Chocolate Crinkles and Charity

Snohomish Shepherdess got my cookie baking in full swing this year ~ I'm remembering my favorite cookies growing up and I've been baking like a fiend.  Today was a double batch of Chocolate Crinkles from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook.  I have an older version than the link above ~ all ingredients are the same but I only used 3 eggs and 1 1/2c sugar per batch and they are great!  And although I'm sure they are wonderful with turbindo sugar on top, we always had them with powdered sugar so I will never use anything else!

My husband and I have been hearing quite a bit on the news about Toys for Tots and how bare their shelves are this year due to the economy.  We've also, on many occasions this year, talked about how lucky we are that we've been virtually unscathed by the hard times that most people we know are facing.  We've made it a point to be more charitable in 2010 than we have in the past, with donations to Heifer International and Locks of Love.  And last night we decided to jump in the car and hit a local store and fill a shopping cart with donations for Toys for Tots.  My husband has donated a football every year for as long as I've known him, and I'm fairly certain even long before that.  But this year, the sky was the limit and boy, did we have a great time doing it!  If you need something to get you into the holiday spirit, I highly recommend donating to a charity that is close to your heart and means something to you.  It's money well spent and the feeling of knowing that you have contributed to making someone's struggles maybe just a little bit lighter for a moment is worth any amount of money you can spare, no matter how small.  I think we will make this a new family tradition and do it annually ~ it was one of the most fun things we've done together all year!