t'is the season

red-haired sis and i made christmas cookies the other night. whilst i regularly make chocolate chippers, i haven't made christmas cookies in years. a quick online search later, we were recipe ready. and that was about it.

since we were in her neighborhood, we baked at my sister's apartment. while i've never really considered myself a baker, i've come to realize, after baking at sis's, that i am in possession of a quite a few necessary baking items.

like spatulas. baking sheets. hand mixers. baking powder. vanilla. and oh, say, flour.

two loaded shopping bags and twenty dollars later-- minus colored sugar sprinkles which we couldn't find -- we were set to go. have you ever creamed sugar and butter together by hand? it's not the most delightful event. but baking with sis was. it was a truly hand made/rolled/iced/taken off the hot cookie sheet with bare fingers evening. and if you can't tell from this picture

this is the ugly plate of cookies, btw. they got better.

it was frickin' SWEET! we split two cookies and couldn't eat anymore. when i got home that night, even though it was almost midnight, i sauteed and ate some kale. i guess that's what a total of 3 cups of sugar will do to you.

i think we'd probably try a different recipe next time (helllllooooo comments section of this blog) :) but i hope next year when we take on holiday baking the merriment stays the same.

also, meet chia. she's my friend's french bulldog. she's going to be in a patron's dogs calendar for his neighborhood bar.