Tis the season for baking

The holidays are the time of year that many cooks pull out all the stops making holiday meals and baking sweet treats for family and friends.

When I was a child, my mother would spend an entire day baking various sweet treats and putting them into cute little containers she decorated to give to family, friends and co-workers.

These were gifts to show her appreciation of them throughout the year and they were always very well received. Everyone loved getting her little boxes of goodies filled with homemade fudge, pecan pie bars, cookies and candies.

In the last few years, I have begun doing something similar for my close friends. Most of my closest friends, some from childhood, live out of state unfortunately. So, I have to make items that can ship well to various locations such as Illinois, North Carolina, Texas and Kentucky.

I tend to keep the recipes simple because I normally only have one day to try and get everything done including the packaging and mailing. Last year the gifts I sent out were containers of homemade "Chex" mix with a few extra items thrown in and muddy buddies (Chex cereal with peanut butter, chocolate and powdered sugar), chocolate dipped sugar cookies, snickerdoodles and the hardest project in the lot, my super soft and tasty Holiday Oatmeal Cookies. I have one friend who doesn't cook at all; she and her husband eat out all the time so she particularly loves these yearly treats.

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Each time I send these packages out I receive praising e-mails or phone calls in return, which is a gift to me as well. Some have said it is better to give than to receive and that is very true, especially when it is something you made yourself.

If you do make cookies and treats for a loved one out of state though, make sure you package everything very well. Zipper seal bags and wax paper between rows of treats in a nice sturdy container that cannot be crushed in the mail is always the best idea.

If you intend to send treats overseas to a loved one in the military, make absolutely sure that the items you send will keep and shy away from fudge and things that can melt in the heat. Snickerdoodles and sugar cookies can usually handle a trip abroad in fairly good shape.

Holiday Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup raisins

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

2 cups light brown sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 cup buttermilk

2 cups quick cooking oats (not instant or old-fashioned)

3/4 cup chopped toasted pecans

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease 2 large baking sheets and set aside.

Place the raisins in a medium bowl and cover with boiling water. Let sit until plump and moist, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain well.

In a large bowl, with an electric mixer cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and eggs, and beat to combine.

Into a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir into the butter mixture, and add the buttermilk, stirring to mix. Fold in the oatmeal, raisins and nuts blending well.

Drop the dough onto the baking sheets by rounded tablespoons, spacing them 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

Let cool on the sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool.

Yield: about 3 dozen cookies. These cookies tend to be very soft and sticky, you'll want to separate them with wax paper between layers when stored.