Cookies!

I really thought that today I'd be posting about the cookies I made this afternoon. Instead I'm going to post about the cookies I might make this evening.

Dumb ol' iTunes really threw a wrench in my plan for cookies. How could I possibly bake Christmas cookies without Christmas music in the background?? So I plugged in my iPod and got ready to delete some music & put on Christmas music. Mind you, this process worked THIS MORNING! Now it doesn't. I tried restarting my iPod, iTunes and my computer. I also made sure that I had the latest iTunes version downloaded. And of course, nothing works. So of course, I can't make cookies until I figure it out. Looks like I will have to wipe out my iPod, which is a problem because there are several songs that I loaded at home (as opposed to home-is-where-the-Air-Force-sends-us) therefore, I cannot get them back. Grr. There are a few that I purchased on iTunes while I was home the summer before last, so in theory those should transfer to iTunes here. However, my iPod/iTunes (I blame iTunes, because I actually like my iPod) isn't actually behaving as it theoretically should, so who knows.

Aaack! Now not only has iTunes prevented me from making cookies, it's also preventing me from blogging about them. I have to take back control...iTunes is not the boss of me.

So...cookies!
I have lots of cookie-making ingredients in my kitchen. My friends think I do a lot of cookie-making and other treat-making, so when they move (3 of them this past May/June), they like to give me the things they can't take with them...flour, sugar, eggs, cookie mix, lemon juice (anyone have any ideas of what I can do with 3 large bottles?), even a ham! and etc. This is something you don't really get to experience much in stateside moves, I imagine, but because 1st of all there are regulations about what the movers will pack (spices are out...in theory, but I've heard a few ways around this) and 2nd of all our stuff is in transit/storage for maybe 3 months or more and 3rd of all remember that weight allowance I talked about? so people are always giving away food stuff. David thinks they think we are poor, but I tell him no...they think I'm a good cook of course!

So anyway, there are a couple kinds of cookies I think I will be able to make without a trip to the commissary. That's my favorite cookie characteristic! I do not enjoy going to the commissary. At all. First, I was almost certain I could make Nut Cups with the things I have on hand. I pulled out my recipe and read:
"Nut Cups
350-15 to 20 minutes
flour the mini-tart shaper every time
-dough to the top of the cup, because the filling will expand"
And that is how you make Nut Cups. Hmm...should be easy because there are NO INGREDIENTS! So needless to say, I could not make Nut Cups this afternoon, even if iTunes had been cooperative. I sent a cry-for-help e-mail to Aunt Margie for the rest of the recipe! Hope she wakes up soon!

I'm pretty sure I could make Snickerdoodles with what I have on hand, so I might make those. Those are pretty easy though, so I might want to save them for last and get some of the more labor-intensive cookies out of the way first.

The only labor-intensive cookies I'm actually making are candy cane cookies. My grandma makes these. Well, she would if she didn't keep saying she was too old for baking. I'm going to sprinkle some of mine with crushed candy canes (if they still crush properly after sitting in my cabinet for an entire year) and maybe drizzle some with melted chocolate. Mmm...yeah, definitely drizzling some with melted chocolate!

After a trip to the commissary I plan on making chocolate covered pretzels & "Thin Mints"...Ritz crackers dipped in mint chocolate. They are seriously delicious! Also "Buster Bars" which are another chocolatey-cracker concoction.

I could probably make fudge with the groceries currently in my cabinets. I want to wait until next week to make that though, because when there is fudge in my fridge I can't really resist eating it and I won't leave any for Santa or my Christmas Eve dinner guests. Or my Christmas Day breakfast guests, who will probably just be some of the same guests, but there are a few single guys coming who don't have families/wives/girlfriends and I hate to think of them being alone on Christmas. It makes me so sad that I will make stuffed french toast to make myself happy and if I could make pancakes, I would make brown sugar banana pancakes too. I might make Cinnabon Clones or one of those sausagey-eggy casseroles too. Or we could just eat cookies. And that would be fine with me...if I ever get to make them.