Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,
The little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head.
The stars in the bright sky looked down where he lay,
The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay.

The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes,
But little Lord Jesus no crying he makes.
I love thee, Lord Jesus! Look down from the sky,
And stay by my side until morning is nigh.

Be near me Lord Jesus,
I ask thee to stay.
Close by me forever,
And love my I pray.

Bless all the dear children,
In thy tender care.
And take them to heaven,
To be with thee there.

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This recipe is an absolute favorite, and I get requests for it all of the time. This recipe takes about 15 minutes to whip together, and another 16 minutes to bake (8 minutes per sheet). It makes about 3 dozen amazing Peanut Butter Cup Cookies. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter (I use Jif or Skippy)
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 36 miniature Reese’s peanut butter cups, unwrapped

Making and Baking the Peanut Butter Cup Cookies:

1. First preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in one mixing bowl.
3. In the other mixing bowl, beat the sugar, peanut butter, brown sugar and the butter together for 2-3 minutes.
4. Beat the egg, then mix the egg and the vanilla into the sugar/butter/peanut butter mixture until combined.
5. Slowly mix in the flour, and mix until combined completely.
6. Roll the dough into golf sized balls, and place in a greased mini-muffin pan (I like the baking spray).
7. Bake them for about 8 minutes, one sheet at a time.
8. Remove from oven and immediately press a mini peanut butter cup into each ball.
9. Let these cool in the pan for about a few minutes, and then pop the pan in the refrigerator so the candy will cool and harden.

If you are in a rush and you want the cookies fast, just go out and get the pre-made peanut butter cookie dough instead of making it from scratch. I promise I won’t tell, and neither will Santa (as long as you leave him a couple!)

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Christmas Sugar Cookies

This recipe is for the best sugar cookie I have ever tasted. This recipe takes about 10 minutes to whip together, and another 22 minutes to bake (11 minutes per sheet). From start to finish you looking at a total of 40 minutes, and you will receive about 2 dozen fantastic cookies for your effort. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup course sugar (white, green and red)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 14 tablespoons of butter, softened
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

Making and Baking the Sugar Cookies:

1. First preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in one mixing bowl.
3. In the other mixing bowl, beat the remaining sugar and the butter together for 5 minutes (this is important!).
4. Beat the vanilla and the eggs into the sugar and butter until combined.
5. Slowly mix in the flour.
6. Roll the dough into golf sized balls.
7. Place the course sugar in a shallow dish. I find that mixing 1 part colored sugar with 2 parts white has the most even and pleasing look. I usually make a combination of all white, green/white, and red/white, so I use a lot more of the white course sugar than the colored sugar.
8. Place the balls on a cookie sheet that has been either greased or lined with wax paper, at least 2 inches apart.
9. Press the palm of your hand onto the cookies to flatten them a little.
10. Bake them for about 11 minutes, one sheet at a time.
11. When the edges start to brown they are done.
12. Let them sit for a few minutes on a cooling rack before serving.

These will stay soft for about 7 days if stored in a plastic zipper bag. We usually eat them much more quickly though! They are fairly sturdy as well, so if you are making cookies to mail out, these are a good choice.

Tags: Christmas cookie recipes, Christmas sugar cookie recipe, simple sugar cookie recipe, soft sugar cookie recipe, sugar cookies recipe
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Frosty the snowman was a jolly happy soul,
With a corncob pipe and a button nose,
And two eyes made out of coal.
Frosty the snowman is a fairy tale, they say,
He was made of snow but the children
know how he came to life one day.
There must have been some magic in that
Old silk hat they found.
For when they placed it on his head,
He began to dance around.

O, Frosty the snowman
Was alive as he could be,
And the children say he could laugh
And play just the same as you and me.
Thumpetty thump thump,
Thumpety thump thump,
Look at Frosty go.
Thumpetty thump thump,
Thumpety thump thump,
Over the hills of snow.

Frosty the snowman knew
The sun was hot that day,
So he said, “Let’s run and
we’ll have some fun
now before I melt away.”
Down to the village,
With a broomstick in his hand,
Running here and there all
Around the square saying,
Catch me if you can.
He led them down the streets of town
Right to the traffic cop.
And he only paused a moment when
He heard him holler “Stop!”

For Frosty the snowman
Had to hurry on his way,
But he waved goodbye saying,
“Don’t you cry,
I’ll be back again some day.”
Thumpetty thump thump,
Thumpety thump thump,
Look at Frosty go.
Thumpetty thump thump,
Thumpety thump thump,
Over the hills of snow.

Tags: christmas carols, frosty snowman lyrics
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