Start Time: 11:30 am
Stop Time: 3:45 am
Complete: Soft Chocolate Chip (2x), Cookie Butter Thins (2x), Chinese Almond (3x), Bacon (2x), Chocolate Cherry brownies (1x), S’more (4x)
Alas, the cookie orgy comes to a close. Here’s the final list:
- Brown Sugar Spice
- Chinese Almond
- Chocolate Chip
- Chocolate Salted Caramel
- Chocolate Sugar
- Coffee Kringles
- Cookie Butter Thins
- Cranberry Shortbread
- Extreme Brownie
- Gingersnaps
- Heath Bar Chocolate
- Lemon Sugar Rounds
- Oatmeal Raisin
- Black Tea Shortbread
- Peanut Butter
- Pecan Sandies
- Red Velvet
- Mint Chocolate
- Vanilla Sugar
It was a big year. Not only did I do the above cookies in the boxes, but I did some special cookies to share: Bacon, S’more, Soft Chocolate chip, and Cherry Chocolate chunk brownies. As usual, it was down to the wire, but I feel like some tings were better than normal this year. Today was all about finishing touches. Packaging was perfect (at least to me) and the only thing I realized was that darn Williams-sonoma didn’t deliver my seals on time, so a majority of my boxes didn’t get the personal monogram treatment this year and just had plain, gold stickers. Thank god I got those at paper source.
All in all, pretty satisfied with the way things shaped up. Things I need to remember for next year:
- Start tags earlier!
- Create labels for cookies & stick as I go
- Order any packaging items in November
- Finalize cookie list asap
I think the hardest part is that with any baking project, the instinct is to work up to the very end and make as much ad possibles. This totally ensures that the baking itself is never done, and I need a full day for packaging. It wasn’t an easy year by far, but it wasn’t one of the harder ones either. I think the older I get and the more I do this, the more methodical it gets. The more routine, so the nasty little surprises don’t phase me as much. I do have a sneaking suspicion that my mixer is on it’s last leg. That sucker works hard. I’d like to upgrade & get a bigger model, but I’m not sure hoe The Husband would feel. I’m already taking up too much space with my cookbooks.
I feel a little bit of a let down now that it’s done. Don’t get me wrong–I’m kinda done with cookies right now– but I do wish the peace and calm I feel in my brain would last. For the first time in a long while, I don’t feel so tied up in my head. Usually I feel like I need to hit a wall in order to stop, but I’m at an odd peace right now. I mean, seriously, I’m TIRED and completely sapped– my feet hurt, by back aches and my hands are swelling in weird places for no real reason…Yet there is a part of me that feels the way a kid feels after opening all her birthday presents, and the party’s died down.
The last part, however is the next best thing. Tomorrow I get to take a bunch of these cookies to work & share them with my peeps. I don’t think I can explain it– it’s not about the thank yous or anything as shallow as that– for me, it’s about making people happy with something that makes me happy. That’s the part that is the icing on the cake, so to speak. It’s totally about the journey, but I gotta say, the rewarding sound of crinkling cellophane is going to be nice.
I’m beat. It’s late, and tomorrow I go back to my day job. It’s going to feel like a break– being able to sit on my ass for 8 hours instead of standing.
Here’s to the 2013 Christmas magic… g’night!
