Bud Man as Cookie Sentry

I spent last night making lots and lots of Christmas cookies 5 batches in all!). I've grown accustomed to doing two of my favorite traditional Italian cookies -- sesame and date-filled. The date-filled recipe originally calls for fig, but I prefer date. And this year, I used a little bourbon in the filling and icing. Yum.

I also did a couple batches of these great orange pistachio biscotti I've been making for years. Recently, I've been using this recipe, substituting pistachios for the cashews -- much more indulgent for a gift.

I've got a lot of the cookies in the freezer for Christmas, and packaged many of them up for individual gifts to give to a few neighbors and work colleagues this week. (I've been picking at the ones with the burnt edges myself though, of course). That's Bud Man (circa 1975) keeping watch there on my kitchen counter, with help from the grated cheese guy from my late Grandma McGuire's kitchen.