Cookies have always been one of my guilty pleasures. As a kid, I was often caught both literally and figuratively with my “hand in the cookie jar.” Cookies of any type — Fig Newton, Oreo, brownie, macaroon, oatmeal, toll-house, vanilla wafer — were always welcome as a dessert or an after-school snack. Ginger snaps, however, were my favorite. Back in my college days, I could open a box of ginger snaps on Tuesday afternoon and empty it out by Wednesday evening.

So 12 years ago, when Becky, my wife-to-be, decided to have a Christmas cookie-baking extravaganza at her home, I readily approved. The 2019 edition of the “cookiethon,” as it came to be known, recently took place at our Worthington home, and in most respects, followed the pattern of earlier cookiethons. Friends and family members came to our house, bringing cookie-making ingredients or pre-made cookies needing decoration. Even before they arrived, our kitchen table had been transformed into a cookie-decorating station complete with bowls of colored sprinkles and mini-chocolate chips. Once the guests arrived, cookie baking and decorating went into full swing along with much coffee drinking and socializing. Aside from making cookies, the participants got updates on what their fellow cookie makers have been doing and enjoyed a lunch of vegetable rice soup and cheesy bread.

Over time, the number of children brought to the cookiethon has grown. At first, most of them were too young to be involved in cookie making itself and accordingly were herded into our basement to play with race cars, Legos, and Polly Pocket figures. Now, however, some are old enough to at least try their hand at cookie decorating. Their designs often turned out to be highly imaginative, even surrealistic. One cookie in the shape of a stegosaurus received at least 10 sets of eyes across its body. Another shaped like a Christmas tree appeared to have tire treads down its center. Of course, the important thing was for the kids to have fun and it sure looked like they did. My grandson Christopher, however, will have to learn not to use all his sprinkles on just one cookie.

My own role in this latest cookiethon can be summed up in three words: cutting, coffee, and clean-up. The evening before the event, I spent an hour or more cutting up carrots, onions, celery, and bits of turkey for the delicious vegetable rice soup my wife prepared in her extra-large Dutch oven. Then, on the day of the cookiethon, even before the first guest came through the door, I had a full pot of coffee prepared. Thereafter, as cups were filled and refilled, I made at least two more pots. I was also the go-to man on clean-up. That meant disposing of wax paper covered with powdered sugar and smears of icing. It even meant going under the kitchen table on my hands and knees to wipe up crumbs and other cookie debris that ended up on the floor.

Was it worth all the effort? Absolutely. All the cookiethon participants went home with enough cookies for their families, their friends, their neighbors, and anyone else they feel is deserving of a special treat. And be assured that Becky and I did not shortchange ourselves; on top of our garage workbench are eight containers filled to the brim with cookies. Some of them will have to be saved for our family’s Christmas Eve dinner, but I’m sure some can be eaten before then. In fact, I think some cookies are calling to me right now. Better go to the garage and see what I can do for them.