Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

Spiced Holiday Tea

by 2 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Tasha made this Spiced Holiday Tea for us one day and we fell in love with it!

holiday spiced tea

Spiced Holiday Tea

by Tasha Hackett

Or as I like to call it the drinkable potpourri. I’ve been simmering water with lemon rinds and a cinnamon stick for the past month just to enjoy the smell, but why only use it for the smell when you can drink it, too?

This spiced tea was introduced to me the first time I went home for the Thanksgiving holiday with my then boyfriend. He’s now my husband, and I won’t claim this drink has brought us together because for some odd reason, he doesn’t like it. Which is completely fine with me and his mother, because that means more for us. My mother-in-law always has a pot of this drink simmering on the stove over the holidays.

Sweeten your spiced tea to taste!

 

I have stayed true to my mother-in-law’s recipe in all except the sugar content. The original recipe that she used calls for a full cup. But I’ve decreased it to 1/2 cup in year’s past and nobody noticed. This year I will add even less, but please don’t tell them!

To get started, first boil a full gallon of water in a large pot on the stove. Then turn the burner down and add the tea bags. Please never boil the tea! Follow the directions on the package of your tea to brew a full gallon—I use decaf so we can enjoy anytime of day and share with the kids without any caffeine messing up our sleep.

Once you’ve removed the tea bags, add in 5 cinnamon sticks, 10 whole cloves, and one of each limeade and orange juice concentrate. (Not straight lime juice, but the sweetened limeade in the freezer section with other fruit juices.) Basically you just used tea instead of water to mix the juice. You do not need to add extra water with the juice concentrates. Add in the sugar to taste, approximately 1/2 cup more or less. Wait to taste for sweetness until the juice concentrates are mixed in.

Let the holiday spiced tea simmer—but not boil—for at least an hour.

This tea is better tomorrow.Yum

After we’ve all enjoyed a cup, we store the rest in the fridge overnight, keeping the cloves and cinnamon sticks in the pitcher and the tea gets a stronger spiced flavor throughout the holiday weekend. We enjoy it cold or reheated. I can’t really tell you which is my favorite because I like it both ways!

What’s your favorite holiday drink?

Holiday Spiced Tea
 
Save Print
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Ingredients
  • One gallon of tea brewed to instructions on tea package (regular or decaf)
  • Limeade concentrate
  • Orange juice concentrate
  • 5 cinnamon sticks
  • 10 cloves
  • ½ cup sugar (more or less to taste)
Instructions
  1. Brew the tea in a large pot on the stove.
  2. Once the tea bags are removed, add the rest of the ingredients.
  3. Simmer for a minimum of one hour, being careful not to boil.
  4. Enjoy warm or cold.
  5. Store leftovers in the fridge.

Tasha HackettTasha Hackett is a friend of Laura and has officially been writing since she asked for a journal for her 10th birthday. Her first novel, a historical Christian romance, Bluebird on the Prairie was released just this year, 2021, and she looks forward to sharing many more of her stories with the world. For now, you can read more about her and her fiction from her website: www.TashaHackett.com. 

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Consumable Christmas Gifts – Not Just Food!

by 1 Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

This year, I’m very focused on consumable Christmas gifts for our family. Let me explain why!

As most of you know, we had gotten to a point in life that we’d traded our gifts of toys and snuggly jammies for gifts like video and music equipment. I only kept a few toys around that I felt were worth saving for our future grandkids. AND THEN. Then God brought us more babies.

Woohoo and wow. The past two Christmases we have enjoyed building up our toy supply again. And not only that, for the first time ever, some of those toys are of the GIRLY variety.

Yeah, yeah, yeah – I know we shouldn’t put a gender label on toys for kids, but listen. My big boys never asked for a dollhouse for Christmas. Nor did they request baby dolls and lip gloss. Last year though, all of our little kids (both boys and girls) got a dollhouse. With a pink roof. The girls play lovingly with the dollhouse dolls and furniture. Meanwhile, the toddler boys strip the dollhouse dolls naked and send them sailing down the dollhouse staircase to see how far they’ll fly. Fun is had by all, so yes, dollhouses can be gender-neutral. But anyway…

This year, we don’t need many more toys.

As we’ve accumulated toys the past few years, we’ve also accumulated even more children. There are a lot of people living in our house – currently, ten to be exact. Lots of people take up lots of space, and so do their shoes, backpacks, clothes, and naked dollhouse dolls.

