I didn't do any cooking or baking growing up.  In fact, I really didn't do any baking until my mid-20s and any cooking until my 30s when I moved away for grad school and needed to figure out how to feed myself.  Sure, I cooked and baked here and there, but not regularly, so I find myself a bit behind at times - a bit at a loss for what to make - but other times, I find myself extra excited because it all still seems so new.

I didn't bake cookies with my mom when I was little because I was not interested.  I wanted to eat the cookies, not make them (same went for dinner).  But for the past few years (five?  more?) I've been really into making Christmas cookies and I'm really looking forward to having this be a tradition my kid(s) and I do together.  (Hear that, Force?  Get ready to do some mixing.)

Here are some of my Christmas cookie baking rules:

1 - I do new cookies every year.  This isn't on purpose, but mainly because 1) I suck at keeping recipes from one year to the next and 2) I'm far more excited to bake something I've never baked before.  If I know I can do it and it'll turn out well, I'm totally not interested.  (Though there are some exceptions and I think there might be more exceptions as the years progress.)

2 - I try to avoid making sugar cookies.  I hate rolling out cookie dough and hate cutting shapes out of it.  The dough sticks to everything; I don't like my rolling pin; the counter isn't big enough; blah, blah blah.

3 - I work alone.  I know, I just said I'm looking forward to having my kids help me.  But I'll be in charge and just delegate little tasks like measuring out ingredients, breaking eggs, scooping dough, and so on.  I can't bake with other adults nor do I actually like to.  I like the solitude of baking by myself - putting on some music and just letting my thoughts flow.  I find it to be super relaxing.

4 - I like making challenging cookies but not ones that require a ton of decorating because I suck at icing and drizzling chocolate.

This year I simply ran out of time and steam and, thus, did not get to do two of my favorite things to bake: rugelach and biscotti, alas.  They actually would have been repeats (see Rule #1) but they're really fun to make because they actually take some work.  Oh well.  I'll find some other time to make them, especially the biscotti - mmm, that and some tea or coffee?  A perfect Sunday morning.

So here (*drum roll*) are the cookies I baked this year:

Clockwise, starting from the top:

1) Chocolate Chip Meringue Kisses (Um, mine are a little bigger than intended, I think.  More like hearty smooches than little kisses.)

2) Spicy Molasses Cookies (Pioneer Woman recipe!)

3) M&M Cookies (same ones I made for my sister's birthday party)

4) Double Mint Surprise Cookies (I made these smaller by putting half an Andes candy in each instead of a whole because I like little cookies.)

5) Hazelnut Sandwich Cookies(That's Nutella in the middle, mmmm, and yes, these broke my "no sugar cookies" rule, but it was worth it for the Nutella.)

6) White Chocolate, Cranberry, Almond Cookies (In the middle of the tin - the recipe called for macadamia nuts but the store was out when I went and I didn't have the motivation to go to another store, so I substituted almonds instead.  These are yummms.)

7) Lace Cookies (You can't see them because they're on the bottom, under all the other cookies because they're fragile and need to be laid flat.  Also, I omitted the almonds because I think these cookies are best when made as simply as possible.)

My least faves this year are the meringues, I have to say.  I just think they're boring.  Last year I made citrus meringue cookies (lemon and orange); I definitely think I'll do those again next year instead.  They were far more delectable.

It's hard to say which ones are my favorites; it's like trying to choose a favorite child.  I did make versions of the Spicy Molasses Cookies with white chocolate drizzled on them; those might be my favorite.  (They didn't make it into any tins, though, because the drizzling is ugly.  I need to work on that for next year.)  By the way, I substituted nutmeg for cinnamon in the molasses cookies because the hubby won't eat anything with cinnamon in it.  (I know, right?? Sheesh!)

My nephew loves raisins and craisins so I sent my sister a picture of the white chocolate, cranberry, almond cookies.  She texted back that my nephew said, "Aunt Candy raisins!!"  I could just melt, like some drizzled white chocolate.

For Thanksgiving, we went to the hubby's parents' house (we alternate dinner every year) and stopped by my sister's for dessert, so my sister asked me to bring a dessert with me.  I tend to bake for the in-laws, just because, so that meant I need to decide which two desserts to make.  What a treat!  I even took Wednesday off so that I could bake leisurely, not after I got home from work.  (We ended up needing to take my car in for repairs, so the day off worked out quite well.)

My sister makes the best chocolate cake, so I wouldn't make anything along those lines for her house.  She suggested I make "something easy, like an apple pie."  Easy?  Apple pie?  Really?

Here's where I cheated a little: I used a pre-bought crust.  I just didn't want to deal with making a pie crust.  Ordinarily I look forward to it because it offers a little bit of a challenge, but I'm so mentally burnt out these days with both jobs and grad school that I just didn't want to deal.  So there you go, pre-made pie crust.  Try not to judge too harshly.

For the recipe, I made Real Simple's Gingery Apple Crumb Pie.

This came out smelling so good that I wanted to take a slice out of it immediately.  And speaking of slices, I only sliced myself once.  I'm usually pretty good about avoiding injury entirely while cooking or baking, but I've been a bit clumsy lately, especially with my hands - mainly smacking them into things as I walk by.  I blame the pregnancy, of course (right?).  But aside from that minor nick, this was a really easy recipe to follow and I highly recommend it if you like apple pie.

So then, what to make for the in-laws?  Since no one there is baking a famous chocolate cake, it's a no-brainer: bring chocolate!  So I decided to make the chocolate peanut butter bundt cake I saw on My Baking Addiction.

The best part?  It slid right out of the bundt pan.  If you've ever made a bundt cake, you know that the most terrifying part is worrying whether or not the cake will come out of the pan.  I had a bundt cake stick and break once - once! - and it's traumatized me since.

So what did I do?  I sprayed a helluva lot of non-stick spray and dumped a bunch of flour in it.  I tried to clear it out so it wouldn't cake up, but wasn't entirely successful so when I turned the cake out, it had a bit of a flour glaze on it.  To cover that up, I dusted confectioner's sugar on it.  I'm pretty sure the cake doesn't need the sweetness, but it needed the covering.

The bundt cake tasted perfect - just like a big Reese's cup, yum.  I didn't try the apple pie because I was full, but I brought some home and I think it'll make a great mid-afternoon snack after a full morning/afternoon of chores (great way to spend a day off).  I think the apple pie will hit the 3pm spot just right.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and ate yummy food!