The holiday baking has begun!

I am truly not much of a baker. I don't normally make cookies for my family because I find the constant need for attention that a cookie requires quite tiresome. I have children that constantly need attention and adding cookies to that list just doesn't thrill me. But the holidays are a different story. I want my kids to grow up with wonderful memories of their mom baking holiday cookies in the kitchen. I want those familiar smells to be in their memories forever. I love thinking back to the days as a kid when we sat down with the colored icing and iced cookies and ate icing until we were sick!

So, this weekend started the first of my Christmas cookie baking. I decided to try a new recipe that sounded fabulous that I found on this blog. I am so glad that I did! These cookies are like tiny pieces of pumpkin pie with an amazing icing on top! I got the recipe and the method for royal icing from the same website.

This is my first time using royal icing, so my piping skills are a little shaky, but I must admit that I gave myself a little pat on the back for a job well done after it was all over and I could admire all of my hard work!

My favorite place to shop for all of my baking needs is Mott's Greenhouse and Old Mill Bulk Foods here in my little corner of Ohio. I love the prices and the availability!

When I first started mixing up my dough, I didn't think it was going to cream together well since my butter wasn't super soft when I started, but after a few minutes in the mixer, it came together nicely and I was ready to add the dry ingredients.

After mixing it all together, I rolled the dough up in saran wrap and chilled it for an hour and it ended up being the perfect consistency for rolling and cutting.

I floured my board and my rolling pin well so that none of the dough stuck.

Cutting and baking both went extremely well and the cookies came out nice and brown on the outside while still being somewhat chewy in the center.

After the cookies completely cooled, I was able to use my new icing method and pipe around the edges of the cookies and then flood the centers without a problem. It went fairly quickly after I got the hang of it!

I let the cookies sit to dry overnight and then the next day I decorated them.

I had so much fun! I already have two more balls of dough chilling in the fridge to make some more! Next time, I think I will invest in some extra decorating tips, though, so I am not constantly cleaning out bags and putting new icing colors in!