Baking

I have tried over the years to bake around the holidays. I used to, really I did. My oldest friend and I would get together when we were in high shcool. We would make dozens and dozens of different kinds of cookies, mess up my Mom's kitchen, laugh until we fell on the floor, and in the end, we would divide the cookies between us, and have a contribution to the baking of the households. They were large households, she is the youngest of 8, I am the youngest of 6. Let me clarify though, we had siblings who were much older than us, and when I was in high school, I was the only one left at home, and she had a sister in college, who was the closest in age, so she was essentially the only one left at home too. After I got married, I made cookies, a few batches, here and there, but not on the scale that we used to. When we moved into our house almost 10 years ago, it had an electric oven. BAH! Hated the whole electric stove thing. Burned or undercooked every cookie, pie or cake ever made in that thing. Now that my wonderful husband has redone the kitchen, I have gotten my wish! A gas oven, and stove! It makes me happy, so I can and will bake again! I baked like a fiend this season. The two previous posts were about the baking of some new cookies, but I did do the old standards. Chocolate chip cookies, sugar cookies, chocolate peanut butter chip cookies(the recipie is on the back of the reeses peanut butter chip bag!) pumpkin cookies, marachino cherry brown sugar drops and I think that is it! For Christmas, I will make an apple walnut cake that my mother used to make, something that just brings back great memories of sitting at the kitchen table with a chopper and a wooden bowl chopping the walnuts to "help." I am thinking about another kind of cookie, but haven't found the right one!
Baking, the house smells so great afterwards, I just missed it!