A Year of Blogging: December 18, 2011

December 18 was 'Bake Cookies' Day. Well, for once I was actually participating in the daily celebration. December 18 was the fourth and final day of my marathon Christmas baking. Over the course of two weekends, I made approximately 70 dozen cookies. I lost count, so I don't have an exact figure. And then I gave away 90% of the cookies. People think I'm crazy for making so many cookies. I have never argued that point. I enjoy baking, and for me, baking is actually a great stress reliever. I feel so much better throwing flour around and rolling out the sugar cookie dough to make cut out cookies. Of course, later my shoulders and arms ache. Then there's that issue of having to clean up my mess. But I feel so great while making the cookies! I will admit, I made too many cookies this year. I didn't intend to make so many, and it just kind of got out of control. As long as I have everything out, I make extra for Erich and I. I like the Chocolate Snow Tops. They taste kind of like a brownie rolled in powdered sugar. I can't get enough of them. Each year I think "I need to make these during the year, not just at Christmas." And each year I seem to only make them at Christmas. So I make an extra batch and freeze them for me. I make an extra batch of the chocolate chip cookies, because Erich likes those. We will have fresh cookies all winter long! I package them in freezer bags, one dozen to a bag. This is kind of portion control- if I only have a dozen available, we only eat a dozen. If I make a batch, which is several dozen cookies, we have several dozen to eat. Which we do. Several people have asked me 'why do you do it?' The answer is simple. I like to make people smile. When I pick out gifts for loved ones, I think of their reaction when they open it. I don't just grab something and say 'this is good enough'. For me, giving is always better than receiving. I like making people happy. If I give you a bag of cookies, how are you going to react? I've found even the grumpiest person manages a smile. If someone is having a rough time, the cookies lift their spirits. Even if it's only temporary. I brought a smile to someone's face. That's why I do it.