Day 6 - Rosie's Christmas Baking.

Today, Thursday, December 11, is my sixth day into baking. And shucks, I was just plain lazy today and really didn't get much done, unfortunately. I had plans, but they didn't pan out. I did finish up three items I made yesterday, so all was not lost. If you recall, I was concerned with the soupy consistency of my not-yet-to-be Rum Balls. But after letting the soup thicken up, or "set up" overnight, my fears were allayed.

The Rum Balls rolled up just fine, then I rolled them in some coconut.

Ta Daaaa ... Rum Balls.

Close up of tasty little Rum Ball. Also, yesterday, I made Chocolate Hazelnut Truffles - a hazelnut base with ganache topping. And couldn't get around to cutting it into squares until today.

And here are my rich, dense, luscious Chocolate Hazelnut Truffles.

And finally, my Butter Rum Caramels.

Isn't this little Butter Rum Caramel pretty? Believe it or not, all that cutting and slicing of yesterday's bounty took the better part of the morning. And I so wanted to get a few more cookies under my belt. When I was at Mama Hawthorne's last week, I went through some of her recipe files and brought home several index cards for cookie recipes. I just had to make something today, so I went through Mama's recipes and found one titled "Best Cookies In The World." Well, we shall see.

My mise en place: 1 cup sugar 1 cup brown sugar 2 sticks butter 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla 2 large eggs 2 cups flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking powder 2 cups rolled oats 1 6 ounce package semi sweet Tollhouse morsels 1 6 ounce package peanut butter bits 2 cups chopped pecans

I creamed the butter and added the sugar.

Then added the brown sugar.

Added in the eggs.

And the vanilla. Mix until light and fluffy.

In another bowl, I sifted the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and blended into the butter/sugar mixture.

Stir in the oats.

Add in the chocolate bits.

The peanut butter bits.

And finally the chopped nuts.

Shape into rounded teaspoon-sized balls of dough on ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Poor Dixie. She thinks those cookies are just going to automatically pop into her mouth.

Sorry, Dixie. Ain't gonna happen this time.

And here they are.

After a brief taste test, I will say these are excellent cookies. Maybe not the Best In The World, but they're close.