Also, our 7 and 6-year-olds struggle to share, put things away, and get mad when their “really important toy” that they leave out on the floor gets chewed on by a baby or hurled across the room by a toddler. I don’t want to give them more “stuff” that will ultimately create more conflict. So between that and the fact that – did I mention we have a lot of kids – this year, I’m very focused on:

Consumable Christmas Gifts

Am I only wrapping food and putting it under the tree this year? Nope! Not that kind of consumable. Though food and drinks definitely make great gifts and there will be some of that for sure!

As I’ve been planning for Christmas this year, I’ve been excited about how many items are really fun to open but can be used and not accumulated! Like craft projects. Office and school supplies. And yes, food and drinks.

DON’T TELL MY KIDS! But here’s what they’ll all be getting this year. It’s both fun and practical, and woohoo, not terribly expensive! Each person will get:

  • Something to Make
  • Something to Bake
  • Something to Do
  • Something to Chew
  • Something to Drink
  • Something with Ink
  • Something to Wear
  • Something to Share

Here are a few more details to help you understand what I’m planning:

  • Something to Make -craft kits and supplies for the littles plus the adult girls, kitchen/foodstuff for the guys
  • Something to Bake – fun muffin, cookie, or cake mixes (we almost never buy things like this so it will be a real treat for the kids!)
  • Something to Do – a book to read, a game to play, a puzzle to put together
  • Something to Chew – favorite snacks
  • Something to Drink – hot cocoa, coffee, Martinelli’s, tea
  • Something with Ink – new pens, markers, or sharpies
  • Something to Wear – anything from clothes to gloves to socks, depending on what they need
  • Something to Share – something they can use with the whole family (littles) or with friends at college and beyond (bigs)

There will be 15 of us at Christmas this year with Matt and me, all of our kids, plus the oldest three boys’ wife/girlfriends! I am having SO MUCH FUN putting all of these gifts together!!!

We’re missing Matt and Malachi in this picture, but here’s a pic with nine of our kids, plus the three girls in our boys’ lives, plus my niece who goes to college here in town. THIS IS MY LIFE. It is amazing. (And hard, but it’s Christmas time so let’s not talk about that today.)

Tell me who you’re shopping for and what your gift plans are. This is so much fun!!!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Best Gifts: Teachers, Women, Men, Coaches, and Kids

by 1 Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Need ideas for the best gifts for all the people in your life? Here’s a list of lists!

Best Gifts: Teachers, Women, Men, Coaches, and Kids

This post is short and sweet. But boy does it pack a punch of ideas! Click on any of the links to get so many wonderful gift ideas!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Count Down To Christmas Without Spending Money!

by 1 Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

I wanted to share a fun way we are counting down to Christmas without spending money this year. It’s also giving us some great family fun time too!

Every year I buy new games for Christmas. But this year? I’m not letting myself. Why? Because we have SO MANY GAMES. And many of them we’ve hardly had a chance to play.

So this year? I’m determined that we’ll spend some extra fun time playing games and reading books in the evenings leading to Christmas.

Count Down To Christmas Without Spending Money!

One day when all of the little kids were at school or napping, I dug out a pile of our favorite games, plus some that our elementary-age kids haven’t played before. I grabbed some of our Christmas books too. I wrapped them all and piled them on top of the mantle.

I ended up with 16 packages total, so beginning December 9, we’ll begin taking turns unwrapping one package each evening. We’ll get all ready for bed, then play a game together before our family singing and prayer time.

My hope is that this will become a new family tradition – and not just at Christmastime! During the long winter nights, I’m hoping we get into a habit of pulling out games to play together or books to read together.

Hopefully, I’ve picked out games that our younger kids can play and our older kids will still enjoy! Our game-gift pile includes:

  1. Spot It!
  2. Memory
  3. Uno Attack
  4. Connect Four
  5. Blink
  6. Headbandz
  7. Yahtzee
  8. Farkle
  9. Pass the Pigs
  10. Huskerdu
  11. Racko
  12. Pictionary
  13. Plus several Christmas books from the library!

Need more great family game ideas?

Find a huge list here. 

What about books?

If you don’t have many Christmas books, and you don’t want to spend the money to buy some, head to the library. They are free, you can wrap and enjoy them, then take them back to the library by their due date!

More Count Down to Christmas Ideas

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

The Easiest Way to Make a Gingerbread House

by 2 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Have you always wanted to make a Gingerbread House but found yourself frustrated because it’s so difficult? Try this way instead!

