Start Time: 11:30 am
Stop Time: 4:10 am
Goal: 20 types of cookies, packaged, wrapped & ready to deliver on Tuesday 12/16
Completed: Mint Chocolate swirls (4x), Lemon Sugar Rounds (4x), Chocolate dipped Oreos (150 Painted), Chocolate Sugar (iced)
Mixed: Paris Breakfast Shortbread (2x), Cranberry Shortbread (2x)
OK, feeling a bit more accomplished today. Got a lot of the sugar cookies DONE. I did something different with my trees this year (thanks Pinterest). Instead of doing the traditional, child-like method of decorating the trees as if they were… decorated trees, I employed the brush embroidery method of using white royal icing on them to make it look like snow. I think they turned out great:
I don’t know why I never did this before, but I think I am sold. It’s so much more elegant and quicker to do. I’ve also finished the foxes, cardinals and owls. Man, there was a lot of royal icing coverage this year with the critters. They have a lot of surface area to flood. And, with the icing color challenges I have, needing to mix my own dark greens and reds, it’s been painstakingly slow.
I also hand-painted over 150 squirrels on the oreos. at first they looked like rabbits, but I got into a rhythm and can now paint a squirrel in about 3-4 seconds in gold paint. You know, in case you were wondering my speed there. LOL. I still have a long way to go, but I think I am almost done with the decorating, then it’s all oven time. I’ve still got the brown sugar spice to decorate and I’m contemplating a deer head… not sure how that is gonna pan out. The deer head was too big for the oreo.
I pushed it, and mixed my shortbread tonight too ,before calling it quits. The mixer still manages to be the Debbie downer of the group, so I had to stop after 2 double recipes. It’s getting to be a huge P.I.T.A. (pain in the ass). The Husband spent the day packaging and sealing cookies up so they are away and out of the way, and I am starting to relax. Really, I know you’d think relaxing is the LAST thing I feel during this project, but it’s really therapeutic. I’m getting sleep, taking breaks, massaging my arms and I’m in my groove.
I’m not sure I could do this pace forever, but right now, I’m feeling good, despite my aching back, my sore forearms and the blister on my finger. Oh yeah, did I mention we are up to 7 batches of royal icing? I think I will need 2 more tomorrow, and then we’ll be done. I am not going to do this many BIG animals again. Wait, that sounds wrong. I’m not going to cut this many large sugar cookies ever again. It’s just too much icing and the cardinals are boring. I think I will wait until they dry then add a second flood of a wing and some glitter. Nuttin but an eye and a beak right now. bo-ring.
Anyway, I’m starting to feel better. Nostalgia for a dog, and memories of my childhood are more positive today, and I’m starting to hum Christmas music again. Did I tell you the story about my first experience with orange zest? Every time I zest citrus, I think about it, so baking lemon sugar rounds brings it back.
One year (I must have been about 10 or 12), I was “helping” mom bake the cookies for grandpa and the recipe called for Orange zest. I remember being confused to what that was– I mean, it wasn’t in the fridge or in the spice rack. WTH? So I peeled an orange and crushed it up and added 1/4 c to the recipe. Ha. Moron. When mom came home she looked at the cookies and asked me why there were chunks of orange in them. I said I “zested” an orange. She then had to explain to me that orange zest is made grating the rind (not to the pith) but just the surface. Boy did I feel dumb.
At any rate, I’m starting to feel like I’m in a good place, spiritually and cookie-wise. There is still a lot to do, I’m taking 1 less day to do it too. But I still have confidence it’s going to happen. Time for bed tho. I’m beat.
