(Cookies from 2008)

Every Christmas I make sugar cookies. It's a tradition that began with me during my first year of marriage. I can't exactly say why, but making the familiar shapes of snowmen, stockings, stars, trees, candy canes, and so forth always seem to make me smile.

As time has progressed, the cookies (excuse my humbleness) have gotten better. The frosting has been dyed to perfect, perfectly places along the lines of the stocking trim and snowman's hat, and the recipe has been fine tuned time and time again.

Although it is a tradition, I always seem to change things up every year. The first year not much was dyed other than the trees and bells. Then I progressed to make the snowmen have actual scarves the candy canes have actual stripes. However, I had always used store bought frosting and a generic recipe from the Better Homes cookbook. Not this year. This year, I am experimenting.

I know, it may seem risky and somewhat scary to those of you who like to buy the Pillsbury dough ready-to-cut and the matching vanilla frosting. Don't be afraid to try to make everything from scratch! It is definitely a challenge, but one worth facing.

I am slowly but surely realizing that I want to be a real cook. No, not going to culinary school or buying all the possible cookbooks I could own, but really making things my own. Now, this does present a problem because I don't know how all the chemistry of cooking works, but I thoroughly intend to investigate and share my constant challenges and successes with you.

I have many friends who make so many things wonderfully from scratch. While I have always thought of myself as a good cook, I find that I am standard compared to some. I intend to change this, which means making more messes in the kitchen and not taking it personally when things don't turn out perfectly.

So, the first step? Sugar Cookies.

Recipes, pictures, and so much more to come.