Listen, if it isn’t easy, I don’t do it. And that’s not just because I have 387 kids now (plus-minus). I’ve always been this way. Complicated projects don’t work for me. I’m not a perfectionist. I’m not super detail-oriented. I’m most definitely not super artsy. So I only make easy projects.

Hahaha, I just re-read what I typed up there. “If it isn’t easy, I don’t do it.” HAHAHA. Well, that is not even true. I do hard things all day long. #387kids  I’ll do the hard things if I feel like it matters. My babies most certainly matter. People matter. Love matters. Detailed projects don’t matter to me.

But shucks if I want to do fun projects with all of these kids that I love! Especially during holidays! Gingerbread houses always sound like such a fun idea to make together. So I finally found a way to make them that is easy!

Here’s what you’ll need to make the Easiest Gingerbread House:

  • Frosted Strawberry Poptarts (like this, because they already look Christmasy!)
  • Frosting Tubes (like this, only I usually just get several tubes of white)
  • Hard Candy Peppermints
  • Red and Green M&Ms
  • Gumdrops

What I avoid:

  • Graham Crackers – They break too easily.
  • Tubs of frosting or homemade frosting – Hard for little hands to use. Big hands for that matter
  • Gingerbread House Kits – Expensive and break easily

But Laura! I thought you never bought Poptarts and Candy!

Oh, I do when we make Gingerbread Houses. :) This is for an art project, yo. This stuff doesn’t get eaten because “sorry kids, the houses have been sitting on the mantle for too long and now they are yucky to eat. bummer.”

How to make a Gingerbread House the easy way:

I’m going to give credit where credit is due. I saw this idea here. She does a lovely job sharing how to do this. Go watch the quick how-to video here. SO EASY!

Bonus tips:

  1. Start with paper plates. If the houses are built on paper plates, we can easily transfer them from the kitchen table to their final destination (at our house: the mantle so everyone can see them!).
  2. I (the mom) cut the poptarts for my kids. They enjoy watching and the poptarts are cut correctly this way. Cutting is hard for little guys and we want this project to be fun!
  3. We use the frosting tubes like glue. Magic.
  4. The kids point to where they want the “glue” and I (the mom) squeeze it into place for them. This makes it easier to actually get the glue where we want it and really? The kids are only excited about placing all the candy on their houses anyway. I provide the glue blobs for their candy-placing pleasure.

This is the only time you’ll ever hear me say this: Go out and get yourself some poptarts, candy, and frosting tubes. :)

Enjoy making these super easy Gingerbread Houses with your family!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

How to Have an Easy Thanksgiving

by Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Want to have an easy Thanksgiving? I’ve shared these tips for years, but every year I feel like they need to be shared again!

How to Have an Easy Thanksgiving

The key is to get ahead. Start making food ahead of time (yes, even the turkey!!) so that you can enjoy people on Thanksgiving day instead of spending so much time in the kitchen. Here are my tips and tricks, and of course, recipes!

One Week Before Thanksgiving

Two Days Before Thanksgiving

One Day Before Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day

  • Enjoy a large cup of steamy coffee in my recliner for a very long time (because I can)
  • Everyone on their own for breakfast (probably cereal)
  • Mix dry ingredients together for Stir-and-Pour Rolls (for easy, no-brainer mixing about an hour before meal time)
  • Put Cranberry Apple Cider into a crockpot to heat (this is a huge hit with guests!)
  • Set out butter to soften for rolls
  • Plates, silverware, cups, and napkins set out

About 1 1/2 hours before serving time, I will bake or re-heat prepared foods. Then I will make gravy and bake the rolls. Easy peasy!

Here are the quick links to all the recipes you’ll need:

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Make Fun Candy-Free Easter Baskets Your Kids Will Love!

by Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Here’s how I’m putting together candy-free Easter baskets that I know our kids will love!

Why candy-free? Well besides the obvious answer that candy isn’t good for us, I’m actually filling our baskets with fun practical items that I want our kids to have. I have no doubt that they will love what’s in their baskets! And don’t worry. They’ll still get plenty of sugar on Easter Sunday, and yes, even candy.

It’s hard to get all five littles in one picture!

Holidays at our house are so much fun right now! We’ve currently got five little ones in our home, plus Malachi (16) and we’ll have a houseful of college students join us for Easter dinner and an Easter egg hunt after church. It’s tradition. Hopefully, all of our older boys can join us for the day (and their girlfriends too!).

