Ode to the Christmas cookie

Every home has their Christmas/holiday traditions.  Anyone who knows the Parsons family knows that we churn out Christmas cookies like a bunch of Keebler elves beginning on Nov 26th.  And I absolutely love it!

All of my previous roommates have fell victim to this tradition as well, as I love baking Christmas cookies more than any other Christmas tradition and have done my best to carry out the family legacy.  I learned to love it from my mom, who learned to love it from her sister and her mom, so I guess you could say its in my blood.  

I will probably never live up to the high cookie standards that have been set in place by the great Becky Parsons, but I will do my best.  

Seriously, this woman makes thousands of cookies for Christmas.  I'm not exaggerating y'all.  For example, I asked her for her famous buck-eye peanut butter ball recipe.  The list of ingredients I received was in pounds.  As in pounds of butter, pounds of flour..... and a little disclaimer at the bottom that said "this will make about 300 buck-eyes."  Seriously mom?  Seriously.  Lets just say there were a lot of internet conversions to look up, as I was not in the business of trying to make 300 buck-eyes.  This woman makes cookies and she don't play around.

Anyway, this year I did step my game up and make about 14 different kinds of cookies.  My all-time favorites though are the sugar cookies that you get to decorate with icing.  And I really miss doing this with my family, so we had a Christmas cookie decorating Skype date!  It was so much fun :)

I was pretty pleased with how my cookies turned out this year, with the exception of a few small mishaps.  For instance, I may or may not have had to sift out all of the walnuts from a giant bag of trail mix because I forgot to buy them for my thumbprint cookies..... (there may have been a lingering hint of dried cranberry...).... and I attempted to make some pinwheel cookies that qualify as an epic Pinterest-fail.

This is what they are supposed to look like:

And these are what mine looked like...... (insert sad face here):

I think they look kind of like vaginas.  

But I totally gave them away in the cookie plates anyway because they tasted good and I need a "filler" cookie.... haha (mom, please don't disown me).

But overall, Gunner seemed pleased with the results, including the little Cal Poly me and, of course, a Wolfpack and Spartan fellow in the mix.

See the vagina cookie peeking out from the bottom?  

Anyway, I'm so happy that I have this tradition at Christmas!  Its so much fun to share with everyone :)  Yay eventual diabetes!

Love, 

AP