So you've no doubt seen one of the 68964 "How to Beat the Holiday Bulge!" articles, right? They say things like, "take carrot sticks to that holiday party and munch on those while you pass by the tray of chocolate truffles" and "eat a healthy meal before you go so that you're too full to stuff yourself with reindeer shaped cookes." Yeah. Then there's me who's all, "here, have a cookie" and "the world is supposed to end today. Let's go out fat and happy!"
Yes. Baking-palooza 2012 officially kicked off yesterday. The unofficial kickoff was Wednesday when I mixed up five different types of cookie dough in order to save time and my dishwasher's motor. Yesterday, though, we dove elbow deep into flour and frosting and got our "cookie" on. Today we'll tackle the candy side of things. Yum, yum.
If I had to choose one Christmas tradition to pass along to my children it would easily be our baking days. There is something that just seems right about rolling out and frosting and melting and dipping while Alabama sings Christmas in Dixie.
Every year I say I'm not going to do as much, not going to go all out.
Every year I lie.
This year I had planned on a batch of fudge and some peppermint bark and, of course, a round of sugar cookies for the kids. In the end it was . . . well, it was Baking-palooza. This is what we are making, have made, or will make:
Sugar cookies
Gingerbread men
Chocolate chip cookies stuffed with Rolos (better in theory than in taste, FYI)
Chocolate chip M&M cookies
Tuxedo cookies
Peanut butter blossoms
Hello Dollies
Chocolate covered Christmas crackers (named by Jaidan last year -- these are Ritz crackers with peanut butter, dipped in chocolate and they are my most FAVORITE THING EVER ABOUT CHRISTMAS. Presents? The joy on my kids' faces? Meh. Give me my Christmas crackers!)
Oreo peppermint bark
Chocolate covered Oreos
Chocolate dipped pretzel rods
Cake balls
Fudge
Ranch oyster crackers
Overboard? Me? Nah.
My main helper in Baking-palooza is six-years-old (the four-year-old could pretty much care less and the two-year-old is a FABULOUS taste tester) so most of our stuff looks rather, shall we say interesting. But it's the memories we're making that matter. It's the fact that maybe, one of these days, these kids will be in the kitchens of homes they own with children they made rolling out and frosting while Alabama sings Christmas in Dixie. Oh, and it's also a great big mess but we don't have to talk about that.
** Part of our goodies were handed out yesterday to our mail lady. We'll be giving some today to the sanitation workers and also plan to take a meat and cheese tray to our local fire department (I figure they're probably sick of sweets!) Please consider doing something - anything - as a random act of kindness in honor of the victims of the Sandy Hook shooting. You can read more about the #26acts campaign right here.
