ULTIMATE Christmas Cookies

This is the most last-minute I've ever made my ULTIMATE fave Christmas cookies, but it honestly CANNOT be Christmas without them, so hello Christmas Eve baking! Luckily for me, my Redskins played at 1 PM today, so I had great motivation to stand in one place with a view of the TV for two hours. ;-)

These chocolate-covered cherry cookies are pure heaven. We've been making them for over 25 years! They're what I usually give all the kids' teachers & our friends to absolute rave reviews, (although since I made gifts this year with my Silhouette, I put the cookies off.) They are not "simple" - while they don't require a culinary degree, they ARE time-consuming, so it is ALWAYS more fun to make them with a friend!!! I've made them all but two or three times with my mom or, in the last eight years, with my BFF Jackie. Here I am making them at Jackie's old house when we both lived outside ATL [a couple miles apart! :'(] EIGHT CHRISTMASES AGO!

[How precious is 4-month-old Will?!]

(We were très ambitious: her son was almost seven months old. This may have taken us allllll day... ;-) But I wouldn't have traded it for the world! :-D)

Here's hoping the gift of sharing this treasured chocolate-covered cherry cookie recipe brings you as much joy as it has to us over the years! Merry Christmas!!!