Graphic created by Lucas Seidel Design

Gather 'round the open fire for Chimneyside Chats - a monthly feature with holiday stories from our favorite artists. See what's in their stockings this year as they reminisce on Christmas memories, share their favorite recipe and more! Here's what Muddy Paw PR founder and CEO Angela Mastrogiacomo had to say:

There’s something absolutely magical about Christmastime. I don’t know if it’s the sparkly lights, the never-ending cheery music, or, more likely, the traditions I was raised to look forward to each year, but Christmas has, and always will be, my favorite time of year.

For me, it’s all about the traditions. The little moments that make the holiday moments what they are. Driving around with hot cocoa looking at Christmas lights, wandering downtown Boston to see the city all aglow or simply staying in and baking Christmas cookies to the sound of holiday playlists, singing the songs of my childhood. (‘Santa Claus is Comin’ To Town’ anyone?)

One of my favorite recipes to bake in the last few years are these holiday sugar cookies. I wish I could take credit for them but the truth is, I could never come up with something this good on my own. That said, they were passed down to me through my dad’s wife, and I guess that makes the whole thing a bit more sentimental.

The first time we ever made these cookies!

The secret here is the almond extract. I don’t think I’ve ever seen sugar cookies that incorporate it and it honestly takes the whole thing from just a bleh sugar cookie to “oh my God I’ve had 10 and I can’t stop.”

Every year I make these. The first year it was with my dad and his wife, the next with my mom, and now, with my fiancé. I get extremely frustrated at how difficult it is to roll dough that thin (and what is 3/16th thick anyway? How do I measure that?!) and inevitably hand the task to someone else, before we fill the house with the smell of delicious cookies, and inevitably get so impatient with the icing that it looks something like this:

Unless someone else helps me and then we get this:

But hey, they’re good and we had fun making them, so what’s it matter anyway? After all, Christmas is all about family, food and fun, and if I’ve learned anything over the last few years, these cookies bring it all together.

P.S. I never use the cream of tartar and it comes out fine. Also did you know you can just blend regular sugar and it turns into powdered sugar? Game changer!

Happy Holidays!