Well… I’ve gotten about six different doughs in the fridge right now… I started off with a Hazelnut Thumbprint yesterday. It was a bit of an experiment… I used the Walnut Butter Cookie Recipe, but changed the nut to hazelnut and used a Madeira Creme flavoring I bought at Fante’s in South Philly a while back. If you’ve never been to Fante’s, think FUN kitchen store with everything you’ve ever wanted in your life – at affordable prices! It’s a South Philly institution and we head down there whenever we can. I love it!

So… back to cookies… I filled them with raspberry jam… YUMMERS!! The great thing about all of our nut-and-butter cookies is that they’ll work with any nuts, any flavorings… There’s really just two basic recipes, but we can make a dozen different cookies with them!

THEN… because I had made a Cream of Broccoli Soup for dinner, but hadn’t made dessert (man does not live by dinner alone – dessert is a MUST!!) I made a batch of the Lemon Coconut Cookies… These I did a bit different, too… (The early cookies are always about experimentation, to see if it’s even possible to improve on perfection…) Tee-hee. I made them as thumbprints and filled them with Lemon Curd and then a few ribbons of toasted coconut. Way good!! We’ll make them both ways this year! (I seem to be on a thumbprint kick this year…..)

I also made the Rolled Cut-Out Cookies, but made them as Chocolate Peppermint. Not sure how I’ll finish these off. Maybe make a Chocolate Creme filling and sandwich them, or just do a chocolate dip… Hmm… maybe both!! And the Pecan Balls… and the Vanilla Almond, and my Mom’s Christmas Spice Cookies…

Victor has the apricots soaking in apricot brandy for Aunt Emma’s Apricot Cookies… I’m bummed, because out local grocery no longer carries lard. Damn!!! It’s healthier than Crisco, fercrissakes!

It’s a bit after 8pm, we’re waiting to see if the storm of the century actually arrives at midnight as forecasted, and if it does, whether I make it to work tomorrow. If I do, then we have cookies to bake on Saturday – along with a few dozen more batches of dough. If I get to stay home, we’ll bake tomorrow!

In any event, we have plenty to eat in the house, and the oil man filled up the tank today. We’re set.