~Embrace the Camera~Tis the Season...

It's been a week full of Christmas preparations. Here we are picking out our tree. There's something very nostalgic about going to a tree farm and cutting down your own tree. In my mind, I will pretend that is what happened. Instead, we drove a few miles down the road and stopped at my 2nd favorite place for produce and loaded up a tree along with some tasty tomatoes. It's okay really, because it still smells like a Christmas tree and that's what is most important. :)

Somebody to had to take a break from decorating to change her baby's dipe.

But she loved to hang the ornaments.

She thought that the shiny bulbs were the cat's meow.

Here is the finished product:

I also made my most favorite cookies for an exchange that we did earlier this week. Here is the recipe for those of you who asked:

Chewy Molasses Cookie

To preserve the appearance of the sugary tops, layer cookies between parchment or wax paper when packing them for school lunches or as gifts. Freezing the dough for twenty minutes makes it easier to work with. Cookies can be baked up to two days ahead; store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Prep: 30 minutes
Total: 50 minutes

Ingredients

Makes 12 very large cookies

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus 1/3 cup for coating
• 6 tablespoons molasses
• 1 large egg

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, allspice, and pepper.
• With an electric mixer, cream butter, brown sugar, and 1/2 cup granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in molasses and egg. With mixer on low, gradually beat in flour mixture until just combined. Flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic, and freeze for 20 minutes.
• Divide dough into twelve 2-inch balls. Place remaining 1/3 cup granulated sugar in a bowl. Roll balls in sugar to coat; place at least 4 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Flatten into 3-inch rounds. Sprinkle with sugar remaining in bowl.

Bake until brown, rotating sheets from bottom shelf to top halfway through, 12 to 14 minutes. Cool cookies on a wire rack. Yummy!

One other thing. The pepper ingredient is not a typo. However, I recommend using just a tad less than instructed. I tasted pepper in them a bit this year and didn't want to. But don't delete it. It's supposed to be a key ingredient! :)