Christmas cookies

It isn't often that I bake. When I do bake, it's something like apple dumplings or monkey bread or corn muffins. It isn't ever cookies. I don't remember the last time I made cookies. In fact, have I ever made cookies? I don't know.

But it's Christmas right? And at christmas, one must make cookies. So, on Christmas Eve, while the hubby was away at work, I decided to do the whole cookie thing. Specifically, monster cookies and sugar cookies.

Also, I decided to document this experience. Warning, it gets flashier and flashier as it gets later in the day. ;)

Oats, eggs, chocolate chip cookie mix, peanut butter cookie mix and M&Ms for the monster cookies. Sugar cookies mix, eggs, butter, and icing for the sugar cookies.

This is kind of irrelevant, but I really thought that these little half-sticks were super cute.

Mix everything together except for the M&Ms.

Then mix in the M&Ms.

And if you have an evil oven like we do...read "bake" as "burn." So, I adjust to suit my evil oven and do a second batch.

Not burnt! Yay :) I know have a huge plate piled high with a mass of monster cookies.

So, I got this Norpro cookie pan ages ago. It's got farm animals and barns and such and I've never used it. I made a few animals in it today, but only a few in case they didn't turn out well. Also, I don't have any pictures of the making of the sugar cookies. But that's okay, because it was uneventful. More documentable was the icing of said cookies.

I did a bit of frosting and then we left to see the kiddos for Christmas Eve. Frosting cookies, by the way, is not easy for me!

After the 1st layer of frosting set, I decorated some more. I'm not entirely finished. I'm just not sure what to do with all these cookies. Also, I've never decorated cookies before, that I can recall, and I'm not that great. But here are a few....

The farm animals turned out okay! I've only frosted the sheep and the barn because I don't know what to do with the rest...

This is what my cookies will be placed on. Isn't it the cutest? This is my 1st ever christmas plate from the kiddos. The 2006 plate is peeking into the edge of the picture and the 2007 plate is what the monster cookies are on.

Any cookie tips from you bakers out there? I had fun. I love to eat cookies, so I may do the cookie thing more. :)

UPDATE: The results are in and I guess I can make tasty cookies because people ate them. My hubby loved the monster cookies But, maybe, next time I should not make so much. Or, if I do, I should mail them to Mepkin Abbey.