Start Time: 11:45 am
Stop Time: 2:40 am
Goal: 22 types of cookies, packaged, wrapped & read to deliver on Tuesday 12/18
Baked: Peanut Butter (4x)
Mixed: Paris Breakfast Shortbread(4x), Cranberry Shortbread (4x), Vanilla Bean Shortbread (4x), Lemon Sugar Rounds (6x), Pecan Sandies (4x)
No-bake days stress me out. I lose track of time and literally don’t know what happened to it. I got the rest of the cookies flooded today. Every surface was covered with drying cookies. I created MORE surfaces by using glasses and pans or cooling racks to make plateaus so I could flood more cookies. At one point this year, MOTU and I discussed buying a professional cooling rack, so I could stack jelly roll pans in it. The husband gave a disapproving “why?!” and poo-pooed the idea. He also rolled his eyes at me when I mentioned buying another folding table. The running joke is now on him. I. Need. More. Counter.Space.
MOTU made it, with El Pollo Loco in hand, because she’s awesome. I have the best family. They know me so well and know how to help me in all the little ways. She & The Husband conversed and made the dinner decision for me, and not a moment too soon. I was almost out of gas by 7 PM. We finished off the vanilla sugar (the ones with the marble icing) and man, those are so pretty. It’s the signature cookie this year.
This is the fun part for me, but also the most stressful. The decorating takes time, and although I get the most pleasure out of this process, it eats up time like nobody’s business.
The boys are staying on top of the heat sealing, and when The Husband came home, he made the peanut butter cookies (god love him). MOTU and I flooded the remaining decorator cookies (when I say remaining, it’s about 400 cookies), and tomorrow is airbrush day! If only we had another table, we could have done this faster…
It’s nice to have everyone here. It feels less like work and more like fun when MOTU is with me. We talk and laugh and get stupid, but we work. She’s done this with me 3 times now, so she gets the pace, volume and crazy, but she still keeps coming to help me. It’s insane. But I love her. She keeps me focused and laughing, and it’s funny to watch Mochi wonder WTF is going on. It has been one of the best additions to cookie time over the years. If I can’t have mom here to work by my side, MOTU is the next best thing.
We have a lot to do tomorrow, and after yesterday’s marathon, I need some sleep. The marbled cookies turned out so well. There is going to be a lot of hand painting to do between the chocolate sugar feathers and the mint chip. I haven’t 100% worked out what design will go on the cinnamon imperials, but it will come to me. I can’t wait to see the airbrushed cookies tomorrow. I’m cutting this post short so I can hit the hay a bit early. More tomorrow!