With five little ones though? Boy am I having fun putting together Easter baskets! Instead of filling individual baskets for every single kid, I’m just putting together two: a girl basket and a boy basket. And now let’s all pause a moment to reflect on this:

LAURA IS PUTTING TOGETHER A GIRL BASKET!

Yes. And also, for the first time in my mom-life, I bought Easter dresses and Easter bonnets. Was it fun? Oh was it fun!!

(You want to see the dresses and bonnets? Oh. Thank you for asking. For Baby Sister, someone gave us a dress similar to this one but with navy blue and daisy panties. So I got this dress for our 5-year old girl so that they’ll coordinate. Baby Girl’s bonnet is this one. Be still my heart. Big Sister will wear the yellow hat in this set.)

I’ve always had fun dressing all of our boys, and I still do! But right now I also get to dress little girls and fix their hair. You can bet there’s a lot of pink, a lot of bows, a lot of sparkle, and a lot of ruffles involved. :) :) :)

So back to the candy-free Easter baskets.

There were several items our kids needed, so I found fun versions of these items (like toothbrushes featuring their favorite characters) and put them into the baskets. We go through lots of bubbles (the toddlers ask for them daily!) so of course, our baskets include bottles of bubbles.

Sky’s the limit on little items we can include in Easter baskets that will be fun and useful for the kids. Here are some ideas:

  • These fun Index Card Books (Use the code heavenly15 to get 15% off your order!)
  • Sunglasses (Look at these 3-pack options!)
  • Hair Accessories (Sparkle. Bows. I’m a gonner.)
  • Fingernail Polish (Did I tell you that Justus – age 21 – has learned how to put fingernail polish on his little sisters?! He practiced first on his girlfriend. Mom sheds a tear…)
  • Hot Wheels (We’ve pretty much acquired new toy cars for the past 23 Easters.)
  • Bubbles (We can never have too many bubbles.)
  • Balloons (I can’t make myself link to them at Amazon when they cost three times more there compared to picking some up at the store next time you go.)
  • Fun Straws (Did you know smoothies taste better to kids when sipped through a straw? True story. These change colors and are reusable.)
  • Sidewalk Chalk (I think you can get them cheaper at Walmart?)
  • Umbrella (So many fun color choices here!)
  • Sandals (Some of these have bows. Stop me from buying them all.)
  • Lip Balm
  • Toothbrush (This package is a fun one!)
  • Toothpaste (We’re digging this kind right now.)
  • Nightlight (This one changes colors?!)
  • Flashlight (If I get this package, everyone gets one!)
  • Wrist Watch (Our 5 and 7 year olds feel so grown up when they wear a watch. And I never have to wonder what time it is because they tell me every two minutes.)
  • Fun Socks (There are lots of fun selections here!)
  • Card Games

Side Note: This year I purchased baskets that can be used year-round in the boys/girls’ rooms. I paid more for them than I would have paid for a simple Eastery-looking basket. But it was worth it because we’ll use these baskets to hold odds and ends in their rooms instead of having to store them away to only use on Easter each year.

Here’s a wonderfully fun selection of decorative/practical baskets you might like!

Easter Baskets for Big Kids

I don’t always fill a basket for our adult/college age/teen kids. But when I do, it’s filled with things like:

  • Gum
  • Mints
  • Toothbrush
  • Toothpaste
  • Body Wash
  • Soap
  • Headbands for sports (Malachi likes this kind.)
  • Coffee (We love supporting Purple Door Coffee!)
  • Popcorn
  • Beef jerky
  • Other favorite snacks
  • Gift cards to use on outings with friends
  • Pens
  • Kitchen gadgets (because most of my big kids have their own kitchens now)
  • Flashlights
  • Decks of cards

So far, I haven’t filled a teen/adult girl Easter basket. ;) If and when I get to, I’m thinking I would add things like:

  • All of the above
  • Earrings
  • Lip Gloss
  • Hairbrush
  • Hair accessories
  • Necklace
  • Cute notebook and pen set (These are fantastic!)
  • Fingernail polish
  • Journal (These are my favorite!)

You all can help me out with adding to this list. And all the others too. :)

And what about Jesus?

For many weeks leading up to this holiday, we’ve been excitedly talking with the kids about the reason we celebrate Easter. I love how teaching our kids reminds us adults of the Truth: Jesus defeated death!! We are in Him so we get to stand in this victory with Him! Satan was defeated that day, once and for all. Praise God, we can live forever with Jesus!

