Baking

This past week, I have spent my days combing through cookbooks, you know the kind, the fundraiser ones from various PTAs and churches, and communities. Those are usually my favorite ones, they are full of tried and true recipies from the people who submit them. No fancy ingredients, no muss no fuss, just good, plain food. Many of them were my mother's books, from the church, Penna Dutch Country, Polish Town U.S. A., those kind. I have a couple of my own, my Daughter's PTA did one when she was in Kindergarden, and she submitted her favorite cookie recipie, so we will be baking them tomorrow night. I have one that I submitted a recipie to, a church cookbook, when I was 10. My mom put her cake in that book too, so we both had a copy. When the PTA book order forms came home, we each got a copy, Casidy and me, and we bought one for my Mother in Law. It was a mother's day gift from my daughter to her. They have a special relationship, for which I am thankful. It is so cool to see my mother in law with my kids, they are truly loved and adored by both of Scott's parents. I couldn't ask for better grandparents for my kids. I am glad that they have that relationship, that my children have them, I grew up basically without grandparents, I had Pop, but we didn't see him that often. (My mother wasn't too comfortable with my dad's family, so it wasn't a close relationship) I always wanted my children to know their grandparents. It is so rewarding to have them in a child's life. Grandparents bring such layers into the life of a child. They learn history, family and other wise from Grandparents.

But I digress, My point here is that I spent the week in and out of cookbooks. I was looking for cookie recipies. I wanted to add to our regular Xmas cookies: Sugar, Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal, Harvest Walnut, etc. We, as I mentioned before, will be making "Cassidy's Favorite Applesauce Cookies," and today, as soon as my butter is softened, I will be making "Jam Buttons" from that church cookbook. Never made them before, but it seems easy enough. Christmas to me includes copious amounts of baking and cookies. I love the baking, and really enjoy the process. From scratch or not, my kids love homebaked cookies. They are salavating to break into those tins, I see the devil in their eyes looking wistfully toward them on the counter, each one labled and closed. They know that they have to wait, they know that the best is yet to come, the actual eating of the cookies. Every day they come home, they beg, "Please, can't we eat some of them?" My answer is always, "No, you know if you start, you won't stop, and then, well, I will be baking forever!" They nod and leave the room.

For the Sugar cookies, this year, I used the cookie press. It reminded me of being a little girl and adding colored sugar to the tops of the cookies, food coloring to the dough (I didn't do that though) adding sprinkles and baking. The shapes of wreaths, Christmas trees and crosses and chess pieces lined the cookie sheets. The crosses were raised off a squared cookie. I don't know where the square shape came from but whatever, perfect or not, well, they are going to get gobbled up I swear!
This year we will have cookies for Santa, that I baked, not that were given to us from the ladies at the church. Last year, with all that was going on with my mother, I didn't bake a single cookie, not one, and on Christmas Eve, I panicked, I didn't have something for Santa. I was ready at 9pm to run to Pathmark to buy slice and bakes just so that my daughter had something to put on that plate for Santa. But after the funeral, we had lunch at my sisters, we catered it, and people chipped in and helped, the Rosary ALtar Society at the church had the funeral director give my sister a plate of cookies that they make for families of those funerals are held for, and we forgot to put them out for dessert, so my sister who is the master cookie baker, sent them home with me. As i panicked and was about to cry, my daughter's little voice popped up, "Mommy," she said, "We have cookies, the ones that the church ladies gave us, they won't mind that you give some to Santa." I cried anyway. She helped me get the cookie plate and the mug for the milk, we put out the carrot for RUdolph, and put everything on the counter. Thank goodness for whomever thought of that tradition from the church. She was/is a wonderful person, she saved a tradition in our house, and allowed a little girl to have her Santa cookies. My heart was intact. I don't think that I could have survived emotionally if the cookies weren't there for my daughter. I would not hae been able to watch her go to bed if she didn't have those cookies!

So that is where I am at, cookies to bake, shopping to still do, a tree to still get and to decorate. I hope that gets done the tree at least by the weekend. Wish me luck!