One of my fondest Christmas memories is when I set out milk and cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve. I remember choosing my own favorites, hoping Santa would like them too. I could never decide where the best place to leave them for Santa was, though – the kitchen or on the small table next to the Christmas tree, I’d wonder. I usually opted for the latter since I wasn’t sure whether Santa would go in any room other than the living room where he’d find the tree.
I only left milk out one year, though. After that first time, my dad said he thought Santa would probably like coffee with a little milk better. So, coffee it was!
I also remember how the first thing I saw on Christmas morning was the beautiful tree, all decorated with lights, ornaments, tinsel and angel hair. And to think it was just an ordinary cedar tree my Dad and I brought home from out in a pasture the day before!
After admiring the tree, I would check to see if the plate of cookies and cup of coffee I’d left for Santa were empty and when I found only a trace of cookie crumbs left, I’d be thrilled, thinking Santa had time for a snack after all the work he did while I was asleep.
Christmas is a magical time of year for children and leaving cookies for Santa is a tradition that carries on. And, today, Old St. Nick sure has a lot of cookie choices, although some of the old standbys, like oatmeal, peanut butter and chocolate chip, are still at the top of the list. I like to add a few new kinds of cookies every year, though, and these Oatmeal Apricot Squares has become a fast favorite. I bet Santa would agree!
OATMEAL APRICOT SQUARES
1 cup flour
1 cup quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup cold butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup apricot preserves
1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, sugar, salt and baking soda. Cut in butter and add vanilla and blend till the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Press half the mixture into a greased 8-inch square baking pan. Spread with preserves. Sprinkle with remaining oat mixture and sprinkle nuts over top and then gently press down.
Bake at 350 degrees for 38 to 42 minutes or till golden brown. Cool on wire rack and cut into squares.
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