Baking Weekend

I'm a little late posting this, as Baking Weekend is always the second weekend in December and here it is, just two days before December ends.  Yikes.  I always have grand plans for getting my blogging done and then it just doesn't happen. I've been off from work for a week now and I'm just now feeling like turning on the computer.  I guess it just goes to show how badly I needed a "brain break".

Before we could head up to the Lodge to start baking, we had to celebrate Ashinator's 21st birthday (how did that happen?!) at the Rio so she could have her first (legal) marg.  Rumor has it that the Rio margs are the most potent in town.  I'm not certain about it, but they do have a 3 marg limit, so maybe.

Happy Birthday, Ashinator!

Staci is still on her boat with her family, so we missed her again this year.  It did work out, though, that she was some place with WiFi and we could FaceTime with her.  It was so good to see her and the kids and have them join us for a bit, even if it was via computer.  Robs was even kind enough to sample all of the cookie dough for her.

Sue and Robs with Staci

It's actually kind of hard to bake and hold a phone at the same time.

While I didn't have any big new recipes planned for the day, Robs did.  It's a chocolate cookie sandwich with a peppermint filling, rolled in crushed candy canes.  It's essentially a diabetic coma in cookie form.

Spreading the peppermint filling

Don't they look amazing?

But, seriously, check your blood sugar after eating one.

My girls.  Don't know what I'd do without them.

Some of the fruits of our labor.

Mom's "pretty" Christmas tree

Nebalee's family went Christmas tree hunting in the morning, so they were a little late getting up to join us.  Mrs. Junior and her son also joined us later in the day. That way, we can work in "shifts" in the kitchen.

The Lodge is so beautiful in the winter.

Robs and me

Jay and me.  He's such a goober :)

We had planned on having the triplets with us, but Robs let them stay home with her wife, which freed us up to do more baking.  Let's be honest, if we'd had the babies with us, there wouldn't have been much baking going on.  The "aunties" would be too busy playing with the girls.

It seemed like we really scaled back on what we baked, but we still ended up with a ton and a half of cookies.  Our final cookie count for the weekend was:

Magic Window Cookies: 106
Gingerbread Cookies (Mom's recipe): 47
Peanut butter Cookies: 37
Aztec Cookies: 180
Oatmeal-mint chip Cookies: 130
Chocolate peppermint sandwich cookies: 38
M&M Cookies: 90
Peanut Butter Kisses cookies: 50
Mini-gingerbread cookies (mix): 50
Medium gingerbread cookies (mix): 12
Butterballs: 152
Chocolate-dipped Coffee Cup Cookies: 40
Fudge: 10#
Magic cookie bars: 72
Plus some toffee and a couple hundred pretzel/kisses/M&M thingies.

Ashinator did the math, it's something like 1004 cookies (okay, maybe it's only half a ton).  Since we still have some left, I'm guessing we over-did it a tad (we didn't mail as many out this year - mailing has gotten expensive!).  But, as usual, it was a blast and I can't wait to do it again next year.