Celebrating Chocolate, er...Christmas

Chocolate lovers unite! The Christmas baking has begun! So how many ways are you baking with chocolate this holiday season? Me? That's all I can think of. Chocolate Chip Cookies is the basic in our family. Not Christmasy at all, but essential. Chocolate Crinkles with a little crushed candy cane on top were baked this morning. Then Peanut Butter Pinwheels, a peanut butter cookie with melted chocolate chips swirling in the center. Anna Marie made No-Bake Chocolate Drop Cookies, with cocoa, oatmeal, peanut butter, etc. Then let's not forget the Hershey's Kisses and the colorful Christmas M&Ms!

Hmmm, what will we bake next? Any ideas? What are your favorites, chocolate or otherwise?

BEFORE I REALIZED

Long, long ago, I yearned to be an accomplished cook like my mother and aunt. I collected their recipes and tried to mimic their tips and techniques. When I was 19 my aunt advised me that adding whipped cream to mashed potatoes was really yummy.
I was living in a college dorm at the time, one with a kitchen. I had next to nothing in the cupboards and refrigerator, but I had potatoes and meat of some sort that I wanted to prepare for my boyfriend. I was whipping the potatoes when I remembered that there was Cool-Whip in the fridge. So, feeling quite proud of myself, I added it to the potatoes. Not a good thing. When I admitted to my aunt what I had done she fell into fits of laughter. She still tells the story, much to my chagrin.
TIP: whipping cream added to mashed potatoes is wonderful, Cool-Whip is not!

CONFESSION: When I was first married I kept a bag of flour under the kitchen sink and each time I made chicken I would dredge the pieces in that same bag. Oddly, we never became ill with salmonella poisoning. Call it beginner's luck!

While making chili the other day I carefully read the label on the chili powder container. This is a habit I had to develop after sprinkling a large amount of cinnamon on a pot of chili many years ago. You don't need a picture for this, just think: CINNAMON---CHILI---too close in color when you are grabbing a container and your mind is elsewhere. That is what lead me to think of these other food goofs from years gone by.

I will never be as good a cook as my mother or her sister, but I have learned a few things over the years -- and occasionally I learned it the hard way!

You may have something to share on this topic as well.....
Have a happy and healthy holiday!