No time to bake this season?

Don’t let holiday baking snow you under.

Visit the 17th Annual Christmas Cookie Festival on Saturday, December 6, at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 5901 E. 135th St., in Grandview.

Outside doors will open at 8:30 a.m. with festival doors opening at 9 a.m. The sale will continue until the cookies are sold out, normally before 10 a.m.

First shoppers will get the best selection of 12 varieties of homemade cookies — ranging from traditional Christmas favorites of snickerdoodles and sugar cookies to more unusual varieties, such as white chocolate peppermint and holiday orange cranberry. Iced Lemon Soft Cookie will make its debut this year. All cookies will be homemade.

Each shopper will buy an empty box for $20 and then fill the box with four to five dozen personally selected cookies. The lid on the box must close. Shoppers may buy more than one box of cookies.

In addition, iced decorated cookies will be sold for $15 a dozen and homemade candy will be sold for $15 a pound.

Shoppers must adhere to any and all COVID 19 protocols. Cash, check, credit cards and venmo will be accepted.

All proceeds from the event will benefit the church’s mission projects, including Lutheran high schools in Kansas City and Concordia, MO; Lutheran missions in Siberia; and Heart-n-Hand ministries in Belton, MO. Funds also will assist Grace Day, Holy Trinity’s own annual back-to-school outreach.

Holy Trinity Lutheran is located between the 140th Street and Main Street exits off I-49/71 Highway on the east side. The tall steeple can be seen from the highway. It is at 135th and Spring streets in Grandview. Guests are asked to enter through the front doors.

For more information, call the church office at 816-763-3211.

Just in case you miss out, organizer Liz Wheeler has shared her recipe for Soft Ginger Cookies.

Soft Ginger Cookies

Every Christmas dessert table needs a ginger molasses cookie, and this Soft Ginger Cookie has been a mainstay at the Holy Trinity cookie festival since the event began 17 years ago. It tastes yummy with coffee, freezes great and will be gobbled up straight from the platter. We’ll have it at the festival, but here’s the recipe in case you want it for your very own.

Ingredients:

• 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon ground cloves
• ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¾ cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• ¼ cup molasses
• 2 tablespoons sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350º. In a medium bowl combine flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon and cloves. Set aside

In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Beat in 1 cup of sugar. Add eggs and molasses; beat well. Stir flour mixture into egg mixture, beating well after each addition.

Shape into 1 inch balls, using about a heaping teaspoon dough for each ball. Roll balls in the 2 tablespoons sugar to coat. Place balls about 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake about 10 minutes or until light brown and still puffed. (Do not over bake.) Cool cookies on cookie sheet for 2 minutes (cookies will crack). Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.