Today I offer you my very best Holiday Baking Tips and one of my favorite cookie recipes, Mexican Mocha Crinkle Cookies!

This time of year, many inexperienced cooks are tip-toeing into the kitchen to try their hand at making edible gifts.

Welcome newbies! We are so glad you’re here. The satisfaction that follows offering your loved ones homemade dishes, is hard to beat.

To help you on your way, I’d like to share a few of my favorite holiday baking tips to ensure your time in the kitchen is successful and enjoyable.

5 Fail-Proof Holiday Baking Tips

• Make Baking a Family Affair. Some of my best memories as a child, are of baking with my mom. Making holiday baking an annual family event is a great way get in some needed quality time, and to get the baking done in a timely fashion. Extra hands = faster baking.

• Stick to Old-Faithfuls and Trusted Sources. As much as I love to experiment in the kitchen, when baking for events and edible gifts, stick to the recipe. Use tried-and-true family favorites, or recipe from trusted sources, like ahem… your favorite recipe blog. You don’t want to waste your time and money on “mad-scientist” baking projects that you’ll be embarrassed to serve to friends.

• Invest in Parchment Paper. Parchment paper is the answer to many common baking dilemmas. It causes cookies to retain their shape, bake evenly, and come cleanly off the baking sheet. It’s also fantastic for lining cake and bread pans.

• Buy New Leavening Agents for Holiday Baking. Items like baking soda, baking powder, dry yeast, and cream of tartar lose their lifting power over time. It’s a good idea to buy new containers of common leavening agents before holiday baking, and save yourself the headache of hockey-puck cookies.

• Plan Ahead for Presentation. You just spent an entire day making dozens of immaculate cookies that look like they came straight off the pages of a culinary magazine. Don’t just heap them on a paper plate and hand them to your neighbor; think ahead about how you want to present your dainty delicacies! This time of year you can find all sorts of inexpensive boxes, bags, buckets and baskets that will protect your baked goods and make your gifts even more special.

Now let’s bake!

These Mexican Mocha Crinkle Cookies are one of my holiday favorites. They offer the crisp outer crust and the fudgy inner texture of classic crinkle cookies with an added punch. All the flavors of a Mexican Mocha coffee drink are represented… rich chocolate, coffee, cinnamon and a subtle nip of spicy heat that warms the throat. Yet not so much it burns.

No fancy decorating required, so get your kids involved in making crinkle cookies.

They can roll the dough into balls and dredge them in powdered sugar for a fun and festive time. These Mexican Mocha Crinkle Cookies are easy to make and are sure to be a winner with your friends and family this holiday season!