Time for Some Christmas Baking

Christmas has now come and gone, and while the days leading up to Christmas were busy, the past few days have been wonderfully relaxing. Our Christmas celebrations began on Friday night when we, along with some friends, were treated to a wonderful dinner at our favourite neighbourhood pub. It was a great way to get in the festive mood. On Saturday we finished up our Christmas shopping, stocked the fridge and then settled in at home, hosting some family and friends. We wound down Christmas Eve by watching one of my favourite movies – Christmas Vacation. On Christmas day we had a relaxing morning (although I was amazed that the teenager was able to get up as early as he did), followed by a yummy turkey dinner and a trip to the movies. We saw The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. While very intense in places, it was a very good movie.

In honour of Boxing Day we had lunch at our favourite neighbourhood pub (the Rose and Crown, for those who are wondering) and then it was time to shop. The boys returned home to do their shopping online and I wandered the streets to see what stores would capture my interest. I stocked up on wrapping paper for next year, bought some dog treats and a new bath mat. While none of my purchases were very exciting I was pleased with the bargains I hunted. And then… I made one last stop into The Body Shop, where all my will power went out the window and I bought enough bath oil, body scrub and lotion to keep me smelling good for all of 2012.

Finally, at 8 pm on Boxing Day, I found time to do some Christmas baking. You may recall back on October 14 I mentioned that at the beginning of 2011 I told myself that I wouldn’t make Christmas gifts this year, in an attempt to avoid the usual pre-Christmas crafting frenzy. As you know, I didn’t live up to that plan. The secret sewing project (which I will blog about on another day) was a big pile of pressure, the secret knitting project (socks for a friend) didn’t quite get finished, and the wreath making became all-consuming of my spare time (and blog posts). So the days leading up to Christmas were filled with too much to do, and Christmas baking didn’t make it anywhere near the top of the list.

Since I love Christmas baking, I don’t care that Christmas is past (and all my decorations have come down); I’m going to get on with my Christmas baking anyway. I just made these…

They are Black Bottom Cheesecakes. I found the recipe on one of my favourite blog sites – Mennonite Girls Can Cook. As a girl who was raised Mennonite, I feel I live up to the blog title and I can cook (I don’t always want to, but I can!). While Mennonites may be capable of cooking, most absolutely excel at baking. I check this blog site regularly and am always captivated by the cookies, cakes and other desserts.

In other news, Cici did very well this Christmas and has many new toys to play with and sleep with.