Treats for appetites of every size
Christmas with the Muncey’s was a marathon this year. I got home from skiing in Utah on Tuesday, and then had a party every day through yesterday. That’s four separate Christmas parties. A night-before-the-night-before party, a Christmas eve party, Christmas, and Pickett Christmas. Like I said, a marathon.
Last weekend I mentioned that I had had time to make two types of cookies – I’m cheating this weekend and posting the second instead of making something new. That’s not to say I’m not baking. Yesterday I arrived in Utah to ski with a group of friends that comes out here every year. This is my first year participating, but apparently they take their food plans very seriously.
This is usually the time of year when I make my cookie tins – five new types of cookies and two full days of baking. However, right now I am on my 10th straight day spending countless hours in the library and subsisting largely on free candy and caffeine. In other words, I haven’t yet had time to dedicate to my usual Christmas festivities.
I’m pretty sure my roommate buys bananas exclusively so that I’ll turn them into banana bread. They sit in our fruit bowl, largely untouched, until there are only three left and they’re all brown. At which point I don’t really have a choice in the matter, since my banana bread recipe just happens to call for exactly three overripe bananas.
OK, now it’s Christmas season. I went Black Friday shopping for the first time in recent memory. I’ve been listening to Straight No Chaser’s Christmas albums on repeat for two days. I have a full box of decorations ready to be set up around my apartment. I’m planning my finals studying strategically to allow plenty of time for Christmas shopping.
What’s that? Thanksgiving is in 4 days and you don’t really like to make pie? Don’t worry, I’ve got a solution! Of course, my solution only actually works if you’ve bought in to my frequent endorsements of cookie presses. I recognize it’s an oddly specific kitchen utensil, but at least it’s a cheap one!
It is scarily close to the end of my first semester of law school. This coming week is the last full week of class. After that, two half weeks are all that separate me from reading period and final exams. And then that’s it – one sixth of the way through.
Full disclosure: this is the earliest I’ve started celebrating Christmas in recent memory. Most years, I have a strict no-Christmas-until-after-Thanksgiving rule, but desperate times and whatnot.
Halloween is a weird holiday. As a kid, you’re all about the fact that you can dress up in costume and go door-to-door taking candy from strangers. Then, in middle school, you go through this stage where you are just way too old/cool for Halloween and you want nothing to do with it. Fast forward to college and you realize how great it is to have an excuse to dress up in costume again – so great that you decide Halloween should really be extended into a multi-day event.
This is kind of embarrassing. I made it all the way to October 25 (only 6 days until Halloween!) without posting a single pumpkin recipe. I’m not sure how I can call myself a true seasonal baker.