No More Cookie Crumbles

Growing up, there were never sugar cookies and icing on the household Christmas agenda. I'd usually hop over to a friend's house to decorate candy canes and wreaths where I would bleed red icing into the green and totally obscure the white in the process. There's a reason why I still don't decorate cookies save the occasional chocolate dip. But somewhere I started baking cookies for the holidays and somewhere I came upon a cookie that the family loved. And now I'm stuck baking them every year. I love baking for the family, but it's become somewhat of a ordeal. I could say it's the quantity of cookies I try to turn out each year or the fact that I usually don't plan on baking until late at night, the night before our big bash, but mostly it's a lack of planning. Chopping nuts is not a difficult task thanks to the fine people at Cuisinart. And Silpats, along with a high butter content dough, have all but eliminated the need to grease the cookie sheets. And my offset mini-spatula for a span of hours, yearly becomes my best friend as it saves my fingers from cookie burns. I do not lack for baking accouterments.

This year I've resolved to do better in hopes of having the smoothest cookie baking year ever. I shall shop for all ingredients before 10 PM when I decide it's time to bake. I shall chop up all the ingredients that need chopping ahead of time. I shall take the butter out of the refrigerator hours before I start baking so it's softened rather than hastily melted in the microwave. I will not substitute baking soda for baking powder (a particularly heartbreaking year). And when all else fails, I shall blast Willie Nelson's Pretty Paper in the kitchen because there's nothing like a holiday country waltz to lift one's spirits and send one into a fit of giggling.