Instead of making a more traditional gingerbread, sugar or butter cookie to leave for Santa Claus, this year, I made alfajores. With an outside of delicate melt-in-your mouth vanilla cookie and an inside of creamy dulce de leche, these Argentine sandwich cookies are wonderfully delicious. The cookies have to be completely cooled before spreading on the dulce de leche, so get started on them right away. In Argentina, they are three to four inches in diameter, but I prefer smaller cookies and made mine with a two-and-a-half inch biscuit cutter; feel free to adjust the size to suit your preferences. These buttery cookies pair perfectly with coffee, sparkling wine, or in the case of Old Saint Nick, a glass of milk! Read more for the recipe.

To make sure you stay as warm and fuzzy as you're feeling on the inside this Christmas Eve, Peet's Coffee & Tea is serving complimentary coffee and tea all day today.

The promotion is part of the coffee chain's efforts to support local nonprofit organizations over the holidays, and to thank customers for supporting their communities. Drop in, grab a cup of joe or steeped tea, and make a donation; Peet's will match up to $1,000 of customer contributions in each store!

Source: Flickr User kana76

When infused with the intoxicating spices of gingerbread, French palmier cookies take on a Christmas cheer of their own.