He's Back

Hi, Internet. I need to take a moment to ask you to travel down memory lane with me, okay? Okay.

Remember Benjamin? No? Go read this.

I'll wait.

Still waiting.

It's totally worth it.

Okay, so did you happen to notice the date on that post? It was 2011. Let's stop and think about that for a second. Firstly, we've been doing Christmas Crazy since well before 2011. THAT'S NUTS. And for as long as Christmas Crazy has been a thing, Benjamin has made it a point to make sure he made the pile a little bit bigger. Every year.

Every. Single. Year.

He did it again this year.

In recent years, this has all gone down in parking lots in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the season. I like to think that looks shady to someone, if only because it's funny to imagine what strangers must think of a kid (young adult now, practically) loading a bunch of toys into the back of an adult's car in the back corner of the mall parking lot.

It's pretty awesome is what I think.

So, thanks again, Benjamin. I think your way of celebrating birthdays and Christmas might be my favorite of all.

Thumbprint Cookies

IT'S GO TIME, PEOPLE.

It's single digits until Christmas, which means both of my children are testing the limits of jerkery. Will I take away gifts? YES, I WILL.

Ugh.

I'll also take away Christmas cookies because I am that mean.

So long, Thumbprints. I guess I'll have to eat them all myself since the girls don't deserve them.

Thumbprint Cookies

1 8-oz package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sifted flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup chopped pecans
2 cups fruit preserves (I used apricot, but strawberry and raspberry are good choices, too.)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Pull out a cookie sheet or two. You're making about 5 dozen cookies, so plan accordingly.

3. In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and run that mixer a little more. Add the vanilla and mix again.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda.

5. Slowly add the flour mixture to the cream cheese mixture while beating.

6. Chop up those pecans even more than they already are. I use a mini food processor. The cookies look better and are easier to shape when the pecans are super chopped.

7. Add the chopped pecans to the cookie doubh and mix well.

8. Time to make some balls. Roll that cookie dough into little balls that are about 1 inch across.

9. Place the little balls on a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. Leave at least an inch between each ball.

10. Thumb print time! Press your thumb into the center of each ball to leave a little spot for the fruity stuff later. Clean up any cookie edges that seem like they might let the fruity stuff escape.

11. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

12. Pull them out of the oven, place about a teaspoon of fruit preserves in the little dent of each cookie, and return them to the oven for another 8-10 minutes.

13. The cookies are done when they are lightly browned. If any fruit preserves escape their cookie, no worries. Allow the cookies to cool and then you can pull the fruit puddle off. For the record, the puddles taste like Fruit Roll-Ups, so don't have any kids around unless you plan to share.

14. Allow the cookies to cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet then move them to a rack to cool completely.

15. Tah-dah!

There's a Reason She's So Cute