Christmas Traditions

Cookie pan by Wilton found at JoAnn's note to self: buy another one. We have baked both gingerbread and scotch shortbread in this pan, and I love it. Just roll the dough into balls and press into the forms and bake. These few were overdone, so that is why they were left to photograph. There is a whole baking isle at JoAnn's that I never took seriously, but I would rank this pan up there with William Sonoma products. Obviously, we are not the cookie artisans we aspire to be. Just take a look at how the experts do it at Gingerbread Street. The photo below is their Gingerbread Bears cookie/ornament. How cute are those? Gabrielle had to make a list of Christmas traditions for class, and our family came up embarrassingly short. (Mommies tradition is to sew like crazy, buy lots of handmade gifts, and beg for help with the housework.) Cookies seemed like a simple tradition to add. My friend Allison reminded me that I had participated in a cookie exchange one Christmas long ago. I felt a little like Scrooge (see the Muppet Christmas Carol if you haven't - Michael Cain is my all time favorite Scrooge) seeing myself as a young person with nothing better to do than make a dozen dozens of cookies. Actually it was so relaxing to let go of work for a while and enjoy making cookies with my daughter. We will be doing more of that.