Tuesday Treats (Naughty trumps Nice)

Many moons ago, we had two little boys living with us. The month of December was intense to say the least. In between all of the home schooling and present wrapping and baking and decorating and pageants and costumes and dress clothes ......on and on....... Mr. Right said, "One night you should go out and get your hair done or something girlie?"

You know, maybe a break would be good? So I came up with this plan. Because of course I did not want them sitting in front of the television watching a war movie with killings and blood and guts and gore...... it was Christmas time for heaven sake.

I made sugar cookies. All shapes. I let them cool and put them all in a pan. Then I made several little pots of colored icing. I then lined up all sorts of sprinkles and jimmies and chocolate chips. I put out toothpicks and knives. I thought it would be fun for them to create & help decorate some cookies. I don't always have to be in the middle telling them how to do things so they look just right. It was time I gave up a little control. They were big boys. They could certainly handle decorating a few dozen cookies? It would keep them busy while I was gone getting beautiful and they would have a fun Christmas memory.

Wait they are boys....................

I came home (I am sure looking fabulous), they were OVERLY eager for me to see what they had made. Oh my. Oh my. I said OH MY, didn't I?

Yep, there they were all decorated and super colorful and cheerful and happy.
Let's see.....Doves pooping chocolate chips, Angels with their heads cut off and blood oozing from their necks. Somehow, they took a cookie and cut it up and then frosted it to look like a gun? Oh my, the ornaments were now grenades with a fuse coming out of the top. Beautiful stars were now deadly ninja stars. What once was a lovely Christmas tree was now turned upside down and cut into a spear of death.
There was one just frosted red. I asked (yes I know big mistake) what that was? Of course a pool of blood! Silly me. I should have known.

My inner Martha Stewart was in total SHOCK. However, I was so tired from the season, that I just gave in and was happy they had fun and the darn cookies were decorated. If you closed your eyes and ate the angel with no head and blood oozing out, it still tasted pretty darn good.

You can imagine my mother and sisters and some friends being totally upset and outraged. Why, I never!

Something slipped in that year. It became a valued tradition. We have included friends and neighbors and family. When the daughter in laws came into the fold for the first time in the cookie decorating department, boy were they shocked. I remember the first time one decorated a tree as a first attempt. A tree. Yes, green with little sprinkle ornaments. Everyone said, oh that is nice. Then they started showing theirs. American flags and the state of Oklahoma and hatchets and zombies and whales and oh sure, bombs and grenades of course. The girls got the idea. Then it was game on. A few years later, same girl, she made a globe out of an ornament and some frosting. Ended up being voted best of the year! Then she won again the following year by turning a dove upside down and frosted it into a Polar Bear!

Up until two or three years ago, I just baked and gathered all the supplies. I was tired and just liked watching it unfold. I was also the clean up crew. Now, it is just as much fun to join in.

Instead of the overwhelming stress of the season it has become a favorite family tradition that everyone enjoys and looks forward to. The first year we received pictures from California after a cookie decorating session.............well our hearts swelled with pride! The tradition lived on. Those pooping doves and headless angels brought a tear to my eye.

So this year instead of stressing over the perfect star or gingerbread man decorated correctly. Invite some family and friends to do the decorating for you. You never know, you might just have fun and start a time honored tradition of your own?

Happy Baking! Here is my all time favorite recipe for sugar cookies. Works every time and I can honestly say, I have made this particular recipe over 100 times.

Roll Out Cookie Recipe

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 cups of flour (one cup at a time)

Preheat oven 400*. Cream butter & sugar. Beat in egg & vanilla. Add baking powder & flour. Dough will be stiff. Do NOT chill. Roll out ¼” thick. Cut into shapes. Bake cookies on Silpat lined cookie sheets. Bake 6-7 minutes. Sprinkle with sugar prior to baking or frost after. This works so well every single time.