Christmas Baking

In my family, Christmas baking is just as important as a tree, or gifts, or any other tradition you could imagine. Starting the day after Thanksgiving with an extravagant, imaginative array of colorful gingerbread cookies, the race to fill every tin and large container in the house is on.

When we were growing up and had more time to spare (no college classes or full time jobs), we fought over who got to bake what cookies. And we usually made double batches of everything. We had enough cookies to throw a party (which we did for several years). Now the baking has fallen back to Mom and other treats have been added to the collection as baking is done to give away to this boss or that friend. I go home for the holidays to find tins on the hope chest filled with I don’t know what – all of it very good, of course.

Now I have a home of my own…and don’t have to fight with anyone over who gets to bake what. But there’s also only me and Ed. And even next year the baby won’t be eating cookies. So, I haven’t pulled every Christmas cookie recipe from my book to bake. I’ve picked my four favorites. And most of them will go to the neighbors and jobs for co-workers to eat. But you just can’t have Christmas without some baking.

I started with Spritz because they’re my favorite. Then I made a batch of gingerbread. Only one batch. And I used a different icing recipe I really like because I wasn’t going to make every color in the rainbow and spend the next two hours decorating. (As my family will tell you, I’m not the overflowing creative one when it comes to that job. I’m more methodical and line up little gingerbread men like an assembly line.) I also drafted Ed to help roll the dough, and cut the cookies, and decorate – something he hadn’t done in over 30 years! Doesn’t he look like he had fun?

Now I am off to my kitchen to dip pretzels. Because, after Spritz, those are my all time favorite. Then I’ll make a batch of Sandies later this weekend. My baking done, I’ll package some up as gifts, make up some plates to take to our workplaces for others to get fat on and leave the rest for Ed and I to enjoy. And this year I don’t even have to worry about the calorie count. I’m supposed to be getting fat, right? If only too much sugar didn’t make me sick these days…