don’t have a ton of things to request from you this year. I gave my parents an 8 page amazon wish list that just about covered everything so I’m all set in that department. What I could use from you is a little Christmas magic! A local radio station, WFNX, is giving away tickets to The Black Keys in Nashville for February and I would really like to win them. Really, Really like to win them.

See, I was planning a vaca for February, anyways, and Nashville is on my places to see list. Might as well kill two birds with one stone, right?

Also, I would really like a nail polish that I can apply myself and will last a week without chipping. Preferably in black. I’ll take dark red though if you feel black isn’t in the holiday spirit.

Oh yeah, and world peace.

Kthanks!

Xoxo,

Erin

PS. I made you these chewy ginger cookies. They are vegan but insanely delicious. I think they are easily one of my top 5 favorite cookies. I know they seem pretty simple but my guess is that you are going to be bombarded with fancy-schmancy cookies, covered in sprinkles and frosting and weird things like bacon. These shine in their simplicity and I thought you might like a bit of a change during your big night. Hit me up with those tickets and I’ll  make a big batch for you and the Mrs.  I’ll even throw in some treats for the deer. ;)What? I’m not bribing you!

Holiday Ginger Cookies
adapted from Land O Lakes
makes approximately 2 dozen (I actually halved the recipe since I just needed a vegan cookie fix)

1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup Earth Balance Butter (2 sticks)
1 Ener-G egg replacer “egg”
3 tablespoons molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine sugar, butter, “egg”, molasses and vanilla in large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Reduce speed to low; add all remaining cookie ingredients. Beat until well mixed. Divide dough in half; wrap in plastic food wrap. Refrigerate until firm (1 to 2 hours).

Heat oven to 375°F. Roll out cookies into balls. Place cookies, 1 inch apart, onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 6 to 9 minutes or until set. Let stand 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire cooling rack. Cool completely.

O, what’s that? I should have been taking pictures and not eating my 800th cookie? Yeah, I know. But at least now you know why the only pictures I have for this post are two that are almost exactly the same and a third of a half eaten cookie. Sorry about that!