I praise God for Easter and other holidays and events that give us an opportunity to reflect on the goodness God has provided for us all. His plans are perfect. He thought of everything. We get to celebrate this and live this daily!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Make Valentine’s Day Special for Your Kids!

by Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Do you celebrate Valentine’s Day? This year, I thought it would be fun to make it extra special for our kiddos! One mom shared with me that she really enjoys celebrating by decorating the house the night before, and serving her kids a special breakfast! That got my mind to turning on other ways to make this holiday extra special as a family.

How to Make Valentine's Day Special For Your Kids

Here are a few fun ideas…

How to Make Valentine’s Day Special For Your Kids

1.Make a Special Breakfast

Surprise your kids on Valentine’s Day with a special red or pink breakfast!

Nothing says Valentine’s Day more than pink and red yummy treats! Want to put some fun Valentine meals and treats on the table this year – but want to keep the food real and avoid food coloring? There are many real food options for a fun, Valentine’s Day themed breakfast! There are plenty of food that exists that is red without any help from artificial colors.
There’s also chocolate, which isn’t red, but is a huge part of any Valentine’s Day celebration (at least in our house).

Here are 29 great recipes for you that can be turned into Valentine’s Day goodies for your family!

2. Color Valentine’s Day Cards with your kiddos!

One of my favorite crafts is creating Valentine’s Day cards for your kids to give away to friends and family!

Grab this FREE Simple Print-and-Color version of our Valentine’s Day cards, and set out all the markers and crayons for them! Even more fun? Grab some glitter glue or stickers!

3. Make some heart-shaped snacks to give away

Bring your kids into the kitchen, and let them help you create some heart-shaped snacks to gift to others! Whether you choose to make heart-shaped donuts, pretzels, or brownies it will be a fun memory for your kids! Drop each goodie individually in a ziplock bag, tape on a note, and give them out to friends. Here are some ideas for heart-shaped treats you can make.

4. Make “You’re the Bomb” crafts

This is the most fun craft to make with little boys!! Pink hearts and sparkly flowers don’t quite cut it with little boys. But, tell the boys they get to make little bombs for their Valentines this year? You’ll get all sorts of help! Find the tutorial here!

5. Host a mystery dinner for your family!

Is there anything more fun than a mystery-themed dinner? Plan a special meal for your family, complete with clues! Here’s how our family did it one year!

6. Print out a free pre-K Activity Packet!

This Pre-K Activity Packet is FUN and free for you to download to use with the little ones in your life. Gain free access to this here.

7. Make Peanut Butter Truffles

Why? Because any occasion is a good occasion to whip up some Peanut Butter Truffles. Oh my, these treats, are SO delicious.

I love how easy these are to make, and that the only sugar in them is what is already in the chocolate chips!

How do you celebrate? Share in the comments below!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Christmas Make-Ahead Breakfast Ideas

by Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

I love baking, but who wants to spend all day in the kitchen when there’s hot chocolate to sip, family memories to make, and stockings to open? I am all about doing the work days earlier so you have a stress-free, peaceful holiday with your family. That’s why I put together this list of Christmas make-ahead breakfast ideas, to encourage you to get that baking done ahead of time so you have more time with your family.

Just in case you, too, are looking for ways to spend less time in the kitchen this holiday season, here are a few of our favorite tried and true Christmas make-ahead breakfast ideas!

Christmas Make-Ahead Breakfast Ideas

Mix and Match Christmas Make-Ahead Breakfast Ideas

1.Make-Ahead Pumpkin Donuts

We can mix up the pumpkin donuts, roll out the dough, cut the shapes, then freeze the uncooked dough on parchment paper or silicone mat-lined cookie sheets. We transfer the frozen dough into freezer bags, then any time we want fresh donuts (and when would we notwant fresh donuts?), we can grab some out of the freezer and fry them up fresh to eat while sipping a cup of coffee, tea, or hot chocolate!

2. Yogurt Parfait Bar

Simply purchase the ingredients beforehand, make the granola or other add-ins a few days beforehand, chop up the fruit the day before, and you are set!

Here are some of my favorite toppings:

3. Make-Ahead Muffins

I have to know:  Is this “freezing muffin batter” a brand new idea to you, or have you tried it before?  Once I tried this and learned how well it worked, I went on a muffin freezing frenzy (as confessed above). I now have Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffin batter, Blueberry Muffin batter, Chocolate Chip Muffin batter (recipe in Kids in the Kitchen eBook), and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffin batter in my freezers. What a time saver!

Looking for a few new recipes to try for Christmas morning? Check out this list of 23 Muffin recipes!

