A tradition with my mom is getting together before Christmas to bake hundreds of cookies for friends and family. I wish I had counted how many cookies came out of that oven, because two days of baking nearly makes a factory.
We started with simple recipes and changed them up to incorporate peppermint, pecans, walnuts, and even lemon! My favorite was the lemon cookies which I was inspired to make when I saw my moms lemon extract. One of my gifts this year from my boss was lavender sea salt which I think a little sprinkle would have been amazing on the top of a lemon cookie! The lavender sea salt is so delicious that it inspired me to buy grey sea salt in bulk online. I already have plans to make a thyme foccacia bread with lavender sea salt sprinkled on top - but I think I want to just try simple focaccia with grey sea salt on top first. Next, we want to buy pearl cous cous in bulk because we love the texture and versatility with meals.
With two days of baking with my mom, we got to laugh together, enjoy each others company, and make a mess. Not to mention, we of course had to taste test everything. I have to say, spending this kind of quality time together has quickly become more fun than Christmas day itself.
S and I are back into our routine, but it's nice to only have a two day work week and the weekend ahead. I plan on using so many of my gifts this weekend - and I've even already started with dinner last night! I'll definitely post more photos of that. Tomorrow I am looking forward to eating some saucisson sec with brie and thin crackers. Sounds strange, but I gave S three different varieties for Christmas: a classic one, a mushroom one, and an herbs de provence one. It was a nostalgic gift and I'm hoping the classic one tastes just like the ones we had in France - we lived off of it every day for lunch there! I also plan to make a vegetable roast in my new Le Creuset dish with some of the new spice blends my dad gave me. So many cooking endeavors ahead. Happy weekend!
Beautiful sweets!!
ReplyDeletethanks sarah! we have so many we give them out and everyone loves them!
Deleteyeah, i am glad you got a le creuset! i got one last year and i use it all the time, and i am not nearly as skilled or devoted in the kitchen as you so i am sure you will get so much use from yours. all those cookies! wow, how do they all look so pretty. i only made one batch and they were pretty sad looking. and i agree about the day leading up to christmas as being the best part. those are always my favorite memories too. xo
ReplyDeletethis one le creuset dish makes me want a collection for more! my two favorite things in my kitchen have both been gifts - my french copper pot and this le creuset dish! being that me and my mom make these cookies every year - we've gotten pretty good at making them cute :)
Delete