Yum & Yuck

Christmas baking has been in full swing in the Mastin kitchen!  Ever since I saw Darby's homemade marshmallows last year I've been dying to make them.   Seriously, every time I saw a package of marshmallows or had a cup of hot cocoa I literally coldn't stop thinking about them.  So, I decided what better time than Christmas!

They are truly worth every minute of every step {including clean up}.  The hardest part was letting them set overnight.
 
You better believe I was up and at 'em the next morning with my pizza cutter in hand.

 

One word: yum.  And don't they make adorable gifts.  I need to keep this on file for next year and perhaps make more...

Here is the yummy recipe if you want to try them too.

On the opposite spectrum, I made a snack that can only be described with one word: yuck.  I was so excited when I was assigned cookies for Miller's MDO Christmas party {I know, I'm such a "mom"} and I knew right away what I wanted to make.  A few years back I had seen the most adorable reindeer gingerbread cookies in Southern Living and, as is often the case, filed it away never to be used.  So I anxiously whipped that baby out certain that my culinary masterpiece would be "oohed and ahhed" over by everyone at the preschool.  I haven't been let down by a Southern Living recipe yet; that is until now.  Boo.  They turned out absolutely adorable, but are much darker than I expected and not nearly as good as I'd hoped.  Perhaps I'm comparing myself too much to Savage's delicious gingerbread men, but they really aren't very good.  Thankfully, my food critics are one year olds and I really don't think they'll notice that they aren't winning any awards. 

My sous-chef was close by playing with his favorite toy in his favorite spot.   Pottery barn coasters in a corner in our kitchen.  Odd I know, but we go with what works around here.

At least they turned out cute.  Normally, I would have done a piece of candy for the nose, but I decided that might be a bit of a choking hazard for one year olds.

I will definitely go with this idea again, but with a different cookie recipe.

Now, if I could only get myself to the gym to work off all of these goodies I've been eating!