Gingerbread time and fudge

My favorite cookie of all is the gingerbread man. This time of year we make our traditional gingerbread families to take to our family and friends. Here is a sampling of the fun work we got to do. I actually did baking and icing in one day instead of 2 this year...I was tired by the end of the day, but happy. I really do enjoy making them. I have started making more little ones to reach a few more people. We plate up the little ones with some other sweets like fudge or peanut butter cookies this year. I actually tried making some toffee as well, tasted good but it had the wrong texture....it crystalized. It was my first time.


A little camera man enjoyed snapping pictures while I worked, here is one of me....with my head cut off.

I was very impressed that R tried to copy my work. If I did a face so did he, or if I did the skirt so did he. Very cute. Each year the kids get better and better at it. C's are sometimes more impressive than mine. She is so artsy and I am not. I tend to fall back on the traditional designs that my Mom taught me doing this with her when I was a child.

Toby did not make many cookies this year. While we decorated he made homemade fudge, his grandpa's recipe. I made some fudge the first year we were married and he told me it was not good enough. He has made it ever since. His first batch this year actually was not up to his standards...a little overcooked or too hard for him. (Found out later the candy thermometer was broken) It tasted OK, and we ate some but 2 days later he made a new creamy, perfect batch. I refused to throw away the first batch of good fudge so I froze it. So far I have chunked some up into banana bread (Yummy) and sprinkled it on waffles, and shredded some over a Better than.... dessert cake. Still have more to use.

Snow 2 years in a row

Where we live snow is not common. Every few years we get a few flakes. Now we have had snow 2 years in a row. This time is snowed off and on throughout the day and I was hoping it would still be snowing when the kids got our of school so they would get to see it and play in it. Toby had gone to the school to see C in the Geography Bee (she placed 2nd...smart girl) and he said some of the classes had been outside catching snowflakes on black paper. Glad some teachers seized the unique learning opportunity!

We were in luck and it was snowing when the kids got out of school. Stopped about 1 hour later so we had some fun in the snow.

The kids had to scrap off the entire trampolline to get enough snow for this little man. I remember that is how I had to build snowmen growing up myself.

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The shot of R was right before he threw that snowball at Daddy. He really enjoyed his one man snowball fight with daddy dodging his throws. He did land a few and would giggle and laugh and get another one ready. S had spent a good amount of time outside so he was cold when the kids finally got home and watched us from the window.