Early this morning, the stage was set…
The supplies were ready…
The oven was fired up…and we were ready to hit the ground runnin’!
My mom had even set up my own little station for me by the time I got there.
So things started off with a bit of a struggle…
My first batch of cookies, which I was beyond excited about, ended up being a bit…errr, messy.
It took me about a gazillion hours, but I finally got them all rolled into balls.
Unfortunately, I didn’t realize until AFTER they were done cooking that I had forgotten a very critical ingredient…the eggs.
Really Courtney? REALLY?!? Oy vey.
While the batch definitely isn’t one that I’ll be giving away (the texture is quite crumbly), I am absolutely planning on giving the recipe another go because the flavor of them is just incredible.
So much so that I found myself picking crumbs off of them throughout the day. 
My next batch of cookies decided to do a little exploding act.
How nice of them, right?
Then, as if that wasn’t frustrating enough, it took me three attempts to melt the white chocolate topping for them without burning it.
Luckily, I was able to salvage all but two of the cookies and still had enough white chocolate left for the final product.
I’d say they turned out pretty good. And in case you’re interested in trying them out yourself, I found the recipe in the latest issue of Rachel Ray. You can see the recipe here.
After those couple of road bumps, the rest of the day was pretty smooth sailin’ from there!
There were Peanut Butter Balls…
Chocolate Gooey Butter Cookies
Raspberry Almond Gems, which I will be sharing with you all ASAP because they are just too amazing to keep a secret.
See, I told ya. 
Christmas Cakes…
Lots of leftover chocolate to nibble at…
Lots of dishes to be washed…
And even a little singing to some Christmas music with my microphone spatula…
After seven long, hard hours, we had 20 mini cakes and 7 batches of cookies, totaling approximately 21 dozen cookies.
Just in case math isn’t your forte, that’s about 250 cookies.
We still actually have about 6 more batches that we want to get done, so we’re going to give it another go this weekend while we cook up another batch of homemade sauce.
Good lord do I get excited about baking Christmas cookies. But honestly, any excuse to bake with my mom is always a good enough one for me.
Now, my feet hurt, my neck hurts, and I am in need of my couch in a bad way. I’ll catch ya’ll later, gators!
250 cookies?!? More power to you!! I burn out in the kitchen after two batches of cookies… I just can’t keep up with the dishes. Peanut butter balls hold a special place in my heart, but all of your cookies look like they came out wonderful!
Wow! Can I have some of those cookies?! ;) That is really awesome! They all look yummy! I cannot wait to bake cookies this weekend with my sister.
This is amazing– my mouth is watering. What a great way to start your week!
This looks like so much fun! I may have to try my very own marathon cookie baking session at some point. I’m impressed by your output! :)
What a cookie production, looks well worth the effort :-)
That is too funny — I did the SAME EXACT THING the other day while making chocolate chip cookies! I couldn’t understand why the chocolate chips weren’t sticking, because the dough tasted perfectly fine! Mine were delicious but crumbly too!
What a fun day!
So. Many. Cookies!!! That is awesome though. I would have probably been dead after all that. Looks like so much fun though!
wow, what a productive baking day! i love the looks of the peanut butter balls and those white chocolate peppermint ones. yummm!
Ugh that is the worst when you realize that you’ve forgetten a key ingredient! I do it all the time…at least you get some extras to nibble on! Also, looking at your photos, I’ve realized the one kitchen contraption I need to purchase – a double broiler. Congrats on baking a gazillion gorgeous cookies!!
Not only do the cookies look amazing, but the quality time you got to spend with your Mom was probably the biggest gift of the cookie-baking session!
Wish I could try them! :-)
Baking is hard work! I do a batch of cookies for all the relatives before Christmas–it’s my personal little gift to all of them. And I am always surprised by how tired I get at the end of it. Back aching. Feet aching. I feel like I’m eighty. lol
Oh yummmmers!! Those all look fantastic. So I am new to your blog and maybe you mentioned it, but what are y’all going to do with all these cookies?!?!?
I give some as gifts and I also end up making a few different assorted trays to bring places (Jay’s work, my job, etc.)
Talk about a cookie marathon! You guys did some serious work! :)
Awww, I love mother-daughter bonding time!!!! My mom’s thing isn’t really baking cookies, but her mom and her used to have days just like you and your mom have where they would bake dozens and dozens of cookies. :)
Whoa! That is a lot of cookies…yum!! Baking truly is exhausting! It never fails to tire me out!
Ohmygosh! Sooo many cookies. I bet you ate a bunch of cookie dough (;
all of the cookies look delicious (even the blunders…)!
tomorrow is my cookie baking day & i can’t wait!
Peanut butter balls recipe? They look amazing :)
And some of those are coming my way…right??? hehehe
I guess I know at the very least you thought of me when putting on your apron. ;)
Oh you know it! My mom actually commented on it, saying how cute she thought it was. ;)
WOW, they look great!! one question. do you give them away as christmas gifts or do you bring them to a party?
Both! :)
Seriously impressed and humbled. If it were me trying to do all that I would have inevitably forgotten various ingredients, which we would have discovered in the middle of the recipe.
Do you give these away or do you keep them or what?
Seriously impressed and humbled. If it were me trying to do all that I would have inevitably forgotten various ingredients, which we would have discovered in the middle of the recipe.
So jealous of all the people that will receive them :)
Wow they all look so yummy! I especially like the exploding cookies! Did you make all these cookies for fun, or are you going somewhere? Just curious :)
I love the picture of you with you spatula mic lol! I wish I enjoyed baking as much as you do; it kind of stresses me out :P
Impressive! I think I did 6 types of cookies so about 140-150 total and wanted to do a few more but think I am done. I made some chocolates and truffles too, og and we cannot forget the peppermint bark :)
This is like my dream day.
Wow, you guys are rockstars! This pretty much sounds like the best day ever.
Holy delicious..wow! I bet you were craving a bucketload of salt afterwards though! I’m in awe!
Oh my goodness, I’m exhausted just looking at it all! Looks fun though, and delicious ;)
i had MAJOR kitchen failure last night. TWO ruined batches of cookies. I called myself defeated and snuck into bed with my computer to play an mindless game before slumber. Ready to start again today!
Oh no! I’m sure today will be better. :)
Good luck and have fun!!
I seem to be always finding myself saying I wish we lived closer Courtney!! I went to my first cookie exchange last night and I feel sick to my stomach this morning with all the sweets I ate last nigght!
I cannot even tell you how many times I have forgotten the eggs. Always eggs. I have no idea why haha. Your cookies all look fantastic!
Me and my mom are doing this on Sunday! I can’t wait!