I have fond childhood memories of making cookies with my Mom and my little friends. And the other day two of my little friends and I got together for a Girls Bake-a-Thon. It truly reminded me of those fun times back in the day when I would be playing in the kitchen, making baked goods, without a care in the world. As a side note, I am very thankful to have such amazing friends, who are always willing to play in the kitchen with me.

We decided to make White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies and a Pumpkin Roll. We also recognized that the very last thing we needed, after a crap load of Christmas cookies, was more cookies, but that did not stop us at all! And we also did discover that there are a few differences now that we are adults.

1. You can drink champagne instead of sparkling apple cider
2. You are actually now allowed to use knives and the oven
3. When you jack something up you can not blame it on your lack of experience, your Mom or your easy bake oven...you just jacked it up
4. You no longer have the metabolism of a 10 year old so whatever you eat now goes to your ass and thighs...not loving this part
5. When you are done cooking you can no longer leave the kitchen mess for your Mom to clean up. So when the kitchen looks like a hurricane hit it, it is now your responsibility to clean up the disaster.
6. When you finish the bottle of champagne, you can open a second bottle of champagne. Cheers!
7. After the two bottles of champagne you think you are a professional chef and you are proud of all that you accomplished in the kitchen

So we started with the champagne. If you are unfamiliar with Wilson Creek they are a winery in Temecula, CA and they are known for their almond champagne. However, we also tried their Peach Bellini and it was really good, had a hint of almond and peach flavor. Yum!



And the baking commenced. I started on the cookies, while my buddies started on the pumpkin roll. One of my friends is in love with the pumpkin roll and has had countless Thanksgiving memories surrounding this dessert...so she decided she was going to recreate it. If you are unfamiliar with a pumpkin roll it is a thin layer of cake, with a cream cheese frosting, that is then rolled up like a log and sliced. It was decadent! Here is a recipe for a pumpkin roll if you are interested, we did use the walnuts: http://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/32372/LIBBYS-Pumpkin-Roll/detail.aspx

For the pumpkin roll the first step is to make the cake batter.




The second step is to make the filling.



Next plate the cake batter in a pan and sprinkle walnuts over the top.


The cake is then removed and placed on towels that are coated in powdered sugar.


Using the towel, while the cake is still warm, roll the cake into a role and let it cool. You do not want to put the frosting on the cake while it is warm because it will melt and create a giant mess, an even larger mess than the powdered sugar that has been dusted all over the kitchen.



Lather a layer of the frosting on the cake





And re-roll the cake




And slice...and eat



During the labor intensive pumpkin process, we made the White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies in between.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Chopping white chocolate with her hands

1 (6oz) package white chocolate cut into chunks

White chocolate chopped into chunks

1 (7oz) jar macadamia nuts, chopped

Chopped macadamia nuts

1. Beat butter and shortening at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add the brown and white sugar, beating well. Add the egg and vanilla, blend well.

2. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt and gradually add to the butter mixture.


3. Stir in white chocolate and nuts


4. Drop dough by rounded teaspoons onto a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on a cookie sheet.





And the finished cookie product...the Christmas decorations were still up...so of course I had to use them in my photo!