Christmas Cookies are For Giving by Kristin Johnson and Mimi Cummins

More than a cookbook, CHRISTMAS COOKIES ARE FOR GIVING is a celebration of family, friends and the joy of giving. Stories, recipes, tips and more...

Smells of cinnamon…cookie cutters…rolling and baking…eating dough…warm times with friends and family…Christmas cookies are a universal symbol of sweetness and family tradition at Christmas. But the joy of Christmas cookies goes beyond eating. In CHRISTMAS COOKIES ARE FOR GIVING, Kristin Johnson and Mimi Cummins reawaken the fun of giving Christmas cookies, as they remember doing when they lived next door to each other when young children.

From the original short story “The Giving Christmas Cookie,” which shows a family brought together by a special cookie at Christmas, to nearly 50 scrumptious recipes with mouth watering photos, to the timely, easy directions for making homemade “Gifts in a Jar,” CHRISTMAS COOKIES ARE FOR GIVING shows that old-fashioned Christmas gifts are the antidote to cynicism about Christmas. The secret to celebrating your family and friends may not be in the mall, but in your pantry where you’ll find the ingredients to make Triple Chocolate Caramel Brownies, Nut Roll, and Vanillekipferl—The Giving Christmas Cookie. Give this book as a present, and you may be rewarded when someone you love bakes the goodies in this book for you.



An Interview With Kristin Johnson:

Why did you write this book? My childhood friend Mimi Cummins started Christmas-Cookies.com, which is a top-rated Christmas cookie site. We came together in California for one of our reunions, and out of a reminiscing session with my mother came the idea to do a Christmas cookbook--not just any cookbook.

Both Mimi and I grew up around wonderful bakers--her grandmother, my grandmother, and my mother. We used to live next door to each other and have many fond memories of Christmas cookies at each others' homes. Somehow we knew that we had to blend the recipes with stories about giving, family, friends and, of course, cookies! We had many stories from our childhoods, and Mimi solicited stories from the Christmas-Cookies.com community.

What was the hardest part? I would say selecting the recipes, because there were so many yummy ones--also the stories. Another challenge was to make the spirit of the book stand out from other cookie books out there. I think of it as a Christmas storybook with recipes.

What was easiest or most fun? Working with my childhood friend Mimi Cummins. We had a blast doing this book. Also, getting lots of new recipes to try, and writing the short story "The Giving Christmas Cookie".

What do you hope people get from your book? You don't have to give the most expensive presents to make Christmas, or any occasion, special. In these economic times people are looking to simplify as opposed to the excess that we're all taught we should want. The Gifts in a Jar recipes especially are a terrific low-cost and thoughtful gift. Cookie dough bonds people together. As the stories from people on Christmas-Cookies.com that were published in the book illustrate, making and giving food is a spiritual experience and a way to connect family and friends.

How do you want to be remembered as an author? As an uplifting influence, whether I'm writing science fiction, literary love stories, screenplays, teleplays, or whatever I am currently passionate about,

What's next for you? I'm doing many projects, and hoping to get my teleplay "Bully.com" produced. Other than that, writing, writing, writing!