Then I realized that I was without cookie cutters, so I decided to try freestyle cookie cutting.  I did up my family of four (cats count!) and a bunch of little holiday packages.  I did up a very nice Kermit the Frog, but, alas, one of my beloved felines licked the eyeballs off of it before it could be photographed.  The cookies were a hit, apparently even with finicky felines.  I found this recipe to both easy and forgiving.  I brought two dozen of the presents with me to work and only one remained at the end of the day.  Why is it no one will ever take the last cookie? I shall save that rumination for another day.

It may not be possible to make a bad cinnamon roll. Sweet dough, cinnamon, and a gooey glaze: what’s not to like?  I used the recipe from The Bread Baker’s Apprentice and the results were sublime, even if I only baked them because I lost a bet. This recipe calls for a bit of citrus in the dough. I used lemon zest and it gave a nice freshness that lightened the sometimes oppressive heaviness of such toothache inducing confections.

I believe the hubby was satisfied with his winnings. He certainly had no problem consuming his spoils. I confess to eating my share as well. Sweet defeat.

What I learned by this initial experiment is that you cannot bake bread if you are in a rush. It took most of the day. Of course, much of the time was waiting for it to rise or “proof” as my cookbook calls it. This allowed me plenty of time to give the house a good cleaning. I felt rather like a frontier woman, albeit a frontier women with plumbing, lots of appliances, and a terrific soundtrack to help the task along. Tomorrow, I continue my journey yeast. I lost a bet to the hubby. Since we share a bank account, waging money is an exercise in absurdity.  In our house, the stakes are much higher than mere dollars. We bet fresh baked cinnamon buns. I lost, I bake. I’ll let you know how things go. Update: here’s the Cinnamon Bun story.