Gingerbread

Phew! I had a full day of last-minute shopping followed by baking. The gingerbread dough is rolled and chilling in the fridge. My idea was to have Ladybug help with mixing ingredients ("Would really like to dumpit!") like we did with a pumpkin bread a couple weeks ago. But cookie making has the potential to be whole intricate, multi-day process. There's dough making, chilling, cutting, baking, cooling, decorating, drying....And I want to bring the completed cookies to church on Christmas Eve without a last minute crunch. So I wound up making and rolling the dough tonight after Bug had gone to bed. I really enjoy baking, so it was a little treat to work calmly and without interruption.

I used this recipe, because I love soft cookies: Thick and Chewy Gingerbread Cookies

One of my birthday presents to myself was a copy of Cookie Craft, which is all about decorating rolled cookies. I tried tonight to use what I've learned, and I'm already loving rolling the cookies between sheets of parchment paper. Makes me wonder why I ever floured a counter top or rolling pin! Never again.

So my modified "gingerbread cookies with toddler" plan goes like this. I'll cut and bake most of the cookies tomorrow while she is napping*, leaving about one batch of dough raw. I'll also prep royal icing (which I've never done before) during naptime. Then when she wakes we can roll and cut the last bit of dough together and then begin decorating the already baked cookies. It will be like "the magic of TV" where the already cooked food is ready and waiting, ha ha.

All the library books I wanted for the holidays did arrive earlier this week. I am really pleased with Gingerbread Baby. It's energetic, full of animals, and has a really cute ending. You might even call it sweet. And of course, it's well illustrated. Our winter reading this year is so full of Jan Brett it's ridiculous.

Anyhow, Ladybug is all about making connections these days. She starts at least half of her sentences with the phrase "just like." After any loud noise, or even when she puts on her shirt and her head pops through, she says, "Just like Corduroy and the button goes POP!"  So I am certain she will connect her book and her cookie decorating. I will try to remember to take pictures.

*When I say napping I mean that I will be praying she naps while she plays in her room, wide awake. At two, Miss Bug has already given up her nap and moved on to quiet time. Mom is still in denial on the subject.