Cookie Madness

Today was cookie delivery day for the most part and thinking back, the 2008 holiday season t'was truly the season to bake cookies: 100 to the senior citizens at the local church, 170 plus to Blair County Children & Youth, about 70 to take to a friend's party, 40 to the Humane Society volunteers & workers, 150 for Christmas baskets, and hundreds more for a cookie & egg nog party here at the house.

Adding that up makes about 800 decorated cookies, not including the chocolate chip cookies and Key Lime Pies. No wonder I feel like I've done nothing else during the evenings and on weekends.

The neighbor kids agreed to help me out with the extra broken and messed up cookies and they have been making out pretty well. So well that we finally had to establish a secret code to communicate: I hang a "Cookies!" sign in the dining room window to let them know when there are broken cookies and they stop by on weekends and after school to collect their paper lunch bags of goodies.

I'm gonna settle in for a loooong winter's nap.

Christmas Light Cookie Ingredients

We have had requests for the ingredient list for the Christmas Light Cookies.

While the exact recipe is Top Secret, I can tell what is NOT in them: additives, fillers and preservatives.

All of our cookies are lovingly made fresh from scratch with the purest ingredients right here in Blair County--just for you.

For example, we use real butter, not margarine, imitation butter, I Can't Believe this Crap's Not Butter or butter-flavored grease in a can. We also use real eggs, not imitation low cholesterol eggs. If your cholesterol is high, you shouldn't even be looking at cookies, let alone reading a blog about baking. Your cholesterol probably just rose 10 points the past 5 seconds.

Anyway, we believe that good old-fashioned ingredients not only taste better, but are healthier than all the imitation stuff on the shelves, which is why we stick to the basics: eggs, butter, flour and sugar--and this is why our cookies are as good as what Grandma used to make.

Sugar Cookie & Icing Ingredients

Sugar: regular and confectioner's

Flour

Butter

Eggs

Baking Powder

Vanilla

Lemon Juice

Food Coloring

The Cookies are accented with purchased decorations such as non-pariels, Sparkling Sugar, jimmies and dragees.

Buy A Cookie, Be A Light

When a foster child is initially taken from their home, they often leave with nothing. This season, the Sugar Buzz Factory is helping Blair County Children & Youth raise money for their Special Fund which supplies these children who are spending the holidays away from their family with the extras in life, such as Christmas presents and warm winter coats.

As of today, all of our Christmas Light Cookies are being sold as a fundraiser. If you would like to purchase these cookies (pictured in the post below) all of the profit will go to the Blair County Children & Youth Special Fund, and your checks should be made out to them as well.

Individually wrapped cookie: $2.00

6 cookies in a gift box: $11.00

12 cookies in a gift box: $20.00

And yes, we know that's expensive, but it's for the kids.

Thank you in advance to all of the folks who are making this possible by volunteering their time, talents and commercial kitchens: Beth & Larry, David, Tessa, Nancy, my mother and anyone else I can talk into icing, wrapping, packing, selling and delivering cookies for this drive.

By baking zillions of cookies in the next couple of weeks (in our spare time) we hope to be able to make every Blair County child's Christmas merry & bright.

T'was The Month Before Christmas

Three tiered cake covered in moss green fondant.

Covered in lights and poinsettas & ornaments & ribbon.

T'was the month before Christmas

And all through Blair County

People flocked to Peterman's

To see what's gonna matter

Christmas Light Cookies, Extra Cake & Cake Pops in the background.

The Christmas Light Cookies

Were strung up with care

On licorice wire
Eat some, if you dare.

Sugar Buzz Bites & Cookies, yum!

The Cake Bites were dipped

And displayed with aplomb

In hopes that Saint Nick

Would soon be along

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work

And filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk.

And laying his finger aside of his nose,

And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose!

But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,

"Merry Christmas, Blair County!

And to all a good-night!"