December 1 brought me an unexpected little block of time with my friend, Able Baker Dana.
We only squeezed a short visit into the day, but we always manage to get into something when we're together.
We got to talking about our Christmas traditions (baking traditions in particular) and I told her about the massive amounts of molasses sugar cookies I bake (I use 50/50 butter/shortening) and give away each year (because certain friends, co-workers, neighbors, and family are oh-so-disappointed if they don't get their annual allotment).
She said she'd been on the receiving end last year and the cookies had disappeared waaay too fast.
So we made plans to get together and make a whole bunch this year.
We didn't have time to bake that day, so we spent the rest of our time making the little holly decorations for the cookie gift bags.
I usually buy an inexpensive garland or bunch of 'silk' holly, cut the leaves off, and use florist tape to wrap them together with some artificial berries.
And I always use black and white check ribbon, since it's very homey (and it's been my signature 'design' since back in the eighties when I wore my checkered Vans).
On Wednesday, our baking day arrived and, boy, did we make it count.
Between the two of us, we made and packaged about 500 molasses sugar cookies (I thought I heard my oven sigh when we finally turned it off).
At the end of the day...
...a veritable sea of cookie packages graced the table.
And though it was nice to do the baking together, and it is so very nice to have these all ready to give, it's actually the side-note to the day together which I'll remember.
Smack in the middle of all that baking, Beeg Seester came over with her grandshoot, and Able Baker Dana and I stopped and made a batch of stuffed jalapenos.
And the three of us girls sat at the table and had jalapeno poppers for lunch.
In the middle of the day, in the middle of the week, for no special occasion.
And that little lunch together became a lovely private surprise party.
And a very special occasion after all.