Baking Day

So how many kinds of cookies do you think you could fit in YOUR freezer? Well, if you’re Nola, the answer is at least a baker’s dozen.

Last Saturday was Annual Baking Day for Nola and QP, and Nola knocked out 11 of the 13 kinds of cookies on her list for this year. She gives away 40 assorted homemade cookie boxes to family and friends, and QP gifts her homemade chocolate chip cookies to co-workers every year as well. It’s a marathon of a day, beginning around 8am and not finishing until late afternoon. Care for a sneak peek?

Kenny and I were not a part of Baking Day in its entirety last year but we were in for the long haul this year. I even stepped up my game and actually got put to work this year, so I can officially say I was responsible for one type of cookie.

People usually pop in and out all day long, and this year was no exception. However, Baking Day 2011’s biggest addition was Jenn, who flew in from Chapel Hill on Thursday night to surprise QP for her birthday. Jenn and UJ were there most of the day, with Grams, Sherry, and James dropping by as well, and Kenny’s mom also came by later in the afternoon. We had a loud and noisy houseful of people, which is just what Baking Day calls for.

Lizzie, who was supposed to arrive around 8 that morning, didn’t show up until after 11. Sleep was apparently more important to her than baking! Her tardiness was quickly forgiven, though, and Nola and QP were finally able to present her with her official Baking Day attire: a custom-made t-shirt designating her as the “Cookie Bitch.”

Lizzie has become such a vital addition to the day, and Nola and QP affectionately bestowed the nickname on her last year. And she truly does live up to it, late or not! The kitchen still would have been bustling late into the night had Lizzie not joined in on the tradition of Baking Day, and I do believe that Nola and QP are eternally grateful for her help.

Riley was present for Baking Day as well, although it was a different experience for him this year. Instead of sitting contentedly in his Bumbo chair on top of the dining room table, he was weaving in and out of everyone most of the day, playing with his bells and his bus and occasionally being picked up so he could check out the action.

We took a short break for lunch on the back porch (oh, and Lizzie took a 30-second time out to stretch her piriformis muscle, naturally). Other than that, though, it was all cookies, all day.

However, there was one other small event that coincided with Baking Day 2011: the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta between the LSU Tigers and the Georgia Bulldogs. Once the last batch of cookies was pulled from the oven and the kitchen was (semi) cleaned up, all attention shifted to the television in the living room.

What a day. Countless cups of flour, sugar, and butter were transformed into many dozens of cookies, now safely stowed in the freezer, waiting to be distributed. Memories were made, and lots of laughs were had. Oh, and the Tigers beat the Bulldogs (42-10) to secure their spot in the BCS title game in New Orleans on January 9.

GEAUX TIGERS!!!