Day to Bake

Saturday, my Mom and I got together for our annual Christmas cookie bake-off. We get together early in the morning and spend all day baking, drinking wine and talking. It is something I look forward to every year and is one of my favorite parts of the Christmas season.

This year we baked nine different kinds of cookies, several of which we bake every year and a few new ones to try. We baked Pinwheel Date cookies. This is a cookie that my mom has made for as long as I can remember and members of our family always argue about whether they are better to eat baked or to eat the dough raw. Personally I could go either way. So to satisfy everyone we baked only half. The family's other favorites are Peanut Butter Blossoms and Chocolate Chip Cookies. This year we made a triple batch of chocolate chip cookies, following the recipe I received from SAHMmy Says. And she is right. They are the Best Damn Chocolate Chip Cookies! The last one isn't a cookie--it's a candy. And since we made these Creamy Caramels three years ago, we are expected to make them every year. The caramels are Mark's favorite. We would never hear the end of it if we didn't make them. I have included the recipes below.

But I also have to mention that our baking did not go off without a few minor mishaps! While Mom was measuring the flour, I had the mixer going at a decently high speed creaming the butter, eggs and sugar. Without thinking, Mom dumped a cup of flour into the bowl. It might as well have been snowing in my kitchen! She didn't do this once, but twice! The second time she sent half of my measuring cup (which she broke) and the entire cup of flour flying across the room. The kitchen was covered in flour and we looked like we had been playing in it! We laughed about this for quite a long time and Bubba just watched us like we were nuts!

All in all, it was a beautiful day and exactly how I wanted to spend my time on a cold, icy, snowy day.

What kind of Christmas cookies do all of you like to bake?

Creamy Caramels

1 cup sugar
1 cup dark corn syrup
1 cup butter
1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Line an 8-in. square pan with foil and butter the foil: set aside. Combine sugar, corn syrup and butter in a 3-qt. saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil slowly for 4 minutes without stirring. Remove from the heat and stir in milk. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until candy thermometer reads 238 degrees (soft-ball stage), stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and stir in vanilla. Pour into prepared pan. Cool. Remove from pan and cut into 1-in. squares. Wrap individually in waxed paper; twist ends. Yield: 64 pieces.

You can also double the recipe and prepare it in a 15x11x2 pan. Which I always do because my husband hoards them all! I also prefer to wrap them in plastic wrap instead of waxed paper, like little packages. They just look prettier in a bowl.


Peanut Butter Blossoms

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
4 Tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons baking soda
3 1/2 cups flour
Hershey's kisses

Combine all ingredients except kisses and mix well. Roll into 1 1/2-inch balls and roll in sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 5-8 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately place Hershey's kiss in center of each cookie and press down lightly. Remove from baking sheet and allow to cool completely.