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Brr! It's freezing in Chicago! What's even worse is that it's going to be 2 degrees tomorrow - and that's WITHOUT the windchill factor! Luckily, I'll have the body heat of 40 of my favorite relatives to keep my house nice and cozy.
Only about 36 hours until the big Christmas 2 day extravaganza at my house, and I'm still not sure what I want to make. The aunts are bringing their own dishes, but I want to make something special - other than my pinwheels, bruschetta, cookies and cupcakes. Maybe meatballs?
I'm about 99% done with the shopping, needing only to buy back-up gifts for any surprise guests that may come. I'm about 85% done with wrapping. In the past my Christmas presents would be a work of art - complete with huge, fluffy bows and sprigs of holly or star garland. I put a lot of time and money into wrapping. This year, they're lucky if they get the cheap bow. I just don't have to time or energy to make my presents look nice. Hopefully next year I'll have the organization skills and cash flow to make my gifts something to 'ohh' and 'ahh' over, but for this year, it'll be 'Amazing how just one piece of tape holds this train wreck together'.
The other day I experimented with making some gingerbread cookies. Any of you who know me know that I'm not a baker - that's Claudine's thing. But I felt that I needed to make some sort of effort with my party in providing some sweet treats, so what better than gingerbread men? I never realized that making them took so much arm strength - the dough is pretty thick and needs to be mixed well. I had a fun time using my gingerbread man cookie cutters, though.
Fresh out of the oven!
I brought the batch in to work for my guinea pigs (aka the guys at work) to try out. They liked it, although they mentioned there was a little too much ginger - it gave the cookies a nice ZING after eating them. Makes your breath feel nice and fresh. So the Christmas batch will have a little less ginger, and I think I'll throw in a little more cinnamon - you can't have too much cinnamon at Christmas, right?
Happy Holidays, everyone!!!
Posted by Yano at December 23, 2004 09:56 AMYour cookies are cute! I wanted to make cookies this year, but I decided against it. But yours make me want to try it!
Happy holidays to you!
Posted by: la chica alta on December 23, 2004 11:15 AMi LOVE gingerbread cookies!!! yum ... those pics are mouthwatering!
Posted by: leesun on December 23, 2004 11:34 AMHey, there's no such as too much ginger OR too much cinnamon.
Your cookies are gorgeous. *pats tummy greedily*
Posted by: noelle on December 23, 2004 01:57 PMwhere are the gumdrop buttons? and the stitches on the knees??? :D
Posted by: fata on December 23, 2004 04:35 PMThey look perfect!
Good luck with your Christmas celebration!
Posted by: Denizzy on December 23, 2004 06:45 PMHey heres a thought for your party. Have you thought about getting a spiral ham? (It's pre-sliced that is why it is called spiral) I think you can find them at most supermarkets. Usually they have a packet of glaze with the ham. You just mix it up spread it on the ham, bake according to instructions and WA LA! You have ham for your guest to pick at. My sister in law does this and it's really good. It's really easy too! :)
Posted by: Pridey on December 23, 2004 07:34 PMOH, IT'S ON NOW!!!
Posted by: Claud on December 23, 2004 10:43 PMuh oh... do i see a bake-off a brewin?... hmmmm... maybe we should compare chocolate chip pancakes on Christmas morning? hahaha... Yano's gonna give claud some tough competition. ^_^
Posted by: bumblebootie on December 24, 2004 01:43 AM
