It's December, egads! Quick, get the Christmas shopping done, write the holiday letter and get them all sent, send packages to family afar and by all means, bake the Christmas cookies!!! Are we tired yet?
It just so happens that tonight I AM baking cookies (and Christmas Crunch, another beloved holiday goodie...) and I am tired--especially since I did an awesome kick-butt Tae Bo workout this morning! Getting to the point where I could do the Tae Bo DVD/vid routines that I have in my sleep, I was more than ready to get something new. I know, I know...Tae Bo is so passe...but I admit it, I love it. My name is Susie and I love Tae Bo. It totally appeals to my love of karate, something up-beat, and that Billy Blanks is just so darn cute.
The workout I got is Tae Bo Amped. This goes beyond your basic kicking and punching as it involves this cool 'amplifier' bar that you can open into three different positions, and it packs three pounds in it. Three pounds doesn't sound like much, but when your throwing it around for 45 minutes or so, it gets kind of heavy! I am definitely feeling it now--and it's a good hurt! It's just the kick in the butt I needed to get motivated again. And a kudos to Billy (we all know he reads my blog...;-)) for having some decent music on there for a change!
So on the menu tonight--Lyndsay's Ginger Snap cookies and the aforementioned Christmas Crunch. Lindsay is a friend of Stephanie's I met, and this is her recipe. 
They are darn good, to me a much-improved version of the classic Gingerbread. Once these guys cool I'll dip them in white chocolate--yum! The Crunch is just a dastardly mix of Corn Chex, Cheerios, peanuts, pretzels and M & M's mixed with a coating of white chocolate. (white chocolate seems to be the theme tonight...!) The stuff is deadly--once you start eating, it's hard to stop. So much for the Tae Bo workout....!
How many of you love to bake Christmas cookies? I've always had a love/hate relationship with it, but it seems the older I get the more 'hate' it becomes. It's just such a chore, and of course when you make them to give out and have around you are definitely making more than one batch. I'm such a Scrooge, I haven't done the roll-out kind for years. Luckily I have a yummy Drop Sugar Cookie recipe that we can still frost and the kids can still decorate...because of course that is the big draw for them. (besides eating them!) Oh, I'll never stop making at least SOME Christmas cookies--it's a tradition and honestly I'd be really bummed without them--but I'm just going to whine about it. Hmmm, whine. Wine. That might make the tradition a bit easier to swallow...?? Or maybe a Tanqueray and Tonic? I'm sure Bing would approve....;-)
