Each Christmas I set aside one day to bake. This is a day that I can focus on something that I love to do and put aside all of the aggravations of every day life. It also guarantees that I will not be covered in poop like other days on the farm. I promise I changed these clothes before I started baking. (Notice the subtle cow manure pinstripe on this outfit.)
Today, I am still in my running pants, a sweatshirt, and my hair in a ponytail; while Sarah Katherine is watching Toy Story 3 and tasting whatever I make her eat.
I am going to go ahead and apologize to any neighbors or extended family for their gifts not being fat free. It is bad when you leave the grocery store with 5 boxes of butter, 2 bags of flour, 3 bags of sugar, 3 bags of chocolate chips, vanilla, and baking chocolate.
Here is my holiday treat menu:
*PW's Cinnamon Rolls (these are so wonderful!)
I am very loyal to the "The Pioneer Woman" because everything that I make of hers is always FABULOUS!(just ask my husband about Marlboro Man Sandwiches-nothing to do with cigarettes) Today, I had felt like I was cheating on the Pioneer Woman because I found the BEST CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE recipe ever! Granted, it was her fault because I followed her link to "Where Women Cook" Magazine and found the link to this recipe. Here are these beautiful creations:
The secret to these cookies is the vanilla sugar, but since I don't live near a gourmet super market, I made vanilla sugar the night before. Just take 2 cups of sugar and add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Mix them together and then put on a baking sheet and let it sit for 5 hours. (I let mine sit out overnight).
It was a good thing that I was giving these away for the holidays because I could have eaten them all at one sitting, along with the dough!
Go and make these for your closest friends and family or just for yourself. These cookies make about 4 dozen cookies.
