The BenGusto™ Buddy Cooking Class cozied around a warm fireplace and busy oven on Dec. 4 in preparation for a wintery holiday season!

Happy holidays to all!

The class was more relaxed, giving everyone a rest from our intensive session on risotto in November. There were 10 of us chefs. We prepared a basic sugar cookie dough, which everyone had a hand in rolling out and cutting into shapes. I must point out that our newest buddy in the group, Robert, could roll out a ball of hard dough to perfection, with no rips or bents in shape. After a few tries myself, I handed him the rolling pin–the tool was better in his hands than in mine.

Dusting the work space with flour.

I vote Robert as the best cookie-dough-roller ever.

Marcus prepares to cut his cookie out.

Using a large collection of cookie cutters, everyone made their own bears, ducks, hearts and diamonds of the wildest creations. Some sprinkles and candies were used as pre-baking decorations. For after baking, Patrick and Marcus worked together on whipping up a smooth cream cheese frosting. Overall, we made four full batches, totaling about 50 cookies.

Robert, Katie, Halle, and Aly decorate vigorously.

I love this scene. There is so much going on! The animation reminds me of Da Vinci’s “Last Supper.”

Halle and her cookie cutter of choice: a butterfly.

The gang around the table. Mrs. Crawford lays down one of her famous witty remarks for Chris.

Halle uses force to cut out her cookie.

Marcus adds powdered sugar to the cream cheese frosting.

Patrick, CJ and I debate over the amount of powdered sugar we need for our cream cheese icing.

As decorations, we had three colored icing pens in blue, red, and green. Everyone went crazy for them, and started drawing buttons and eyeballs all over their cookies. It wasn’t until I noticed the wood tiling on the kitchen floor turning green that I realized the pens weren’t for icing at all–they were gel food coloring. Well, it was pretty funny to see Robert with a red thumb, but we thankfully stopped using those strange pens. I was worried that both the kitchen floor and our tongues would be stained.

Robert used a good amount of that red gel pen on his cookies.

Halle and I dance to holiday classics.

Katie, Aly, and Halle (from left to right). Please note how buddies Aly and Halle are matching. 

At this point, much of the class is in the other room, watching “A Charlie Brown Christmas” by the fireplace.

Halle and I. She gifted me her cookie.