Christmas Cookies

"Okay, everybody! The cookies are served"!

"Oooooh! They look yummy"!

"The hot chocolate should be ready in just a minute".

"I remember making cookies and coco when I was little. One Christmas, it turned into a 'delightful' mess".

"Tell us"!

Growing up, I always aided my mom make cookies and hot chocolate, along with my Aunt Cindy and grandma. Mom was in charge of mixing and baking the cookies. Aunt Cindy was the main decorator, and Grandma would man the stove and brew a recipe passed down from generation to generation. Many of my best childhood memories were made right there in that kitchen. Dancing to Christmas songs and breathing in the aroma of chocolate and treats.

I would start off by helping Mom roll out the dough and cut out festive shapes and pop them in the oven. I even pulled the old cliche of sitting in-front it and watched the cookies slowly rise. Once they were done, I would help my aunt turn them into beautiful snowflakes, jolly Santa Clauses, marvelous Christmas trees, and dancing gingerbread men. We'd also go the extra mile and make pies, Linzer cookies, gingerbread houses, and plenty of other traditional treats to satisfy the whole family. Lastly, I would help Grandma break up a chocolate bar, pour in the milk and observe the delectable concoction bubble and broil. For a special touch, Grandma would add a tablespoon of cream and half a teaspoon of cinnamon.

When I was ten, things went awry when we began our yearly confection making. Firstly, Mom began struggling with a brand new bag of flour. She tugged and tugged, but it wouldn't tear open without a fight. She finally managed to rip it open and it sent the powdery ingredient flying through the air in a thick cloud. When it had settled, it looked as if a small snowstorm blew through the kitchen. Mom's hair, face, sweater, and even the counter-tops were covered in a generous pile of flour. Mom wasn't overly pleased about the mess, or Aunt Cindy's laughter at her expense.

After we cleaned up, cutting out the cookies and baking them became it's own debacle. Most of them fell apart before they even hit the trays and others crumbed once they came out of the oven. Resulting in some interesting looking cookies once they were decorated. Which didn't go over smoothly, either. The icing would melt, smudge, or was overly sweet. I even dropped a snowflake into the sprinkles and ended up with a flattened blue firework instead.

My poor grandmother didn't have it any better. Her job seemed rigged from the start. She, somehow, had managed to purchase a very bitter pack of chocolate bars. She might-as-well have made a big pot of black coffee. As for the creamer and cinnamon, we put in sour cream and nutmeg by accident. I have never puckered so hard from hot coco in my life!

However, despite the very unusual mishaps, we had a very enjoyable Christmas party. Our family enjoyed the deformed cookies and, of course, scrunched their faces at the hot chocolate. My uncle joked that Grandma should have left out her leftover Halloween potion ingredients. She got back at him by refilling his cup.

"Was that the only year things went wrong on you"?

"Goodness, no! Only tiny accidents, like missing ingredients and pour portion control followed after that year. Now, we've made a game out of the mistakes we make. The one with the most mistakes is the winner! However, no other future Christmases were as chaotically magical as that one. I doubt there ever will be".