I love Christmas. A lot. Always have. Always will. 

I grew up with a Christmas-crazed mom who allowed me – no, encouraged me – to be a kid at Christmas time. In college, I came home to Christmas decorations, hot cocoa and all-night Christmas movie marathons. After college, I moved back home, and looked forward to the time of year where I could pretend to be a kid again and forget about the stresses of the real world. And then, I moved in with my best friends who were just as happy to pretend to be a kid with me during the holidays.

This year, things feel a little different. I live with my boyfriend in our grown-up apartment. We have real furniture like a grown-up couch and a grown-up coffee table. For the first time, I really do feel like an adult. Sure, there's still the part of me that knows that "being a kid" again is okay. But I'm really embracing – and enjoying – this new stage of my life. With that said, ever since the holiday season began, I’ve been trying to figure out…

How do I celebrate Christmas as a grown-up?

I don't have kids yet. And I don't have any young cousins or nieces or nephews in the country. I am not concerned if Santa brings me anything for Christmas. And although I do love giving gifts, I am getting annoyed with all of the Black Fridays, Cyber Mondays and relentless Christmas advertising directed towards children. It all feels like a lot of noise, and very little joy. 

But today, I think I figured it out. I am currently sitting on my grown-up couch, with a mini Christmas tree to my left, a fireplace adorned with our very own stockings up front, white twinkling lights wrapped around our exposed ventilation system above, and homemade cookies and coconut milk on my grown-up coffee table ahead. My boyfriend and I spent the morning putting them up together while listening to a Christmas playlist we made the night before over a glass of wine. It's all very simple. But I am so blissfully happy. This is all I need for it to feel like Christmas. 

With that said, here are the cookies I made for Santa. Yes, I know it's only December 7th, but I can do whatever I want. It's my Christmas. 

Pumpkin Mookies

Coconut flour – although awesome – is a finicky ingredient. Because it’s dense, it soaks up a lot of moisture, making the final product a little more muffin-like. Lucky for me, my Mom gave me this fantastic muffin tin that she wasn’t getting any use out of. And if you remember from my fall post, I went a little overboard on pumpkin puree for fall. So as much as I’d like to get busy with gingerbread, peppermint and eggnog, Santa will have to settle for pumpkin. The final product is a little spicy, a little creamy and a lot of chewy. Oh yeah, and pretty darn good for you. You’re welcome, Santa.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup of pumpkin puree
• ½ cup of maple syrup
• 1 banana
• 1 egg
• ½ cup of almond floud
• ¼ cup of coconut flour
• ¼ cup of tapioca starch
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin spice
• Chocolate chips to top

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Put pumpkin, maple syrup, banana and egg in a bowl and beat together with a mixer.
3. In a separate bowl, combine flours, baking soda and pumpkin spice.
4. Pour dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
5. Mix together with hand mixer until you have a dough-like texture.
6. Spoon dough into your muffin tin.
7. Strategically top the muffins with as many chocolate chips as you see fit.
8. Stick in the oven for 10-12 minutes.
9. Enjoy with a cold glass of coconut milk in front of a warm fire.