Baking at Sunrise

The Christmas season always has me giddy like a child. I honestly feel sad for all the people I see around the city and elsewhere, who are stressed and look miserable. Christmas is such a joyful time! Why are they stressing themselves out? Why spend so much time and energy on making sure you buy JUST the right gifts, make JUST the right goodies (and plenty of them), and rush-rush-rush to get everything done? Why be nasty to those around you because you're so stressed? I guess it's just a difference in how people observe the holiday. We observe with family. We're not huge on gifts- most years only the kids get gifts! Big family get-togethers are about seeing each other, being together, and everyone making one small piece of the feast to come toget her and make the whole thing a feast. Christmas, for us, is about celebrating

the birth of Christ, and celebrating that together makes it an awesome holiday for us, no matter what material things we have.

I did some baking yesterday. A couple dozen were to take to the big family Christmas today, where we'll do a cookie swap. A few more dozen I took to work last night to bless my co-workers. They were a huge hit. I'm always glad to do a little something extra for them, because we work rather thankless jobs.


My recipe for Peppermint Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies, for those who care:

Ingredients

• 2 cup s all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup dark cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup softened butter
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda.
2. Beat the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until smooth. Beat in one egg until completely incorporated. Beat in the last egg along with the peppermint. Mix in the flour mixture until just incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips; mixing just enough to evenly combine. Drop by heaped teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until the edges are golden, 9 to 12 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 1 minute before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Still working down the body of the Hemlock Peace Fleece Kumfy Pants. The color is so rich, I adore these pants so much. I'm excited to get them finished for the mama who ordered them. I'm definitely buying more of this colorway for a pair of shorties for my son's summer stash.
It's crazy to already be thinking spring- It isn't even winter yet, technically speaking. Truly, though, I have knitting to do to get started on the shorties season by March, plus plenty of babies coming in the spring and early summer that need some woolies. I love knitting the tiny things. Not only are they adorable sheerly by their size, but they're super quick knits, too.


The sunrise was beautiful this morning. I couldn't not take a photo of the gorgeous colors. A winter sunrise in central New York: