Christmas Baking

 Our annual day of baking went very well! I decided to go to the effort of making both caramels and marshmallows (Audra helped with the marshmallows!) and the girls helped with Rick Krispy treats (I looked on line for tips on how to make them softer. Turns how I have been making them horribly wrong for years, but I used the tips on line and they turned out perfect), fudge (two kinds- one with nuts, one without), Magic Cookie Bars, chocolate covered pretzels, Christmas Crack, Peppermint Chex, Monster Cookies, sugar cookies, peanut butter balls, peppermints patties, peppermint bark, and likely more. It was a lot. 

Then we delivered about 40 plates to friends and the kids' church leaders. I felt like a Christmas Elf! It was a lot of fun. Well, the girls might not admit that, but it was nice.

I bought a cookie stamp that says, "We wish you a Merry Christmas. The Marriotts" but it didn't work very well. Of 50 attempts, only about a dozen were legible. The rest we covered with frosting. But, it was super cute for the ones it worked for.

Oh, the dishes....SO. MANY. DISHES. I think we used every dish in the kitchen. But it was worth it!

It was fitting that on the VERY LAST recipe that I needed the mixer, it died. It had been struggling for awhile, so I had a replacement KitchenAid in the basement (I can't live without a KitchenAid. I use it almost everyday, sometimes- like today- multiple times a day). It was on sale at Costco, so I decided to go ahead and buy a replacement for when it broke. And, while making frosting for the sugar cookies, it died and we busted the new one out.