Nostalgia Cookies

Well, okay, that's not actually their name. But with these as a staple at all the family holiday gatherings and the sense of happiness just the smell of them baking brings me, they could just as easily go by the other name.

These cookies are dense and chocolatey without being overly rich, and are delicious whether they're covered in festive sprinkles or dunked in a morning cup of tea. The recipe itself is quite simple, and the only real time investment is letting the dough chill for a bit and, until you get the hang of it, rolling them out into pretzels.

Mom's Chocolate Pretzel Recipe

Makes 24 large pretzels or 36 small pretzels

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup cocoa

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup softened butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg at room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

In a small bowl, combine the flour, cocoa and salt.

In a medium bowl, beat together the butter and sugar, then beat in the egg and vanilla.

In 3 additions, beat in flour mixture.

Divide into 2 logs, wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1-2 hours, or overnight.

When ready to shape the logs, take them out of the fridge (If chilled overnight, allow 10-15 minutes for them to thaw slightly) and set the oven to 350 F

Divide both into 12 or 18 pieces depending on how large you'd like the cookies to be.

Choose one log to work with first, and return the other to the fridge.

Shape each pretzel one at a time: gently roll out a piece into a 6-8 inch snake.

Take one end and bend it over toward the middle.

Repeat with other side, and allow the two ends to cross over each other.

You're welcome to stop here, but if you'd like yours to look a little fancier, twist the two ends over each other 1-2 more times.

And then position them so the bottom of the twisted ends is at the bottom of the pretzel, like so:

After each pretzel is shaped, place it on a baking sheet. Shape the remaining pretzels and place them on the baking sheet, leaving a couple of inches between each one. Repeat with the other log that was in the fridge.

Bake for 10 minutes, or until set.

Enjoy with a glass of milk :)