I have had a most lovely Christmas weekend. And during that lovely weekend, I thought alot about Not Exactly Bento, the New Year, and getting back to my cooking/blogging/photographing/eating routine. There are a few really good advantages to working for a government agency, one of which is holiday time. My particular workplace gives December 24, 25, and 26 as holidays each year, meaning that I had Thursday through Sunday off from work. Four days to ignore deadlines, obligations, and the like, enjoy myself, my dogs, and my family…and do a wee bit of baking while I was at it.

I was asked by my mother and a cousin to bring cookies for the various family Christmas shindigs. Of course, I said yes. And not just due to the huge sweet tooth I have, which has presented itself more than once on this blog. No, my excitement at holiday baking, and in particular baking cookies, had to do with my Kitchen Aid stand mixer. If you remember, one of the last bento box giveaways centered around what should be the first recipe I tried out with the stand mixer. I have a huge amount of really tasty and great sounding suggestions. However, fate tends to like to have its own way, and the first use of the stand mixer was to make batches of cookie dough for various Christmas dinners.

I mixed up two types of cookie dough. The first was my 2nd attempt at sand tarts. I made sand tarts last year as well. These were tasty and such, but NOT what I was hoping they would be. Why is that you ask? It all has to do with a local bakery named Cake Palace.

Cake Palace has a cookie I want to replicate so badly I can nearly taste it (pun intended). They call the cookie I am stalking a sand tart; however, it is unlike any of the sand tart recipes I have read or tried to date. Most of the recipes I’ve come across all resemble a shortbread cookie in a way. Not overly sweet but delicious.

However, Cake Palace’s sand tart has a distinct difference. It is a melt-in-your-mouth goodness. The cookie is nearly all white, making me think there is a fair amount of powdered sugar in the batter. As well, it has a pronounced buttery flavor, which I think lends to the melt-in-your-mouth sensation. I have yet to find a recipe that seems like it will work.

These sand tarts didn’t turn out too badly. My mother loved them, and so did most of my family. My father stated he could sit down and easily eat a dozen with a cup of coffee and his big screen TV. To me, they were only alright. Their wonderfulness was spoiled to me since (1) I didn’t care for the chocolate I used and (2) they weren’t quite what I was shooting for by way of a sand tart. I will admit they were a most excellent cookie otherwise and plan to remake them minus the chocolate.

The cookies that stole the show were these Old-Fashioned Sugar Cookies. Aren’t they gorgeous? They are every bit as good as they look. And came from the most unsuspecting place.

I’m a reader, and it’s not because I work in a library. I’ve always loved to read and mysteries are some of my favorites, both the scary and the sweet (so to speak). There is a type of mystery story called “cozy mysteries.” Do you know what I’m talking about? It’s that series of mystery books with the contemporary cover and the main character is an amateur sleuth with a hobby/business/interest that is the main focus of their life: quilting, knitting, wine, cooking, baking, etc. I’ve recently started reading a series featuring a character named Hannah Swensen, a cookie shop owner who happens to solve murders in her spare time.

Every few chapters, there are recipes for cookies that are mentioned in the course of the storyline. The first book in the series is the first one I happened to read: The Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder. Hannah’s Old Fashioned Sugar Cookie recipe was given. It seemed simple and tasty.

I decided sugar cookies were a great idea for family Christmas get togethers, so I made a batch of the dough. Well, more like the batter. I was worried at first there wasn’t enough flour in the mixture. This looked more like cake batter than cookie dough. I wasn’t too sure that chilling the mixture overnight was going to do me any good. Mixing up the dough on Dec. 23 with plans to bake the next day was starting to look like a bad idea. The timeline did not leave me any leeway in the event these cookies didn’t turn out well. I was going to be in big trouble if this didn’t work out. Choosing to use a recipe from a mystery novel was starting to seem like an extremely bad idea.

However, chilling overnight gave the batter a dough-like consistency, much more so that I expected. And I then understood why the directions said to put the dough back in the fridge for a little while in the event it became too warm while scooping to cookie pans. The result…phenomenal. Some were baked plain and some, with sugar star sprinkles (not shown).  Some were drizzled with chocolate after baking and coolong.

Oh, and did I mention I went all out for these cookies and made my own butter for them? A carton of heavy whipping cream, a food processor, and some patience was all that was needed. It tasted amazing, and made the cookie edges crisp to crumbling. Oh, I miss these cookies already.

Christmas dinner was just wonderful. And one of my favorite, and unexpected, presents came from my brother. Every few years, he cooks something for my freezer as part of my present. This year was a cooking year. The dish? Crabmeat au gratin.

Now if my brother or his girlfriend float by here (which they seldom do) this is going to come as a shock to them. In all honesty, I’m not much on seafood au gratin. I don’t find that mixing seafood and cheese is such a great idea.

Knowing this, why would he make me that dish? Well, it all stems back to a dinner I had with my mother and father many moons ago at a fancy restaurant in Biloxi, Missippi: Mary Mahoney’s. On the menu was a crabmeat au gratin appetizer. My parents ordered it and insisted I try some. I think they were suprised I had refused since anything crab I love. However, the thought of crab and cheese together…well, it just wasn’t something I thought I’d like. My parents insisted I give it a try, and I ended up eating nearly the whole appetizer by myself.  It was that good!  I’ve never found another seafood au gratin that I liked.

When my brother talked to my mom about wanting to make me a dish for Christmas featuring crab, she suggested an au gratin.  Christmas Eve, I was presented the gift. It looked good. It smelled good. But that old latent “it’s different so therefore I won’t like it” feeling surfaced. I brought it home and told myself to get over myself. It’s odd how old tendencies crop up still.

Verdict? Along with Mary Mahoney’s, I will say that the only other seafood au gratin I like is my brother’s crabmeat au gratin. EESH! That boy can cook. He got the cooking gene. You know, that natural cooking gene. The one where he needs no cookbook and just seems to know what goes together. For our family shindig (mom, dad, Jason, Cree, and I), he made the seafood gumbo for that night: crabmeat and shrimp. I don’t even want to think about how much they spent on crabmeat to make the dish. There was SO MUCH in there. Anyhow, his gumbo is hands down the best I’ve ever had, including my mom’s. Which is her opinion too. And I’m not that big of a fan of gumbo. But the next time I hear he’s making one, I’m calling his house for reservations. The dude can cook, and cook well.

If you’re wondering how the dogs did this Christmas, I’ll say, “Very well.” They were given probably too many doggie treats, lots of hugs, and new items for their household. Of note were the blankets my mother gave them for Christmas. Each year, she always gives them a present; this year was a nice fleece blanket for each dog.

Toby thought the blanket was wonderful. He immediately began to sniff his, burrow under it, scratch at it, and play hide-and-seek as he likes to do.

Gabby loved hers too. Her tail was wagging under the cover and she was grinning…until I took out the camera. Then, she did the whole misunderstood soul face as I tried to snap a picture. Foiled again!

Happy Holidays everyone! I hope each of you had a lovely holiday and are looking forward to the new year!