12.31.2008

baking bender

We've been on a baking bender, me and Mr. Beeton. We decided that this year we'd bake and package cookies for those few people who always manage to give us something thoughtful yet who we can never manage to find something good for. So, we baked, and baked, and baked. And, when we were done we had pretty little packages, tied up with red ribbon and gift tags from the ultimate store, Papersource. In the package were:

  • Forgotten cookies - an old family recipe
  • Cut outs - courtesy of 365 degrees sugar cookie mix from Whole Foods
  • Iced applesauce oatmeal cookies - complete with homemade applesauce, a recipe of Laurie Colwin's
  • Candy cane cookes - another childhood favorite
  • Peanut butter, kiss cookies - from Mr. Beeton's childhood Christmases
And, the piece de resistance...
This was a recipe I found on one of my favorite food blogs, Orangette. You can find it under her entry for 12.15.08 entitled, "Look at that." It's honestly the most delicious peppermint bark I have ever eaten or made! My brother declared the same when he ate some at my parents' house over the vacation. And, believe me, he's eaten a lot of peppermint bark. He's an elementary school teacher, and he said that many of the teachers at his school make it and share it during the holiday season.

And now, after all that baking and all our traveling, we're home, getting ready for New Year's Eve. As usual, we've got no big plans since many of our friends can't seem to get their act together after the holiday. It's like they lack energy to plan, complete exhausted from Christmas. I made reservations at our favorite Palisades restaurant, so regardless of them, at least Mr. Beeton and I will eat a great meal as we ring in the New Year.

Happy 2009!

Keep sweeping, Martha

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