Dana Burland

Here to repot back on a theory proved successful on Christmas morning: bows on gifts. This was the first year I wrapped presents, then tied stain bows around them. Man, they looked SO beautiful! This wasn't for looks though, it was for science. I was testing a hypothesis: might $4 spent on ribbon extend the present opening frenzy of two fast and furious kids by a few minutes? Yes, yes it did. Now... I had to double knot the bows to keep them securely on the boxes, which put a needs-adult-help hurdle in the boys' unboxing. Not awful, and they weren't too bothered by it.  I also wrapped some gifts in nice thick wrapping paper, which I found took more effort and time to unwrap vs the almost tissue paper wrapping paper which already shreds itself while I was wrapping with it. Then there was the BIG gamble: a Russian nesting doll-esque wrapped box in a wrapped box in a wrapped box. A big, 2ft square box ultimately leading to a deck of personalized cards.  With an 8 and 6 year ol...

Ok, I have to tell you about the checkerboard cookie fiasco. I referenced it briefly here , but checkerboard cookies were on our list of Christmas cookies to bake for the assorted treat plates my mom, brother and I gift neighbors and friends. I've made these before. They're exactly what they sound like: sugar cookie dough and chocolate cookie dough, checker boarded into one cookie. They should look like this:  Of course, I was rushing, when it came time to prep for the cookie baking party. I couldn't find the exact recipe I had made before, so I Googled for a new one and went with that. Wrong choice. Very bad choice.  The dough was so sticky. So hard to work with. It was really frustrating. The cookies SHOULD be at least 3x3 like the photo above. I could only manage 2x2 as I was assembling the dough. They were SO wonky. Then they went in the oven... and expanded beyond belief turning from 12 cookies on a sheet pan to one mega cookie. There is no photo evidence of this horri...

Year 2  of our family holiday cookie baking bonanza is in the books. And wow, if I thought we went through a lot of butter last year... This year's shopping totals: 17 sticks of butter 6.5 cups of sugar 19 cups of flour 8 eggs 4.5 cups powdered sugar ...and less insane quantities of many other ingredients. We baked 6, instead of last year's 7, items this go round: Linzer cookies made 'em a little smaller this year, in the shapes of stars. :) Millionaire's Shortbread Bars  but good lord, why is the caramel layer SO challenging??!! Snowballs  a nostalgic classic my family just can't not have Orange Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies these are something special Soft Gingerbread Cookies with Maple Glaze   wowwww you should have seen what a disaster I was trying to sub out the maple glaze for a white chocolate ganache. I mean, the maple glaze from the recipe is good--it just doesn't set very well. I shouldn't have tried to stray, I ended up back at the origin...