Recipe #12 in our 2012 edition of the 12 Days of Christmas Cookies. This grand finale recipe of our series is one of Kevin’s favorite cookies: shortbread. And the lemon glaze adds a refreshing flavor twist. We like to mix the flavors up; some lemon glazed, some sea salt caramel glazed, and some plain. Chocolate glazed would be good too.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium-high, beat butter until smooth, about 8 minutes. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Reduce mixer to low, add flour and salt, and beat until combined.

Divide dough into 4 equal pieces and pat each into a square. Roll out each square between 2 sheets of lightly floured parchment to 1/4 inch thickness. Transfer to a baking pan, wrap tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate, about 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Remove and unwrap 1 dough square. Using a 1-inch square cutter, cut out 24 cookies (or slice across horizontally and then vertically into squares). Transfer to 2 parchment-lined baking pans, spacing cookies about 1 inch apart. Bake until light golden and firm around the edges, 12 to 15 minutes, rotating pans halfway through. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough squares.

Lemon Glaze Recipe:

To make glaze, in small bowl combine confectioners’ sugar, lemon juice, and corn syrup. Dip cookies in glaze on the diagonal, then gently swipe bottom edge to remove excess. Sprinkle with lemon zest. Set cookies on wire rack placed atop a sheet of waxed paper to catch any glaze drips. Allow glaze to completely harden overnight.

Recipe #11 in our 2012 edition of the 12 Days of Christmas Cookies. These chewy toffee cookies will become a tradition.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease cookie sheet.

Beat butter, sugars, vanilla and salt in large bowl until blended. Add eggs, beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Gradually add to butter mixture, beating until blended. Stir in toffee bits.

Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheet.

Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly.

Recipe #10 in our 2012 edition of the 12 Days of Christmas Cookies. Mix it up with different flavors of kiss candies.

In a large bowl, cream peanut butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; beat until blended.

Roll into 1-1/4-in. balls. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets.

Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes or until tops are slightly cracked. Immediately press one chocolate kiss into the center of each cookie. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

Yield: 2 dozen.

Recipe #9 in our 2012 edition of the 12 Days of Christmas Cookies. We cut out gingerbread boys, angels, bears and snowmen; and let the kids decorate.

Mix brown sugar, shortening, molasses and water in large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients except Creamy Frosting. Cover and refrigerate about 2 hours or until firm.

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Lightly grease cookie sheet. Roll one-fourth of dough at a time 1/4 inch thick on floured surface. Cut with floured gingerbread cookie cutter or other favorite shaped cutters. Place about 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until almost no indentation remains when touched in center. Remove from cookie sheet. Cool completely before decorating.

Creamy Frosting Recipe:

Prepare Creamy Frosting, mixing all ingredients until smooth. Spread or pipe on cookies.

Yield: About 2 1/2 dozen 5-inch cookies, or about 5 dozen 2 1/2-inch cookies.

Recipe #8 in our 2012 edition of the 12 Days of Christmas Cookies. Make a few pans, this fudge is a favorite.

Line loaf pan, 9x5x3 inches, with aluminum foil, leaving 1 inch of foil overhanging on opposite sides. Grease foil.

Mix granulated sugar and cocoa in 2-quart saucepan. Stir in butter, milk and corn syrup. Heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring frequently. Boil and stir 1 minute; remove from heat. Cool without stirring about 45 minutes or until bottom of pan is lukewarm. Stir in vanilla and nuts. Stir in powdered sugar until mixture is very stiff.

Press in pan. Refrigerate about 30 minutes or until firm. Remove from pan, using foil to lift. Cut into 1-inch squares.

Makes about 2 1/2 dozen candies.

Recipe #7 in our 2012 edition of the 12 Days of Christmas Cookies. Our favorite tradition is to bake these on Christmas Eve. Leave them in the oven overnight – and open for a Christmas morning surprise. (Helpful hint: Leave a note on the oven door for the other cooks in your house, so they don’t preheat the oven to bake a Christmas morning breakfast dish while these cookies are still in the oven.)

Place eggs whites in a large mixing bowl; let stand for 30 minutes.

Beat egg whites with vanilla, cream of tartar and salt on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high until stiff glossy peaks form and sugar is dissolved, about 6 minutes.

