Baking Christmas Cookies Solo

Greg will tell you I'm not much of a cook, as he does most cooking around our house. However, since Greg isn't a fan of baked goods, I take over in the baking department. And since he's not a sweet lover, the only time I pull out the mixer and start baking is when I have a reason to.

Each year, around this time, my lovely friend Sarah invites me to her annual cookie exchange party. She cleans her house, makes lunch, and bakes dozens of sugar cookies. All the attendees bring cookies to share, (except the first year, 2007, where we attempted to bake cookies together. Let's just say although Sarah's kitchen is fabulous, it was NOT ready for hundreds of cookies to be baked in one afternoon. She could have used three additional ovens that day...) we enjoy lunch, then decorate the sugar cookies together. This will be the fourth year she's hosted this fun ladies gathering, and I enjoy myself each year!

This afternoon, with Greg away watching The Big Chill (a hockey game at The Big House in Ann Arbor), I set up cookie baking shop in the kitchen. I made three batches of cookies, which yielded nine dozen Russian tea cakes, one of my favorite holiday cookies. I had planned to bake 10-12 dozen, but the weather report isn't looking so hot, so if I don't end up making the trek to Portage tomorrow, I only have nine dozen to give away as gifts, not twelve dozen!