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My favorite part of the holiday season is all the homemade treats everyone makes and shares. It seems like everyone is baking Christmas cookies. Down at the clinic where I work patients bring in gifts. We especially appreciate the homemade treats. I know we are all  very busy and it’s difficult to find time to make anything homemade. If you’re looking for a way to make easy holiday treats, do like I do and use Betty Crocker cookie mixes. They make baking a breeze. I’ve been using them for many years. I always try to have at least a couple mixes on hand. They’ve made baking homemade cookies a little easier. I add spices, nuts and fruits to the mixes. Jazz them up a bit.

Right now Betty Crocker has this really fun campaign. It’s called #SpreadCheer. It’s a beautiful idea and so simple that everyone can participate and do a little holiday giving. All you do is download this money saving coupon, buy the cookie mix, bake the cookies and share them with whoever you think could use some extra cheer. Betty Crocker supplies these printable gift tags, door sign, and a coloring page  to download.with instructions on how you  #SpreadCheer.

The first thing I did was tell Katie and Tyler we were going to bake some cookies to spread cheer. They were in at the word bake. I headed out to Meijer’s on Wilmington Pike in Kettering. They are finished with the remodel! Hurrah, the store looks amazing! The cookies were easy to find so it was a quick dash in and out.

Katie and Ty were so excited to get started. We decided on a pumpkin spice sugar cookie rolled in sugar and cinnamon. Rolling raw cookie balls in sugar and cinnamon was the deciding factor for the kids.

You’ll need:

1 package Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie mix
1 stick of butter softened
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

In a large bowl mix together the butter and egg with the cookie mix, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon.

In a small bowl mix the sugar and cinnamon together. Now comes the fun part. Shape the dough into small inch balls and roll in the sugar-cinnamon mixture.

Place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 350 degree F. oven for 8-9 minutes. A little less time will make them soft, a little more time will make them crisper.

The kids wanted to put some red hots on some of the cookies. Pretty good combination.

After the cookies cooled we packaged them up into little boxes so we could spread cheer. Downloaded the printable tags and door sign. I put all my treats in a basket and set off on my quest to Spread Cheer. I was excited.

My first stop was my sister-in-law Marti’s house. Marti is always doing for others. I knew she would be home because my husband was talking to her on the phone when I left the house. She had a new address and he was on the phone getting it for me. I Mapquested the address and was on my way. It was close less than 3 miles away. I found the apartment number and knocked on her door. No answer. I texted her, no answer. Oh well, I thought maybe she saw my camera and didn’t want me snapping her picture. I left her gift on the porch. She’ll be so surprised. 🙂

My next stop was with my very good friend Lisa, she knows no strangers. Friends with everyone and nice as can be. Lisa loves cookies, especially cookies that I make. Lisa is dealing with severe mental problems in her family. She needs cheer. She’s gonna love my Betty Crocker Pumpkin Spice Cookies.

She was very surprised and loved them. She was a very good sport considering this was Thanksgiving morning about 9:30 AM. It’s so much fun surprising her. Got a great hug too!

Next stop was my daughter Jen’s house. Katie and Tyler insisted that mommy deserved to get some of our homemade treats. Of course, I agreed.

After I left my daughter’s house Marti called me on my cell. She said she was at home. I told her I left the cookies at her doorstep. She said, “no you didn’t”. I said, “yes I did”. Hmmm. that’s weird. I repeated the address to her, it was correct. But then she said the letter C! Oh no, I didn’t notice any letters. Who knows where I left the cookies???  As we talked on the phone she walked a few apartments down and there  the cookies were, still sitting on the doorstep untouched. She laughed and said the people who lived there are out of town for the holiday. All is well and delivery complete. 🙂

I had so much fun doing this post. It brought delicious fun to my family and friends as well as myself. Would you like to Spread Cheer this holiday season? Do you know someone who could use some cheer? Who doesn’t?

To get started Download your Coupon and get baking.

PLUS: As part of the #SpreadCheer program 1 lucky reader will win a $20 Gift card! Here’s how you enter:

1. Visit the Betty Crocker #SpreadCheer page.
2. Create a #SpreadCheer basket and post an original photo of it on your social channels with the hashtag #SpreadCheer (and also nominate your friends by tagging).
3. Confirm your entry by commenting on this blog post on who you chose to #SpreadCheer to AND a link back to your social post.

Good Luck!
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