My husband often questions my habit of collecting throughout the year. In fact, my last antiques mall-find elicited a frown and dismissive, “What is that @#%*$?!!” Granted, I rarely return from my foraging with anything of real monetary value or legitimately deserving “antique” status. More often, my “treasures” are dented, worn, or scratched. And I no doubt confound hubby by shopping for Christmas at seasonally inappropriate times…

But fortunately - for both of us - I’ve gotten thicker skin. I’ve learned to blithely ignore all quips about individual finds, knowing full well that once they join their fellow collectibles, they’ll shine through any patina or nicks. You see, it’s all about power in numbers, a really simple decorating principle: if collecting is done well - a little at a time with a strong thematic bent - it can pay off handsomely, especially when last-minute holiday decorating.

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Step aside, cupcake! The decorated cookie has arrived!

Don’t get me wrong. I love cute cupcakes as much as the next baker, but can we be frank? They’ve hogged the spotlight for far too long, don’t you think?!

The present of a lovely decorated cookie is truly transcendent. We all know this instinctively. We bask in its fragrance as it takes shape in the oven. We ooh and ahh over the icing artfully laid on its top. We smile as its buttery crumbs caress our tongues. It’s a rare gift that not only tickles the fancy and teases the palate, but satisfies all the way to the heart.

What?! You say I’ve got a soft spot for cookies? I won’t deny it. It comes from years of cookie-decorating fun with my sibs under the supportive tutelage of my mom. Each Christmas we donned her frilly June Cleaver-esque aprons and tried our darnedest to outdo one another with the cleverest cookie design. Even when disfigured cutouts or errant icing blobs foiled our plans, we earned Mom’s unswerving praise—and, better yet, the excuse to eat our mistakes.

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