Baking Day - the itinerary

I'm making this a separate post so that all of you afflicted with Holiday Stress Disorder like myself can skip my stressful musings and get straight to the chocolate and "holiday cheer".

Baking Day 2006

This Saturday is Baking Day. It's the Christmas version of Pie Night. Pie Night takes place the day before Thanksgiving, when all my brothers and their families come to my parents house for a pie feast. Every gets their own pie. A whole one. All to themselves. Flavor of their choice. So we have a soup dinner and pies galore. It's fabulous fun, even if it does require baking 17 or more pies in a single day. So imagine that only Christmas. Oh, and different family members.

Baking Day, in the grand tradition, involves any female family members that we can think of, bringing the stuff for three or four different Christmas goody recipes of their choice, baking them for 5 or 6 hours and then piling every available flat surface in my parent's house full of the goodies for diving and packaging. Oh, yes. It's really that grand. Several aunts, cousins, sisters in laws, etc. are there. Usually there's enough chocolate to feed an army for a Russian winter, not counting the other cookies, candies, treats and cakes. It's dessert heaven and so much fun. Last year, I just stopped packing buckets of treats into my car when I hit 8. Really, I wouldn't want to be excessive, now.

This year's menu for me includes: Peppermint Chocolate Cupcakes, Katie's World Famous Booze Balls (They used to just be rum truffles, but have now expanded into rum, coconut rum, amaretto, Irish Cream, Kahlua and any other liquor that I might take a fancy to that year. The flavors vary according to available booze, prep time and my taste at the moment.), Mr. N's Favorite Snickerdoodle Cookies, and if time allows Orange Cranberry Scones.

Other items of interest from family members:
* Sarah's Baclava
* Chocolate Dipped Pretzel Rods
* Haystacks (chocolate dipped low mein noodles)
* Big Round Sugar Cookies
* Scotcheroos
* Spritz cookies

Now if you are counting, that's at minimum 9 full batches of goodies, plus scones if I get there. And those are only the ones that people listed on the Evite invitation. I know for a fact that all the women genetically linked to me will add at least 1 more recipe to their line up when they go to make out their grocery list. They'll hear that overpowering voice warning them that someone might not be able to come and then we'll be short and wouldn't one more thing help alleviate that situation? Plus, if they are able to come one more thing won't be overwhelming.

Oh, yes. I know this well. So who's going to send me their address so I can spread some Christmas Baking Cheer their way?

Oh, and I nearly forgot that I also have a Christmas Party the evening of baking day. We're going because it involves nice wine, hors d'ourves and no children. That's a rarity around here. Adult conversation...imagine! For that we're taking champagne and a homemade, decedent, chocolate smothered Kahlua laced cheesecake with shortbread crust. mmm.........