Nearly every year, I take Christmas portraits of our pets. Sometimes they are pretty or cute, other times they are just funny. 

Jessie - We strongly suspect that she is a kelpie, although we've never done genetic testing for her. We adopted her when she was six months old in 2015. She's definitely our smallest dog, but my goodness does she have a lot of attitude. She sleeps in our daughter's room, and they do nearly everything together. She loves to play with tennis balls and lives for tug-of-war.

Loki - He was a rescue in 2020, and about six months old when we saw an ad about him and decided to bring him home. He walked into our house and right into my heart. He's definitely my buddy. He weighs about 90 lbs. and is a mutt through and through. We did do genetic testing on him and he's primarily Australian cattle dog and German shepherd. He's super sweet, and I'm hoping to do obedience training and possibly some agility with him next year. 

Natty - This is the baby of the family. She turned a year old in November. We got her at six weeks - probably the youngest puppy I've ever had. It's hard to believe how fast they grow! She's a German shepherd and around 75 pounds. She's super sweet but can be a little timid. That said, she's an amazing guard dog. She and Loki love to play together!

Jasper - He's our angel. We just said goodbye to him on December 10th, and our home isn't the same without him. We found him as a puppy in 2009 running on the side of the road and brought him home. He was such a sweet, mellow guy that loved food, gave true hugs, and was always happy. We were blessed to have him in our lives for 13 1/2 years. 

I love baking cookies in December. I'm the odd one in my family in that I prefer non-chocolate baked goods. Weird, I know. LOL Of all the cookies I bake, honey spice cookies are one of my favorites. I love the combination of honey, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. They are so good!

I thought I'd share the recipe for those of you who might like to try baking them. If you do, I'd love to hear what you think. 

Honey Spice Cookies

1 cup brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup shortening (I use coconut oil)
1/4 cup honey or dark corn syrup 
1 egg
2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cloves

~ Cream brown sugar and shortening in a mixing bowl
~ Add egg and honey or corn syrup and mix well
~ Combine all the dry ingredients in a second bowl
~ Stir the dry ingredients into the sugar mixture until well blended 
~ Shape into balls
~ Fill a small bowl with water and another with sugar (I like using raw Turbinado sugar because it's courser)
~ Dip half the ball in water, then in the sugar
~ Place on an ungreased cookie sheet sugar side up
~ Bake at 350'F for 12-15 minutes

Makes about 2 dozen
Enjoy!