Advent Kick-Off Post, 2020: Tree Trimming Party with Favourite Photo Ornaments

It’s the first Sunday of Advent, and we’re starting it off with a Bang!
Its time for our Annual Tree Trimming Party!

Today,

we’ll head to the local Scouts lot for a fresh tree! Then,

we’ll set him up and decorate him properly.

There will be music, SSJ’s famous

Santa Baby Cookies, and two

new Favourite Photo

Ornaments!

✨

Here’s a reprint of our Santa Baby Cookie Recipe:

Print Recipe

Santa Babies

Servings: 45 Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 c unsalted butter softened
• 1 c brown sugar
• 1/2 c granulated sugar
• 2 eggs room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 c all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 c oats
• 1 1/2 c semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 c toffee bits or 4 skor bars crushed 
• 1/2 c flaked coconut [sweetened or unsweetened]
• 1/2 c chopped pecans [If you have nut allergies you can leave these out, and the recipe will be just as good.]

Instructions

• Heat oven to 350.
• Cream butter and sugar until fluffy.
• Add eggs and vanilla and mix until creamy.
• Separately, mix flour, salt and baking soda.
• Add these dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.
• Separately, mix chocolate chips, toffee bits, oatmeal, coconut and pecans.
• Add as many of these mixins to the cookie batter as you can, mixing first by machine, then, fully incorporating with a spatula. The dough will be very stiff and bursting with mixins.
• Drop 1-2 tbs of dough 2 inches apart on parchment or silpat-lined cookie sheets.*
• Bake for 10-12 minutes.
• Cool on wire racks.
• Enjoy!

Notes

*FREEZE AHEAD! These cookies make great freeze-ahead cookies! Form the dough into balls & place the cookies in a single layer on a piece of waxed paper or parchment [or stack multiple flat layers] in a Ziploc-style bag or freezer safe-container and freeze. I find it best to place my a Ziploc-style bag on a tray until the flat-lay packages are fully frozen. No need to defrost. Simply bake 2-5 minutes longer than the time called for in the recipe.

And here’s a link to SSJ’s Favourite Photo Ornaments 2020 Post!!

NOW! GET READY TO WITNESS THE GLORIES OF SSJ’S 2020 ADVENT LOVE-TO-DO LIST, WHICH GOES LIVE TOMORROW, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 3OTH.

AND BUCKLE IN FOR THE SLEIGH RIDE! THE OFFICIAL COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS BEGINS TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1ST!

FOLLOW ALONG DAILY BY CHECKING THE SMELLING SALTS JOURNAL HOME PAGE OR BY ACCESSING THIS 2020 ADVENT CALENDAR MONTHLY VIEW.

IN THE MEANTIME FEEL FREE TO TAKE A LOOK BACK AT THE SSJ ADVENT CALENDARS FROM 2019, 2018, AND 2017