4. Frozen Yogurt Cups

This recipe is easy enough for your kiddos to make! Invite them into the kitchen, and whip these up together!

5. Homemade Poptarts


I love to make these poptarts and freeze them before I bake them. On a day I declare to be a Poptart Morning, I pull a few out and bake enough for each person to have a couple with our eggs and fruit. So good!

6. Giant Breakfast Cookies

Make the dough ahead of time, scoop the cookies out unto cookie sheets, freeze the cookie dough balls, and you’re set! Hot breakfast cookies on Christmas morning! Serve with fruit, and bacon (of course).

7. Biscuits with Sausage Gravy

Biscuits and gravy is one of my favorite special breakfasts. Make your biscuits ahead of time, and pop them in the freezer then make your gravy the day before, and heat it up in the morning. Easy peasy!

8. Cinnamon Rolls

I couldn’t make a list of Christmas breakfasts without including Cinnamon Rolls! These are deliciously easy, and mostly low in sugar! They kind of resemble those frozen orange rolls you can buy in the freezer section – except that these have a little bit of nutritional value and not nearly as much sugar, so we can all rejoice.

What is your favorite breakfast to make for Christmas morning?

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

12 Christmas Cookie Recipes

by Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Is there anything better than a plate full of Christmas cookies? This is a great time of year to spend a Saturday making several different types of cookies, wrapping them up, and gifting them to your friends, family or neighbors!

1. Low Sugar Frosted Christmas Cookies

Some might say that Christmas desserts are treats that should not be messed with. Perhaps whole wheat flour does not belong in a Christmas cookie. Maybe “low sugar” should not be included in a Christmas cookie title. It’s a treat, right? Can’t we just leave it well enough alone?

Sure.

But the more I experiment with cutting down the sweetener in my baked goods, the more I’m discovering that treats still taste like treats even with the sugar cut in half or more!

Try these cookies, you won’t even miss the sugar!

2. Christmas Spice Cookies

I LOVE the way these cookies make my house smell! Spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves they are oh so tasty!

3. Homemade Peppernuts

These tiny, old-fashioned cookies are one of my favorite holiday treats! They’re great to package up in small bags to give as Christmas time gifts to coworkers and neighbors.

4. Sweet and Simple Cranberry Cookies

I’m not a big fan of raisins in my cookies. But adding dried cranberries to this simple butter cookie? Well, that takes them up a notch without adding any effort.

5. Low Sugar Pumpkin Spice Roll-Out Cookies

While I’ve shared that I just can’t get behind Pumpkin Spice Coffee (typing it actually makes me shudder just a little bit), I most certainly enjoy making many Pumpkin Spice treats this time of year – to eat while I drink my (plain, non-pumpkin-spice) coffee. If my house smells of nothing but Pumpkin Spice from now until Christmas, there will be much joy in the holiday season.

6. Easy Low Sugar Almond Melt-Away Cookies

These lightly sweetened cookies taste amazing with a steamy cup of coffee or a cold glass of milk. Ah, life’s simple pleasures. :)

7. Sweet and Simple Butter Cookies

The combination of butter and sugar in this recipe makes for a perfectly sweet and rich cookie that melts in your mouth. Don’t worry though. The ratio of butter to sugar is such that these are only lightly sweet, but deliciously buttery. I’d still consider these a dessert, but I think they fit in the “low sugar treat” category.

8. Reindeer Cuties

These simple cookies are a hit. Fun to make…fun to eat. I like that they are made with honey and whole wheat. And they really don’t take much time at all.

9. Orange Cream Cheese Cut-Outs

These are one of my favorite Christmas cookies. And this recipe makes a lot of them…which is why it’s a good idea to have lots of people in mind to share them with!!  Because having them just sitting around the house screaming at me to come eat them is a bad idea.

I’d like to give in to the notion that since they have orange juice in them, they’re good for me and just packed with vitamin C.  Oh, if only.

10. Chocolate Snowballs

I like that these aren’t super rich or heavy…just kind of like a little bite of chocolate cake.

11. Cream Cheese Cookie Cut Outs

The cookies have cream cheese in them and the frosting is made with cream cheese. Let’s just say these cookies are soft, rich, and I have to work hard to keep myself out of them.

12. Whole Wheat Gingerbread Men

A Christmas classic! Your kids will love helping you make these sweet, Whole Wheat Gingerbread Men!

Your turn to share! What’s your all-time favorite Christmas cookie?

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!