The pandemic has afforded me the possibility of making the Ikeda Christmas Cookies two years in a row! Here are some thoughts:

• I baked the Sugar Cookies without any kind of pan liner, using my very thin, metal spatulas. I suspect this is best for clean, even browning of these very thin cookies.

• When making the Candy Cane Cookies, why do I always end up with more red dough than white dough? I’m reasonably sure there is some optical trick that makes me roll the red thinner than the white. You can see in the box of finished cookies where there’s a tiny red & white Candy Cane (blue arrow) and several all-red Candy Canes. I’m hoping that my new analytical balance will settle this matter next year!

Look at all these wonderful cutters that I’ve accumulated over the decades! Many are thoughtful gifts from kind friends and family members, and some are inherited from my mom. The Ikeda sisters worked on these cookies at mom’s elbow for many years as little kids, and after we finished baking we would deliver them around the neighborhood.

Finally: This was my attempt at making a coronavirus cookie… [sigh] And, this is a view of my Sugar Cookie workstation, offering a glimpse of my pandemic work environment and this year’s cookie-making binge-streaming fodder.