The Cookie Monster!

Friday was Scott's last day of work until January 5th, and Whit and I are LOVING having him home with us! Weekends have been so crazy lately, so it is super to just be able to relax and enjoy some quality time together. This weekend, I have been a cookie making machine!! Scott says I am turning into a domestic diva! While that certainly is not true, I have been loving having time to bake. Yesterday, I made chocolate chip cookies using a new recipe we found from http://www.recipezaar.com/. If you are a cook or a baker and have not checked out this website, I highly recommend it. I love the ratings system and the easy-to-understand recipes. I also made pound cake cookies and my very own frosting. I had never made my own frosting before; I had always been lazy and just bought Betty Crocker at the store, but not this time. I divided the frosting in half and dyed one part red and one part green. Unfortunately, because the frosting was white and the food coloring was red, they ended up more pink than red, but at least there were red and green sprinkles on top to make them look more festive. Today, I made Joan Lunden bars, which is my favorite dessert that my mother-in-law makes. They weren't quite as good as Pam's perhaps, but I was still proud of how they turned out. They were very labor intensive, but worth the extra time and energy. I also helped Scott make molasses cookies, and they were also yummy! Boy, do I love the cookie baking time of year! Scott knew I was pumped about baking yesterday and today, so he took me to Williams-Sonoma and bought me a red, white, and green apron, an elf oven mit, a red, white, and green oven mit to match my apron, red and white striped kitchen towels, and a green frosting spreader/spatula. I just love Christmas colored gear, and I am obsessed with Williams-Sonoma! That store is incredible, and I love going in there and just browsing. It was one of the stores on our registry when we got married, and we got lots of wonderful things from there, including our 5 quart stainless steel Kitchen Aid mixer, which is absolutely essential for true cookie making. By the way, I know the picture up at the top has nothing to do with the subject of my post, but I just love Whit's expression as he checks out this plastic Santa in front of a store. It is priceless!