I’m always deeply relieved when I’ve completed my cookie and sweets baking and can launch into packaging and sending to friends and family. In October, I determine what I’m going to make and start purchasing the ingredients – usually in bulk from Winco in Marysville.

In late October, I make fruitcake, bath in rum, and let marinate for weeks. This year, I made around ten dozen miniature fruitcakes, using mini cupcake pans. They look pretty and most people don’t mind getting a few itty-bitty fruitcake cupcakes.

The week before Thanksgiving, I make all of my cookie dough and refrigerate. Thanksgiving weekend, I lug my baking sheets, cooling racks, spritz gun, cookie cutters, Rycraft presses, rolling pin, my Grandmother’s wooden board, flour, powdered and regular sugar, cinnamon, cookie decorations…. spatulas, decorating bag and tips… storage containers… and of course, all of the cookie doughs in a large ice chest to our Mount Vernon house.

Thanksgiving morning, Rich and I made four batches of cookies. The day after, we made twelve. And on Saturday, I made rum balls, fudge, and macaroons. Whew! He’s what we made:

• Chocolate chip
• Dark chocolate with white chips
• Oatmeal with butterscotch chips
• Mexican wedding cakes
• Chocolate thumbprints with peanut butter filling (you pipe in the filling before you bake)
• Exotic spice (they’re very sweet with rose water, cardamom, black pepper, and other spices)
• Mexican chocolate balls
• Snickerdoodle
• Israel sugar (made with oil and not butter; I put raw sugar on the top)
• Shortbread windows (two cookies sandwiched between jelly)
• Spritz
• Cappuccino (sliced cookies)
• Ginger coins (sliced cookies, size of quarters… hence “coins”)
• Peanut butter “squish” (Rycraft presses)
• Seven layer (to use up excess chips, nuts, and coconut)
• Biscotti with dried mangoes and slivered almonds
• Macaroons
• Chocolate rum balls
• Mini fruitcakes
• Fudge with crushed candy canes on top  (from a package that Rich bought at Costco!)