Christmas Cookies

The cookie parade started innocently enough. Husband came home with a 'ready-made' tube of cookie dough with the usual groceries. He said that cookies sounded good. Well, they didn't quite measure up to homemade cookies.

So we began with the Best Chocolate Chip Cookies from Allrecipes.com. These are delicious, basic, 'like your mom makes' chocolate chip cookies.

But then I remembered the DOUBLE chocolate cookie recipe from Allrecipes.com which were absolutely amazing the last time I made them... so I had to make those too. The "Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies I" recipe is absolutely addictive. There is a reason I save this recipe for special occasions... they are kind of like your favorite Girl Scout cookies- somehow the box magically goes empty and you are accused of 'not being good at sharing.' The special tip to this recipe is to use 1/2 regular chocolate chips, 1/2 mini chocolate chips. This allows for your usual chocolate chunks in the cookie, but leaves melted chocolaty goodness where the mini chips reside.

Now, the original recipe of the double chocolate chip cookies makes approx. 48 cookies. The beauty of Allrecipes.com is that you can adjust the number of servings and it will adjust your ingredients. However, I looked at the '48 servings,' shrugged my shoulders and said, "Sounds good to me!"

So between the classic and double chocolate chip cookies... lets just say there were a lot of cookies here.

Now, I could have just stopped there and made gift bags with these cookies alone. But, Pinterest can be a dangerous thing. This year I have seen so many fun cookie and treat recipes for the holiday season, I figured that I could just KEEP GOING and make some fun cute cookies to add to the heap. 

So... adding to the above mentioned cookies, I also made:

Reindeer Nutter-Butter Cookies

Snowmen Nutter-Butter Cookies

Chocolate Cherry Christmas Mice

Our kitchen was overflowing with Christmas goodies! Today we began the rounds of dropping off the holiday treats. Hopefully they will enjoy eating them as much as I enjoyed making them.

Have you made any great Christmas treats this season? Please share your favorite Christmas recipes below, I still have three weeks of holiday baking left!

More Dolls

I love the uniqueness of handmade dolls. For Little Tomato's first birthday, her gift from mom & dad was a handmade doll I bought on Etsy. I was not quite as adventurous with my sewing machine at that time.

Last year, I made a small doll for Little Tomato, which was my first attempt at making my own pattern. However, shortly after that project, husband and I were fully immersed in building our home and the sewing machine gathered some dust.

This November, I stumbled upon a new book, "Storybook Toys" by Jill Hamor, which looked like a great resource to learn how to make more complex dolls (my review of the book is here). Thus, this past month, I have been tinkering around with making doll patterns, and have made a couple as gifts for Little Tomato's pen pals. I still have one more to make (hopefully to be delivered by Christmas!), but I thought I'd share the first two which will be en route to their new homes soon!

The Blonde Ballerina:

 The ballerina has velvety soft alpaca yarn hair in a bun, a satin pink leotard, and satin ballet shoes. Her outfit is complete with a dusty pink tutu with a satin wrapped waistband and bow. I think I will make a different pattern for the leotard in the future, as I don't like how the arms attach to the leotard on this one.

 Banjo Bear Jumper:

The first yarn hair doll I made this month was Libby (see post here). Libby was pretty small for a doll, at about 10" tall. This made turning the limbs inside out very difficult and is just an awkward size- too big for a dollhouse, too small to be a huggable doll. After making Libby, I adjusted my pattern to make a larger doll. Since I loved the outfit, I made the new doll in the same banjo-bear jumper, but her features match the little girl who will have her.

I really enjoyed making this outfit in the larger size. It allowed for more detail in the banjo and the shoes. They are moccasins with 'fur' trim. :)

Thankful

Yesterday Little Tomato had her first surgery. It was a minor outpatient procedure, but I was still beyond relieved when she was brought back to the pre/post op room where I was anxiously waiting.

We had the procedure done at the children's hospital. I designed healthcare buildings for 7+ years and I have worked on more than one children's hospital. But it wasn't until yesterday that the gravity of it hit me... children's hospitals are full of really sick kids. As we were leaving, I saw a mother checking in with her child, who was obviously a cancer patient. It broke my heart to see this family and the struggle they are facing. We so often take our health for granted. We so often take the health of our children for granted. During this season of thanksgiving and reflection on the blessings in our lives, I am beyond grateful that my daughter is healthy. I am thankful that we were at the hospital for only a few short hours, and that it is not a regular setting in our lives.  I am thankful for the many wonderful people who make it their life's work to care for the sick. My heart is full of gratitude today. Full of gratitude for something I so often take for granted.