IT'S THAT TIME

It's the time of year for baking goodies and treats and sharing them with the people you care about! 

I have never really done any baking before last year -- 2013 -- when Boyfriend and I went to his mom's house for Christmas and she showed me some simple sugar cookies with fancy decorating and a few other easy recipes. So this year I purchased a Christmas cookie magazine -- although there are a bit more than just cookie recipes in it -- back in October and began plotting my attack on holiday baking. As you can see in the cookie book photo, I've chosen quite a few cookie recipes to try. Perhaps an audacious task for a first-time cookie baker, but I've had some practice baking and cooking this year and I believe I'm up for the challenge. Plus, I have the best treat-connoisseur in the tri-state area -- my boyfriend. If something isn't quite right, he will definitely tell me. If it's not up to par, it doesn't "get ate". 

So, tonight I spent an hour at the grocery, getting all the ingredients I needed, and then 5 hours making three types of treats. However, I did not buy more butter -- rookie mistake, I truly thought I had enough, but I did not look closely enough at the recipes to realize that 2 cups of butter would only make about 2-3 different recipes, so my plans were stifled and restricted as I had to ration my butter. Luckily, the recipes I did accomplish passed the Boyfriend Test -- hooray! -- and I liked them, too! They are: 

ALMOND SUGAR COOKIES
CHERRY MACAROON BROWNIES
EASY LEMON SUGAR SNAPS (two variations of the same recipe)

I will continue baking tomorrow and will post the recipes in the coming days . . . so stay tuned!