12 Days of Christmas: DAY THREE

This past weekend I was the Cookie Monster.  By Cookie Monster I don't mean the lucky girl that lays restfully on her chaise lounge stuffing her face full of beautiful, tasty and sweet morsels of goodness.  Nope. I was the Cookie Monster that had flour in her hair and egg all over the counter muttering naughty words under her breath.  Remember I am the ALMOST-DOMESTIC GODDESS - who am I kidding, I sure as heck am nowhere close.

This was the first time I tried making my Grandma Wilson's Christmas Cookies.  They are amazing! Growing up I remember looking forward to, being SO excited for the santas, trees, stars and bells all adorned in different colored frostings and sprinkles!   It is a tradition that I want to keep in my family for many years to come and I had to get it juuuuuuuusttttt right!

 I have been wanting to do this for the past couple years but the recipe looked so intimidating!  I needed the push to do this and the push was a cookie exchange at the hubbos work.  I knew some of the ladies involved and their domestic goddess-ness is at a much higher ranking than I so I knew I had to pull out the big guns with this one - enter Grandma Wilson's Christmas Cookies.

Once I got started it really wasnt that bad and thanks to my Kitchen Aid Mixer (I LOVE YOU), the process went quite smoothly.   When I started rolling out the dough, I realized I had done something wrong.  It was sticky gooey and frustrating.  I worked with it adding flour every now and then and managed to make lots o cookies.  I didnt realized until the next day that I didnt double the flour and eggs!  WHOOPS!  I made a new batch, baked them and went up to my moms house to get her and my sister's help with the frosting :

Eddie is SO ADORABLE!!



They turned out great and everyone at Justin's work friends loved em :]  SUCCESS!

Look what we recieved in return!!! HOLY BUCKETS!

As a side note: I recieved this cute email today from my cousin which fits perfectly with todays post :]

HOLIDAY EATING TIPS

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Holiday spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. It's rare... You cannot find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.


4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Holiday party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple, Pumpkin, Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Re-read tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner. Remember this motto to live by:

"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand and wine in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"

Have a Great Holiday Season!!

Do you have any special treats you like to bake during the holiday season?