Skip to main content

The best part of the holidays. Sugar.

Not for my waistline, but definitely for my sweet tooth, the hands-down best part of the holidays has to involve homebaked goodies. That's why Tim and I have invited our friends over next Sunday for an afternoon of nog and cookies. It sounded like a good idea at the time. I envisioned a perfectly decorated house, tray after tray of delectable goodies that would put Martha Stewart to shame (if she weren't already looked down upon, that is), and just enough rum to calm frazzled holiday nerves.

Then we realized—we actually have to make the food.

We could, I suppose, cheat and pick up pseudo-homemade cookies, candies, and pastries from shops around town. But no one ever started meaningful family holiday traditions by hopping in the car and buying stale chex mix and cardboard-like gingerbread from the local Hy-Vee. So I've started. One down—cranberry-orange mini muffins—and many more to go. Among those sugar plum visions on our to-make menu: cream wafers, peanut butter Hershey kiss cookies, no-bake choco-oatmeal cookies, dipped pretzels, cutouts...and I'm sure there are more, but they're slipping my non-stick mind at the moment.

I think, if I do a couple batches a night, I'll create enough to serve next Sunday.

Unless they catch BTK this week. Then I'll have to tell our guests to bring their own goodies. And I'll be popping a champagne cork to celebrate.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

So, I Changed My Mind

More than four years ago, the blog and I parted ways. I needed a change. A whole lot happened in my world since then. I switched jobs a couple times. My kid went from an elementary school tween to a teenage high schooler. We built a new house and moved. Both my parents and my sister have passed. The world around me changed as well. Mass shootings, racism, the #metoo movement, a misogynistic bigoted narcissist in the White House ... go ahead, add to the list. Toss your woes into this dumpster fire we call 2019.  I appreciate my previous sentiment, that I was no longer wandering. But let's be honest, we're all trying to find our way through this mess. I decided to reboot the blog to give myself a creative outlet, a way to sort through the confusion and frustration and attempt to make sense of it all. I have a voice, and I'm not keen to silence it anymore. Guess what? I'm back, bitches.
Post a Comment
Read more

In memoriam...

I remember the first time I heard the name "Les Anderson." A bunch of Wichita State University communication majors were sitting around on campus, talking about classes they planned to take. Several people warned me: watch out for Les Anderson. He was tough. He had a murderous grading scale. It was nearly impossible to get an A. They weren't kidding. But he wasn't tough just to be a tyrant. From his teaching sprang a fleet of incredible, successful journalists, writers, editors, broadcasters, public relations experts, advertisers, non-profit professionals...I could go on and on. Most importantly, he created a legion of people who wanted to make a difference in the world. The greatest gift Les gave to them all? He believed in them, cared about them for their own personal stories as well as the stories they told for class assignments or in the pages of his hometown newspaper. Les was my teacher. My boss. My mentor. My conscience. My champion. My friend. When I started c...
5 comments
Read more

Ho, Ho, Ho, How Many Times Can I Use "I'm too busy" as an Excuse?

I haven't had time to write. Work, swim meet volunteering, holiday decorating and shopping. But truthfully, I've not been in much of a mood to write anything anyway. Last night we put up the tree and Santa chachkies, and I drank my first egg nog of the season, so perhaps I'll be in a cheerier mood. Also, I have spent some time writing the annual Schoon holiday newsletter. If you happen to get a copy, treat it like a drinking game. Every time I make you roll your eyes, take a drink. Nog, wassail, Everclear. Whatever gets you through. One sure way to assist with merriment motivation is listening to Christmas carols. I'm not going to get into a debate over what truly constitutes a carol. You can "Jesus is the reason for the season" yourself until you turn blue; I generally lean toward the secular end of the holiday tune spectrum. And if you just gasped at my use of holiday instead of Christmas, go suck on a candy cane. It's my blog and my opinions. Deal. ...
2 comments
Read more