Holiday Gift Guide Blog Hop! Week 3..."Handmade or Homemade"

I've gotta be honest...this is starting to freak me out just a bit! This is the third week of the Gift Guide...which means we're 3 weeks closer to Christmas! Yikes!!

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This week's theme is: "Handmade or Homemade", which includes Etsy sites, tutorials, or just fabulous ideas that you have laying around in your brain!

And...BONUS!!! This week's post comes with a giveaway attached!! Christine, of "Memories by Christine" has offered to sponsor an incredibly generous giveaway for us! She is the author of, "Memories by Christine", a craft blog, who offers her printables and designs for free.

F. R. E. E. (She does ask, if you find you are able, to done to Curesearch...a children's cancer awareness fun or the Ronald McDonald House, two funds that are very close to her heart.)

Typically, YOU have to do some of the work (printing, cutting, pasting, etc.) with her designs...BUT, as part of the giveaway, Christine is doing the work FOR you! She is offering 3 fully assembled prizes! The first is a set of 10 pre-printed, pre-assembled personalized gift tags. (Bonus: She'll use YOUR name!) ;)

The second is a "Holiday Traditions" album...a perfect place to store all of your holiday "Best Of's":

And the third is a "Busy Mom's Calendar"...cute calendar pages, in a 3 ring binder with extra sleeves to help you organize the chaos that you call life! ;)

Everyone who links up is automatically entered to win a prize...also, everyone who comments is entered to win as well! So, if you link up AND comment, that doubles your chances! The giveaway will close on Sunday, November 28th and the winners will be announced on next week's Gift Guide (Theme for next week: Favorite Children's Toys: Bonus for "Battery Free"!)

Let's level here...I ain't crafty! Yes, I made a tutu once, but I can't think of a single soul on my Christmas list that would want one. My mom might now appreciate getting a tutu for Christmas! ;)

So, the only thing I've got for you, falls into the "Homemade" category...these, my friends, are the world's best sugar cookies.

I wrote the post right around the time I went to meet the Pioneer Woman, then I got home, read her cookbook, and realized that the sugar cookie recipe that she has in her book is almost identical to ours!

But, I promise...our family has made these long before the Pioneer Woman was ever an accidental country girl! ;)

Here is the recipe:

Chocolate Star Cookies:
1 c. sugar
1 c. powder sugar
1 c. butter (softened)
1 c. Mazola oil
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp salt
4 1/4 c. flour
Brach's Chocolate Stars

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream together sugars, butter and oil. Add eggs, soda, vanilla, cream of tartar and salt. Mix well. Add flour, mix well. Drop on cookie sheet, bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, cookies should not be brown...they will almost look not done. Place a star atop each cookie immediately out of oven, allow to cool a bit on cookie sheet, then transfer to cooling rack. (PS...they also make "Dark Chocolate" Chocolate Stars. OMG. Delicious.)

And, here is my "food blog" post on Chocolate Star Cookies (that's what we call them). Trust me...they are to. die. for. But, don't try to send them in the mail...they won't make it, 'cuz as much as they melt in your mouth, they disintegrate in the mail.

These cookies are good only as hand delivered gifts!

At least, that's what I would imagine!

Alright...let's hear what YOU'VE got to say about "Handmade/Homemade" Gifts!! Remember...linker uppers and/or commenters are entered to win the giveaway! Do both (link up and comment and you're entered twice!

(FYI: All linkies will be left open until the last week of the blog hop. Click here for a list of the themes.)