Christmas is here, bringing good cheer...

It's Christmas Cookie Season again.  Last year due to some crazy studying, I didn't have time to bake cookies for anyone and I was very sad.  This year I had huge plans to make 5 types of cookies on Saturday and I came close, but didn't quite succeed.  Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing, White Chocolate Chip Cranberry Macadamia Nut, Chocolate Chocolate Chunk with Peanut Butter Chips.  

This year in an effort to reduce hand cramping, I made the Royal Icing thinner than usual.  This had both some positive and negative effects to the decorating process.  Much easier outlining and filling.  Some bleeding of the colors while drying (this was not photographed) and very sad trees (photographed below).  

I had to fight Sean off of the Chocolate cookies and there was a very sad Snowman fatality while I was bagging up the cookies on Sunday.  It happens every year, and often makes me want to cry.  Without further delay, here they are.  

Hello Crate and Barrel nesting bowls, I love you.

Chocolate Chocolate Chunk and Peanut Butter Chip

White Chocolate Chip Cranberry Macadamia Nut

These sad looking creatures are supposed to be trees. Unfortunately, the royal icing was too thin and this is what I was left with.  Feel free to revisit Christmas 2010 to see what the trees should look like.  

Love him!

I made two of these for my Dad and my Sister. I am sad to report that my husband was shocked to learn this is what Maine looks like.  He had some other strange image in his head about the state outline.  

Baking Weekend...

Because Sean was in Ocala this weekend, I opted for some uninterrupted baking time.  I've been wanting to make some cookies for some time now and try out some chocolate cupcakes.  I decided on White Chocolate Chip, Cranberry and Macadamia Nut cookies and Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting.  

The cookies turned out great!  They are almost as good as the cookies my college roommates Mom used to make for us.  I think hers had some granola and maybe regular chocolate chips in them.  We called them Crack Cookies.  They were fabulous.  The only flaw to these cookies was my own fault, I did not line the cookie sheet with parchment paper, like the recipe suggested and wound up needing to strategically scoop the dough, so that the cranberries weren't on the bottom, because they got all burnt on the first sheet.  Next time, I will use the parchment paper.  

White Chocolate Chip, Cranberry and Macadamia Nut Cookies

I loved the Peanut Butter Frosting I made for Sean's birthday so much that I wanted to try it with Chocolate Cupcakes.  It turned out just as fabulously fluffy as before.  The cupcakes are pretty good, maybe not as moist as I was hoping, but the frosting balances that out.  

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting 

I made SO many cupcakes it is silly.  I decided to double the recipe, because for some reason, I thought one batch would only make 12 cupcakes.  Needless to say, there are 60 cupcakes in my kitchen right now. AND 40 or so cookies.  What was I thinking?