Kentucky Christian University's Young Library The 12 Towns of Christmas Virtual Vacation

Welcome to our second town on this Christmas adventure across America!

Today, you find yourself in North Pole, NY, the official US headquarters of big man in red himself. Aptly named, the town of North Pole is in upstate New York, closer to the Canadian city of Montreal than any other larger city in the states.

At North Pole, NY, Santa has his own shop and post office, which you can visit throughout the year.

Believe it or not, Santa's Workshop is the oldest theme park, and would attract thousands of people a day at the peak of its popularity. To put it in perspective, Walt Disney knew of its existence and sent staff to North Pole, NY to study the cultural phenomena of theme parks. Santa's Workshop can be said to have directly inspired Disney Land!

Santa's Workshop is still open and fully operational today. So, if you're ever upstate New York, and you'd like breakfast with Santa, or a picture of live reindeer pulling his sleigh, pay them a visit. You can also check out their website and see what other shows and attractions they offer here.

If you plan to stay overnight, or multiple days, you'll need to drive a little ways away from North Pole, into larger Essex County. Don't worry, Essex County provides tons of holiday cheer throughout December, also! They have ornament painting, gingerbread house and cookie decorating, Christmas themed races, and much more, which you can learn about by visiting their site.

Interested in touring Santa's Workshop? Check out the video below!

Peanut Butter Cookies

New Yorkers love their peanut butter cookies, and no Christmas is complete without a dozen, or two, or three...yum!

Follow the recipe as presented in the New York Times article to make your own.

Yield: 4 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup roasted, salted peanuts
• 2 sticks salted butter
• 1 packed cup dark brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup peanut butter (extra crunch recommended)
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

• Adjust oven rack to low center position. Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside. Place peanuts in a food processor and pulse until the texture of bread crumbs. Set aside.
• In bowl of electric mixer or by hand, beat butter until creamy. Add sugars and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping sides as necessary. Then beat in crunchy peanut butter until fully incorporated, followed by eggs and vanilla. Gently stir dry ingredients into peanut butter mixture. Fold in ground peanuts just until incorporated.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Drop dough onto sheet in spoonfuls a little bigger than a golf ball, about two inches apart. Dip a fork in cold water and then press the back into dough, repeating to make a crisscross.
• Bake until cookies are puffed and slightly brown along edges, but not top, 11 to 12 minutes. They will not look completely baked. Cool cookies on cookie sheet until set, about 3 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.

Now that your tour of Santa's Workshop is wrapped up, we need to head South through NY, into Pennsylvania. Next stop, Bethlehem!