Misbehavin' Bakin'

I cut it really close this year.

Christmas baking almost didn't get done.

GASP.

I kinda, sorta started to run out of time.

Energy abandoned me a LOOONG time ago.  I started December running on fumes instead of fuel. 

Note to self for future Christmas seasons - don't start December running on fumes instead of fuel.

So, yeah, I worked really hard at getting shopping done during the right pay period, and crafted a few minor things with a few mishaps and wrangled hubby into wrapping away the afternoon hours for a few days.  And the baking kept getting bumped from the priority list to the point that I began to think I just wouldn't this year.

That option didn't seem all that bad, really!

....until the oldest boy started making the odd comment about seriously missing having Christmas baking in the house...

What's a mama to do when faced with big brown 13 year old eyes, blinking pathetically, begging for cookies?

She bakes cookies, of course!

However, given time and energy constraints, cutbacks were in order this year. 

My list of baking (this information is likely completely dull to you, but will be my baking record for 2012) included:

1.  Chocolate chip cookies made with red, white and green chips.
2.  Haystacks - made for the young one, who is rarely interested in any baking outside of puffed wheat cake and haystacks
3.  Reindeer chow - a Chex/Cheerios/Pretzels/Peanuts/Smarties covered in white chocolate confection inspired by Pinterest.  Note to self:  this was ridiculously expensive.  Ridiculously.  DO.  NOT.  MAKE.  AGAIN.
4.  Magic bars made with graham crumbs, pretzels, caramels, chocolate chips, coconut and sweetened condensed milk.  Note to self:  spray the daylights out of the pan and underbake, for heaven's sake.  Sheesh.  She don't wanna come out of the pan.  And watch your fillings.  You've been warned.
5.  Cookies that did not want to be - a lovely pretty little cookie in the ilk of a pinwheel cookie that is marbled instead of jelly-rolled that was supposed to be rolled in non-pariels but they were sold out so crushed candy canes were substituted instead which made the cookies stick to the pan that was supposed to be covered in parchment paper which I did not have and which were made from a recipe that recommends baking according to weighed ingredients instead of measurements and called for cake flour instead of all purpose flour which I also did not have and also called for a cup of butter which I tried softening in the microwave and ended up completely melting by accident and then the dough ended up too dry so I put the dough in the fridge to chill hoping that a miracle would happen but of course the miracle did not happen in the fridge (my hopes were too high) so I ended up adding more butter and remixing them and then chilling them again and in the end they turned out pretty close to the picture but I'm too bothered by the whole mishap to photograph them for the sake of a blog.  ...insert feeble grin here.....
6.  Buns that nearly choked - blah blah blah, something happened to the baker's brain whereby she forgot to add the majority of the liquids to the flour sponge and then she added all of the flour without thinking, wondering why the dough was beyond dry and then when she added the liquids after the fact the dough got really wet and a bunch more flour was required so just maybe the buns might end up on the dry side?

Yup!  Finished my baking!  Sounds .....   like I finished my baking.  Misbehavin' bakin' had a mind of its' own.

Ahem.

However.

The 13 year old brown eyed one just reported that everything  tastes SO GOOD.

Fait accompli!!!