Bake away...

 Not sure why people bake more during the holidays. Don't care! People are baking, and that's excellent. Tins packed brimming, shoe boxes lined in wax paper, heaping plates and dishes, or just good old tin foil... All have been answering that mid-afternoon-with-coffee craving, or the late night call when Christmas movies have been running to bleary eyed extreme. Who am I kiddin', I'm a sugar junkie. But, that does not come without standards, my way of saying I at least eye-ball what ever is heading for the bouche. Slows me down just a beat from a continual flow from hand to mouth. A small concession, so be it.

 Whether iced or glazed, topped in nuts or candied bits, powdered or simply left to their own merits, this got me thinking of the habit, no the ritual, of baking at this time of year. Pies at Thanksgiving come close, a measured and reverent process. Yet all the prep and effort are focused on one day, where as the December baking animal has nearly the whole month to play. There's also the added element of the result of so much sugar, butter, and eggs as "gift", far superior to the sweater, perfume, or "gift card" angle. Yeah, just one guy's opinion. Still, take a second before tossing back that chunk of chocolate bark, chewey ginger cookie, or bourbon laced shortbread, and think of the one who made what fills your paw. In a warm kitchen, butter hanging thick in the air, she or he have spent long hours mixing and rolling, promptly rotating sheet trays in and out of ovens, allowing for just the right amount of cooling, product stacking up here, there, and everywhere, all the while flour coats counters, floors, and probably a good amount of the bakers themselves.

 When eventually packed for giving, a list of names checked off, a well earned glass poured... Ah, that's got to feel good. No mall rush, parking place frenzy, sale isle wrestling, shopping cart crashin'... Nah, just people making stuff for people they dig. I'm good with that. Happy holiday cookies to you.

Chez Gautier Cooking School: http://www.chez-gautier.com