My blog 12-11-2010

I’ve begun to stress about Christmas Cookies, and capitalize those words now because they are of great importance to me this time of year. As I sit here with a really bad burn on my left hand from removing a hot pan of homemade yeast rolls out of the oven last week, I’m not excited about baking pan after pan of homemade cookies.

This morning I read the best suggestion in our newspaper, a section on Gift Giving. Smarter people than I probably knew this years ago, but not me. It suggested very simply adding a ‘few’ of your own freshly baked Christmas Cookies to a platter of several kinds of store-bought cookies, along with small ornaments for color, & a few springs of mint for color. Why not Evergreen, I ask myself?  I think even a few piece of fudge or divinity might be a nice touch.

My very favorite cookie recipe is my friend Gail Murray’s Lemon Sugar Cookie recipe.  Through the years I’ve baked these cookies for my children at holidays but gave up frosting them years ago. Too much sugar. Now I sprinkle tasty colored beads from the grocery store on the cookies just before baking, and love the way they come out.

Gail and I met 47 years ago, in 1963 as new Air Force brides at K.I. Sawyer AFB, Michigan, and we’re still close friends today. My kids took Gail’s sugar cookies to school parties in the shape of hearts, bunnies, pumpkins or Christmas trees, candy canes and bells. When the grandkids came along, I baked the cookies in the shape of their little hands, trustingly placed on the cookie dough while Grandma (with great care) traced their fingers with a sharp knife. Who knew cookie baking could be so dangerous? But, OH the JOY when their cookies emerged from the oven in the shape of their very own hands.    

After meeting my RWA writing group for lunch today, I’ll tie on my apron and get busy baking Gail Murray’s delicious sugar cookie recipe. My mouth waters just thinking of it. I’ll have a beautiful plate to take, with cookies from my kitchen and Albertson’s, a few Christmas ornaments, and maybe some fudge or divinity, and a few sprigs from the beautiful ‘Fat Albert’ fir tree in our back yard.  I am so relieved to finally realize I don’t have to do it all by myself anymore. Good lesson learned.

And this time I’ll definitely keep my hands away from that hot top rack in the oven. Now, tell me again ~ Who said you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?