So my crimes are getting bigger. Last time it was just a .62 cent cookie cutter - this time a pound of hamburger. I blame the exhaustion of pregnancy and the stress of the holidays. There it was, after checking out and starting to bag, the pound of hamburger laying underneath one of the canvas bags I always bring with me in order to help save the environment. I'm really a good person, honest - but I guess not honest enough to go back in line to pay for the pound of hamburger.
So I'm well underway on the christmas baking - 7 batches completed! However, that is only 1/2 way done with just 11 days left until Christmas. And really, I won't be baking on Christmas Eve, so that's 10 days left. Wait, we're doing my family Christmas on the 23rd, so that's 9 days left. Okay, 9 days left to make 7 more batches.
Before I start in on those seven batches I completed, I did make one more (unplanned) batch before I started the holiday baking. I purposefully have been procrastinating on blogging this, because I think one of the hardest things a person can do is admit when they've messed up, are wrong and have to apologize. When I was younger, just like all kids, I hated to say sorry. I'm actually pretty good at it now with friends, family, (and even on the rare occasions when I have to admit that my husband is actually right and I'm wrong) - thanks Dad for really drilling apologies into my head and making me do it. I'm the youngest of 4, I was wrong a lot growing up.
However, I hurt a co-worker - certainly not intentionally. I have realized though that along with my fun, outgoing, passionate personality comes the side where I'm a little too passionate about my students (will do anything for them), a little too blunt on what I think needs to be done, and I can come across badly - and that's what happened.
To show this co-worker that I really was truly sorry and that I did not come off as intended, I baked a really yummy batch of cookies - Mike and I both gave it 5 out of 5 smiley faces - and I gave them all away - so I really was sorry.
#61 Sour Cream Chocolate Cookies
This soft chocolaty cookie also has chocolate chips and white chips in it - just chocolaty gooey goodness.
Now onto the holiday baking. Why 14 batches? Yeah, that's what I've been asking myself. I planned on making 10 batches, but events keep coming up so I've needed to add. Work decided to do a cookie exchange - 26 people signed up - So I need a batch that makes at least 13 dozen (1/2 dozen for each person). So that was added. Then my Mom announced we're serving coffee at church - another 2 batches added. Then I realized al lot of the batches I'm making actually don't lend themselves well to freezing, so added another freezable batch for all the little holiday things that happen towards the beginning of December, so yeah - 14 batches. That's one more batch than last year and 3 more batches from the book than last Christmas (because last year I was foolish enough to bake two kinds of cookies that are my personal favorites - silly me - I have 623 recipes to get through, stick to the book).
1st batch of holiday cookies - Holiday Snickerdoodles - #62 overall
I'm not really sure why these are "Holiday" Snickerdoodles other than maybe the rum extract added in. Mike loved them - but he tends to like Snickerdoodle type cookies, so...
#63 Slice 'n' Bake fruitcake cookies
Okay, so fruitcake has a bad rap - totally deserved probably, I can't personally say, I've never had fruitcake. How about fruitcake cookies? Only a 3 and a 2 from Mike and me respectively, but the ladies at church liked them (even had a request for the recipe). This is your traditional roll up the dough, refrigerate it, slide and bake cookie. Add red and green candied cherries along with raisins before rolling it up into a log.
#64 Peppermint Pinwheels
Another slice n bake, but a little more involved than the last batch. Before this dough can be rolled up into a log, I had to separate the dough in half, add peppermint and red coloring to the dough. Then each half of the dough had to be rolled out into a rectangle (about the same size). Then the two halves are placed on top of each other and it's supposed to be rolled up very tightly, resulting in the perfect pinwheel.
Yeah, I didn't end up with that picture perfect pinwheel cookie. After I rolled it up, it was not tight - there were lots of spaces. So I pounded my not tight enough log flat so there were no air holes. Then I rolled it into a log, this time with no air holes, but my cookie ended up looking more like a cookie with red swirls in it - still just as pretty, and of course still tasting the same. It all comes out the same in the end is the moral of this 3 smiley face cookie.
#65 Christmas Sandwich Cookies
Yep - another stupid shaped sandwich cookie I'll never be making again. Easy, just roll out the dough and use a cookie cutter to cut it out. First of all, I hate rolling out cookies, my cookie mat thing slides all over the place. Plus, the dough was really hard (it was supposed to be) and it took a lot of effort to get it flat with a mat that slides all over the place. Anyways, cook the little cookie shapes, after poking holes in them. Then after they cool spread frosting on half of them and top with the other half. Nevermind that the cookie is so delicate that they practically crumble upon picking it up. Then I read the direction where after cutting the cookies out, you're supposed to toss and coat each of the delicate little dough shapes with sugar.
When Mike came up, I told him he was not allowed to rate them a 5, because I will never be making them again. Maybe it's good I forgot the sugar coating - he only gave them a 3.
#66 Gingersnaps
Just your average gingersnap - I think you either love them or hate them. A nice easy batch. Too bad Mike rated these just a 1 - oh well - they're nice and easy - when I'm done with this whole project, they may be showing up on the christmas plates again.
#67 Italian Christmas Cookies
This is one of those added batches - for serving coffee - it makes 8 1/2 dozen, a nice big batch to serve a lot of people. Expensive little cookies though. They called for a whole container of ricotta cheese - that's $5. Oh well, I got a free pound of hamburger the week before, I splurged and bought the container of cheese.
These are amazing! And not too fussy! A soft, buttery, ball of deliciousness. The cookie by itself would probably be rather plain, but after baking it and cooling it, it calls for some icing (that I made) to go on top of it with a few sprinkles of red and green sugar. So good!
#68 Chocolate Peppermint Cookie
These are pretty good, but they spread a little too thin. The ones that didn't spread too much though are really good. It's a chocolate chip cookie with peppermint candy with a little different texture than your average chocolate chip cookie. I expect these to be gone on Sunday at coffee hour.
No comments:
Post a Comment