Bake-a-Thon

It's been awhile since I did a bake-a-thon. I always baked cookies during the holidays when the kids were living at home and when I worked and when we entertained. Always had something on hand to serve if someone dropped around, or to take to the office, or for the kids and their friends to munch on, and then give to family members if we visited.

Each year since I retired and the kids grew up, I felt guilty. I should be baking cookies. Doesn't everybody bake Christmas cookies?

So I decided that I would have a bake-a-thon this year.

I went out and bought 2 kinds of nuts, salted and unsalted butter, more peanut butter, cream cheese, chocolate chips, flower, sugar to replace what I spilled on the floor, jam for thumbprint cookies, etc., etc. etc.

I was going to bake all day yesterday, but got wrapped up in cleaning my office (really!) and watching a Criminal Minds marathon and never got around to starting until after dinner. I made a full batch of chocolate chip cookies, which I was too full to even sneak tastes of. Walt was my quality control person.

I was going to cook more, but decided to wait until morning.

In the morning I started out with actual Martha Stewart shortbread. I did all the stuff that I usually shortcut. Started with room-temperature ingredients, beat the (unsalted) butter for 5 minutes so it would be light, actually let it cool to room temperature before cutting.

Then I made peanut butter cookies with the criss crosses.

Then I did the sparkly ones, with the raspberry filling. When I was doing these, somehow I turned off the oven, so baking time got to be kind of weird, but they came out tasting OK.

About this time I was beginning to doubt my sanity. I now had dozens and dozens of cookies and wanted to make more, but who was I baking them for? No job to take them to, no people dropping in, no parties to go to. I knew I wanted to leave some for Ashley when she is here while we are in Santa Barbara, and I wanted to take some to my mother, who eats very few sweets, so I won't take many.

I made an offhand comment on Facebook about all these cookies and immediately got lots of local takers...now I'm wondering if I'll have enough.

That's a good thing to have to wonder.