It’s here! It’s here! Eeeeep. Christmastime is officially HERE.

2016 holiday baking list I howsweeteats.com

Okay, so we’ve spent the last 24 hours turning our house into a major winter wonderland for Max. We are both SO in the Christmas spirit – Max is just at such a fun age right now! – and have three trees up so far. I’m super excited for baking this year because the last two years? I could barely do it. I mean, I DID it, but I was spending most of every second with Max and didn’t have tons of time to bake or make Christmas treats.

We love love love to make huge cookie trays to take to friends and family over the holidays (Eddie actually makes the best trays ever, it’s crazy) and I love to bake to continue my Mother Lovett tradition. Baking cookies like this is relaxing for me, because most of my time spent in the kitchen is doing recipe testing over and over again for the same recipe and then spending a huge chunk of time styling it. Baking these old, known recipes are easy and fun, it’s an escape and enjoyable experience for me. I crave it for nostalgia purposes.

2016 holiday baking list I howsweeteats.com

Here’s what on my list this year! Oh oh oh ALSO. After five years of telling you guys that I didn’t want to bake gingerbread (not a fan of it), I’m going to do it this year with Max. Who has a fantastic recipe?

Tell me below: what’s on your list?!

2016 holiday baking list I howsweeteats.com

thin and chewy spiced oatmeal cookies. a new fave.

peanut butter blossoms. it would not be Christmas without them.

pink peppermint bark macaroons. they are just too pretty.

peppermint pattie brownies. AND…

peppermint pattie cookies! i can’t choose.

mother lovett’s pink and green thumbprints. because: classic.

mother lovett’s orange cookies. my mom dies over these.

soft gingersnaps. i always double this recipe. sometimes i make four batches! so good.

perfect cut out sugar cookies. i can’t wait to do this with Max!

my soft snickerdoodles AND these chewy chai snickerdoodles. they are to die for.

double dark chocolate peanut butter cup cookies. obviously.

doubletree hotel chocolate chip cookies. only choc chip i need.

double chocolate cheesecake cookies. these are ridiculous.

a few batches of truffles. probably old school oreochocolate coconut truffles, maybe buckeyes?

also I’m sure lots of orange cinnamon pull apart bread.

My cousin Lacy and I also always make Tracy’s citrus peels and her amaretto. These make for the most incredible gifts – you guys HAVE to make them. We also make whiskey pretzels and I think I’m going to do a blog post on those this year because we’ve really turned the recipe into our own.

2016 holiday baking list I howsweeteats.com

SO! What am I missing?!