Consuming Mass Quantities

The women of my family have warped me. I can't do Christmas without cookies. Last night I made rocky road bark, buckeyes, gingersnaps, and the dough for Pioneer Woman's awesome cinnamon rolls. Today I made Great Grandma Shank's peanut butter cookies (with Hershey Kisses, so I guess they're "blossoms"), and finished the rolls. I'm waiting on the dishwasher (because literally, I've used every bowl and spoon and cup in my house) so that I can make cappuccino crinkles (BJ's favorite), spritz (for the kids to decorate), some coconut thing I found online (but I'm out of powdered sugar, so those will have to wait until BJ and MG get home with more powdered sugar - who knew I'd need 3 bags??). Dad brought over four new half-sheet pans for me, and helped wrangle the kids (who were up past 11 on a sugar high last night).

I'm starting to feel Christmassy. :)

But seriously, I don't need this many baked goods lying around. It's very dangerous. My whole house smells like cinnamon and sin. Just breathing I'm gaining weight, folks.

I had MG paint some green and red paper with red, green, and white paint, and I'm going to cut those up to make gift tags. They didn't turn out quite how I wanted, but she's 3. I'm trying to dial back the pressure.

What cookies say "Christmas" to you? Most people do decorated sugar cookies, but 1) I hate making rolled cookies, and 2) I suck at the decorating. In the past I've bought them from a baker up in Brookston who makes the most beautiful cookies. They're almost too pretty to eat. Almost. A lot of people do those Russian wedding cakes at Christmas, too. I'm out of powdered sugar, though. Can you make powdered sugar? If I put regular sugar in the blender, would it powder? Aunt Julie makes peanut brittle and English toffee every year. Oh, English toffee... I could make that... As if I need any more projects. Haha! I don't think I have a candy thermometer, either. Would a digital meat thermometer work? Oh, and cream cheese mints! I tried those one year, and they turned out really badly - I couldn't get the molds to work.

My cookies may not be pretty, but they sure taste good. The Rocky Road Bark I made is sinful, and so easy. You just melt a pound and a half of bittersweet chocolate over a double boiler, and then add 6 ounces of marshmallows, a cup of unsalted dry roasted peanuts, and about half a package of chocolate covered mini graham crackers (Keebler), broken into bits. Then you put foil down on a half-sheet pan, spray the crap out of it with Pam, and spread the mixture out evenly. Stick them in the fridge (or the garage) for a couple of hours (while you make more cookies) then break them into pieces. Easy peasy. And they're really good.

Are you getting an idea of how deeply this sickness runs in me? I haven't even showered, today, and it's almost 3 pm. Maybe I should go do that while the dishwasher is finishing. And I could start some laundry.

Nah, I'd rather make cookies!