*Thank you to Stop and Shop for sponsoring this post.  As always all thoughts, ideas and opinions are my own.   Thanks for supporting the brands I love and that keep this blog running.

For me the holiday season is all about family traditions and making memories with loved ones.  Ok, let’s not forget, it’s all also about the delicious food too!   When I was  little I loved baking with my mom and my grandmother.   We would always make Italian cookies to bring to our Christmas Eve party or Christmas Day dinner.  One of my favorites was Pizzelle’s because I loved using the waffle iron and sprinkling the “snow” on top AKA powdered sugar.

Now that I’m a Mom, I get so excited to do the same with my kids!   Baking Italian cookies is definitely a fun family holiday tradition.  This year I wanted to put a new twist on our family tradition of baking together by creating a Christmas Cookie Charcuterie board to bring to a party or gift to a neighbor.  I love cheese and meat charcuterie board’s, I mean who doesn’t?  However, I thought it would be fun to create one but with sweets for the holidays instead.   It’s the same concept just adding scrumptiously sweet morsels of flavors that look pleasing to the eye as well as tasty to the tummy!

A Christmas Cookie Charcuterie board is fun to make and also great for saving time if you don’t want to bake a ton of cookies from scratch.  Try this; bake one of your favorite cookie recipes (maybe even try our Pizzelle recipe) then add it to the board or tray, to round it out and make it look fuller mix in some store bought treats that are festive and holiday friendly!  Stop and Shop is the perfect place to do all your food shopping, grab ingredients for your baking projects, pick up gift wrapping and Christmas decor if you need it!

Trip to Stop and Shop:

I found all the ingredients I needed for our Pizzelle Recipe, then I looked for other yummy treats and candies to add to fill out our dessert tray.   I also found the perfect platter to use for my Christmas Cook Charcuterie board.

These were some of the Holiday items at Stop and Shop that caught my eye!

Pizzelle Recipe:

6 eggs

3-1/2 cups of flour

1-1/2 cups sugar

1 cup of margarine 

4 teaspoons baking powder

2 tablespoons vanilla or anise

Beat eggs, adding sugar gradually.  Beat until smooth.  Add cooled melted margarine and vanilla or anise.  Sift flour and baking powder and add to egg mixture.  Dough will be sticky enough to be dropped by spoon. 

Chocolate Pizzelle:

Add following ingredients to those in recipe shown above.  Sift with flour and add to egg mixture.  

1/2 cup cocoa

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking poder

Baking with our Special Guest My Grandmother

My Nanny is amazing in the kitchen.  When she cooks, she literally pours her heart and love into the meal.  I strive to live up to her baking and cooking skills!  I was so happy that she was able to come over and teach the kids how to bake these classic Italian cookies.  She took charge and knew the recipe like the back of her hand.  I loved watching their interactions.  It reminded me so much of my childhood.  The kids loved sprinkling the “snow” just like I did.

The recipe is fairly easy and all you need is a pizzelle press like THIS one. What I’ve learned over the years, when it comes to baking with kids, embrace the mess and let go the expectation of a perfect finished product.  The beauty of baking with kids isn’t in about how the cookies look at the end, it’s truly about watching them light up with excitement over something they are creating from scratch.  Stirring the ingredients, getting to crack the egg, adding the sprinkles or frosting.  

Preparing the Christmas Cookie Charcuterie Board

Once we we’re done baking the Pizzelle cookies it’s time to assemble the cookies onto the platter from Stop and Shop to create our Christmas Cookies Charcuterie board.   This is where I had fun creating a beautiful spread  of pretty sweets.  Also, if your cookies don’t come out as a work of art this will be a step that can transform them.   Some of the items I purchased at Stop and Shop to add to our Christmas Cookie Charcuterie Board; wrapped chocolates, chocolate nonpareils, hershey kisses, biscotti, candy canes, gingerbread men, short break cookies… and others. 

If you have a cute Christmas mug or bowl add those to the plate for visual interest and to break up the platter. I just love the plaid pattern of this tray from Stop and Shop and it was only 7.99!

Here is the finished Christmas Cookie Charcuterie board. Of course you can add more homemade cookies, store bought and the bakery at Stop and Shop is another great option to mix in items as well.

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I hope you enjoyed seeing our family baking day! It’s also fun to mix up old traditions with new ones and save time also! Thanks to Stop and Shop for sponsoring this post! I always find everything I need when I stop in and shop! 😉

Jordan

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