Drop meringue by teaspoonfuls onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Sprinkle with crushed candy canes. Hint: Use star tip of Pampered Chef Easy Accent Decorator to form meringue drops.

Bake at 250 degrees F for 40-45 minutes or until firm to the touch. Turn oven off; leave meringues in oven for 1 1/2 hours. Remove to wire racks. Store in an airtight container.

Recipe #6 in our 2012 edition of the 12 Days of Christmas Cookies. Chocolate in the center of vanilla dough lends a new twist to a holiday classic cookie.

Melt chocolate in small heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly; set aside. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine flour and salt in medium bowl; gradually add to butter mixture. Reserve 2 cups dough. Beat chocolate into dough in bowl until smooth. Cover both doughs and refrigerate until firm enough to handle, about 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Roll out vanilla dough between two sheets of waxed paper to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut into 5×4-inch rectangles. Place chocolate dough on sheet of waxed paper. Using waxed paper to hold dough, roll back and forth to form a log about 1 inch in diameter. Cut into 5-inch long logs. Place chocolate log in center of vanilla rectangle. Wrap vanilla dough around log.

Press dough onto ungreased cookie sheets 1 1/2 inches apart.

Bake about 10 minutes or until just set. Remove cookies with spatula to wire racks; cool completely.

Yield: 4 dozen cookies

Recipe #5 in our 2012 edition of the 12 Days of Christmas Cookies. Chocolate and coffee, what could be better?

Beat brown sugar and oil in medium bowl with electric mixer. Mix in sour cream, egg and vanilla. Set aside.

Mix flour, cocoa, espresso, baking soda, salt and pepper in another medium bowl.

Add flour mixture to brown sugar mixture; mix well. Refrigerate dough until firm, 3 to 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Pour powdered sugar into shallow bowl. Set aside. Cut dough into 1-inch pieces; roll into ball. Roll balls in powdered sugar.

Bake on ungreased cookie sheets 10 to 12 minutes or until tops of cookies are firm to touch. Do not overbake. Cool on wire racks.

Makes 6 dozen cookies.

Recipe #4 in our 2012 edition of the 12 Days of Christmas Cookies. For Christmas, we cut these cookies in geometric shapes and frost to resemble snowflakes. Other times during the year for pastry tea parties, we use cookies cutters shaped as spoons, tea cups, and teapots.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar at medium speed for 4 to 5 minutes until it is light and fluffy, scraping down the side of the bowl often. Add the eggs, one at a time, bathing well after each addition. With the mixer at low speed add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture, alternating with the sour cream and rosewater. Beat well.

Divide the dough into 3 pieces and wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. On a well-floured surface, roll each piece of the chilled dough into a circle about 1/4-inch thick. Cut the cookies with floured cookie cutters.

Using a floured metal spatula, arrange the cookies 1 inch apart on unbuttered baking sheets. Sprinkle cookies with sugar, and bake for 12 minutes, or until they are lightly browned. Cool on racks.

Yield: 5 dozen cookies

Recipe #3 in our 2012 edition of the 12 Days of Christmas Cookies. In Norway they are sometimes stacked three high with whipped cream between each layer, then topped with fruit. But they are terrific too just sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Beat eggs slightly with sugar and salt. Add milk and flour and beat until smooth.

Heat rosette iron in hot lard or vegetable shortening to 370 degrees F. Hint: We use our electric wok for frying to maintain an even frying temperature.

For the first rosette, wipe excess fat from iron with paper towels, and dip into batter, but do not allow to come over the top of the iron. Return iron to hot fat and immerse. Fry for about 20 seconds, or until color desired.

In removing iron from fat, turn it over to drain. Jolt rosette off iron, by lightly hitting handle on edge of counter, and repeat dipping and frying. If rosette falls off iron in hot fat, add flour to batter. If rosette is too thick, thin with a bit of milk.

When finished cooking rosettes, place them on paper towels on a cookie sheet with paper towels between each layer. Put in oven at 300 degrees F. Turn off heat, allow to cool. This will remove excess fat from rosettes and improve flavor.

Dust with powdered sugar before serving, if desired.