There was a time when I spent weeks planning my holiday baking.
I would spend at least one weekend baking, usually 10 or so different kinds of cookies.
Some went in the freezer, some we ate, but most of them were given away.
Giving away Christmas cookies…..
That’s what Drop in and Decorate ) is all about; founded by food writer Lydia Walshin of The Perfect Pantry (www.theperfectpantry.com):
The idea behind Drop In & Decorate is simple: bake some cookies; gather a group of family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, your worship group or book group to decorate the cookies together; donate the cookies to a nonprofit agency serving basic human needs in your own community.It’s a simple idea in a complicated world, and something anyone can do.If you’d like to host your own Drop In & Decorate® event, Pillsbury and Wilton would like to help.Pillsbury has donated 50 VIP coupons, worth $3.00 each, off any Pillsbury product — including sugar cookie mix, icing and flour — to be distributed, first come, first served, while supply lasts, to anyone who plans to host a Drop In & Decorate event (max. 5 coupons per person). And we’ll include a Comfort Grip cookie cutter, donated by Wilton, while our supply lasts.Write to lydia AT ninecooks DOT com for more info on how to get your free coupons and cookie cutters.
As for me, I don’t bake cookies for us any longer.
Our French neighbors really don’t quite know what to do with them.
But, more importantly, mon mari’s favorite part of the cookie baking weekend was eating a half dozen or so of each kind within 2 minutes of them coming out of the oven….
Now that he’s diabetic, it would be cruel and unusual punishment to have cookie smells wafting through the house.
Too bad I don’t live in the US, for a week or two in December…. This would be fun.
These were my last cookies…. Though I didn’t know it at the time.
Nothing fancy.
Chocolate Chunk Ginger on the left and Oatmeal Peanut Butter on the right.
Damn, they were good!
Here is something equally good to whip up in a hurry after all that baking.
The recipe, Popover Pie with Ham and Peas, has been updated, nutrition information added, and re-posted here: Yorkshire Pudding Pie with Ham & Peas.
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Katie, I don’t know if this would fit in with your husband’s new diet but I hope so. A friend had simply cut peeled sweet potatoes (the orange ones) crosswise (to make rounds)and roasted them in the oven with a little olive oil until they were tender but not falling apart. She served them as an appetizer but I really think they were sweet enough to be a dessert – a substitute for a cookie? You could perhaps add nuts if he can have those, or raisins? Anyway, as I was eating them, I was thinking, “sheesh, these are like cookies” so when I read your post, I thought, maybe ton mari can have “cookies” like these?
Katie, thanks so much for helping to spread the word about Drop In & Decorate. If I can ever entice you back to the US in early December, or maybe around Mothers Day for our spring events, I hope you’ll stop by and decorate a cookie or two.
Everything looks so good Katie. Drop in and Decorate deserves such great attention.
Zoomie, Great idea! I love sweet potatoes. And he CAN have cookies…. just not every 15 minutes, all day long like he used to. They have to be part of a planned meal (How boring)
Lydia, that would be such fun – and you’re welcome.
Val, and doesn’t it sound like fun.