Holiday Baking

I'm not much of a baker.  While I LIKE to bake, things just don't always go as planned......hence my hard ask rock Scotch-a-roos for the basketball concession stand 2 weeks ago.  Or the pan I burned last year for football.  I have since sworn off scotch-a-roos, for the sake of everyone.  If a teenage boy wont eat them, you now their terrible. 

However this year, I want to do some baking.  Part of it is because we have an "Adopt a Student" program at the high school, and I got the German exchange student.  Of course, the mom in me has the fact that he is away from his family for the holidays pulling on my heart and I want to make it special for him.  But what do you buy a 17 year old German boy?  Yay, I got nothing either so I'm going with....FOOD, the universal language!  Baking holiday goodies, which will make him happy (hopefully) and my family (better make them happy!!)

My adventure started with a simple facebook post: "Where is my stupid-simple Christmas baking cook book?"  Surely SOMEONE would be able to point me in the right direction.  Sure enough Jamie came through for me with a link 12 minutes after my cry for help.  I knew someone out in facebook land could help my domestically-challenged cooking abilities!!!

In checking out the link, I realized that either Jamie thinks I am much more talented in the kitchen then I am (which cant be true because she saw the rock hard scotch-a-roos) OR she has a wicked sense of humor and knows full well I will blog about whatever disaster happens in my kitchen, because somewhere between the meringue snowflakes, stained glass Christmas tree sugar cookies and the choo-choo train made from chocolate graham crackers and nilla waffers, she must have lost her damn mind if she thinks those qualify as "stupid simple". 

I KNOW she has been banished to the dreadmill for at least 2 of her runs this week, maybe that's whats wrong...she needs fresh air to clear her head.

Once I found this out, and posted back to Jamie, I was informed by her sister, Heather, that I cant trust Jamie because she will sabotage (see...I knew humor at my expense was her motive) and she posted a link to another page that includes a title with the words "fast and easy"...that's my kind of baking right there!

I found a couple recipes that had 4 ingredients.....STUPID SIMPLE....YAY!!!!





Pre-baking dizaster.

Kitchen "rock star" pose.

So who can screw up graham crackers, condensed milk and M&M's.....yep, you guessed it.  ME.  And I did, and I'm still bitter about it because I followed the directions COMPLETELY!  I did everything right....except for whatever part I did wrong and I don't know what part that is, therefore....bitter.

What.The.Heck. 

Sooooo we said forget those (even the boys and Shawn wouldn't couldn't eat them).  On to round two...which included making chocolate Christmas candy from a kit. 

Knowing full well the limitation  lack of ability, I turned this project over to the best baker in the house....my 9 year old daughter.

She quickly jumped on the idea because she didn't want to clean her room and pretty soon was up to her elbows in red, green and white chocolate. 

She had so much fun!  They turned out really cute and correct.  Except for the fact that she got a little carried away with the amount of chocolate for each one, so we only got 7 made instead of 16 but oh well....I highly doubt her focus could have lasted much longer then the hour it took her to make those 7.  Plus, who really needs 16 chocolate lollipop looking things hanging around their kitchen....not I, or my husband.




The loot....and yes, I have an orange countertop.

She did a great job!  Even if Santa does look like he face planted in the mud.


It was super fun, minus the round 1 dizaster and something I hope WILL continue on year after year.  Couple more years and the boys will be able to help out.....but as long as Piper is here, we will be guaranteed SUCCESS!!