'Tis the Season...

A light dusting of snow on December 1st in the Chicagoland Suburbs, only 20-some degrees outside, winter hat, coat, mittens, scarf, and boots being worn to keep warm, crazy bargain shoppers at the stores and doorbuster hours, fireplace ablaze with a warm hearth, the smell of cinnamon in the air, Christmas lights adorning the outdoor landscape, Christmas Tree lit in our house, and the 1st Menorah candle lit in other households...It's definitely the Holidays!!

Considering all of this and in preparation for the Season to be Jolly, I've decided that I would like to share my favorite cookies~store-bought, homemade, given, received, baked, eaten, etc., etc.~with all of you, and culminating in sharing such with Santa on the Night he comes down our Chimney to leave Elena's & Katrina's wishlist of toys at the foot of the tree. When I think of the Holidays, a smile instantly appears on my face.  Some reasons being that it's a favorite holiday, my Girlies love the opportunity to circle EVERY SINGLE TOY in EVERY SINGLE TOY CATALOG that lands at our doorstep in the hopes that some circles might actually end up with the rest of the playful mess that is the playroom, my out-of-towner brothers come in for our Sulit Family's Christmas Day Extravaganza of Deliciousness, but gleefully I love that in terms of sweets that remind me of the Holidays, my favorite sweet/dessert is showcased:  the COOKIE!!!  With that said, I will take every opportunity leading up to Christmas Day and perhaps beyond for good measure to showcase some of my favorite cookies.  Some will be classics, some perhaps gourmet, some the epitome of Christmas, some easily store-bought, and ALL definitely yummy in the tummy.

For the 1st cookie to be showcased as I make my way through these Holidays, I start with a rather new find to me, and one I just can't seem to get enough of.  This particular cookie is of the store-bought variety, albeit specialty food store, and worth every penny.  On a recent trip to the local Italian deli/grocery store, I happened to browse their cookie aisle since I love cookies, and was intrigued by the little glossy sack that contained little bits of semi-sweetness in the form of  Loacker Quadratini Dark Chocolate Bite Size Wafer Cookies!

Every bite size is full of delicious sweetness!

They are simply delicious. I believe these sweet bites come from a European company. German company with an Italian-like cookie, perhaps. Hmmm, now I see what attracted me to them...a German/Italian confection.  I am married to a dude of German/Italian heritage, who coincidentally has quite the sweet tooth for sweet confections. Apparently, I have an affinity for this specific combo...And there you have it ;)  Ha! Now they are actually wafers, though I think I would still classify them as cookies, or perhaps more specifically as wafer cookies, and apparently the company concurs as noted on the front of the glossy bag.  Nonetheless~so delicious. I am honestly satisfied with having 2, maybe 3, maybe 4 at most, by themselves or while sipping coffee or tea or a glass of skim milk, but I am more satisfied when I know I have a rather full bag of them from the specialty grocery store to replenish my craving at a moment's notice. Katrina also has gain an appreciation for the dark chocolate wafer cookie...then again she just appreciates food in general!  I happened to find my bags of wafer cookies at 2 locations near me: Frangella Italian Imports and at Green Food & Produce.  Both places carry European food items, including the Loacker Wafer Cookies in a variety of flavors.  I've also heard that you can find these yummy morsels at Trader Joe's~score! I highly recommend you search for them the next time you stop into a specialty European food store or TJ's! Again, worth every penny, worth a try, and worth a spot on the cookie plate for Santa's arrival!  Sweet Season's Eatings! Enjoy!