Jingle Bell Run 5k Race Report: Slice and Bake Cookies

I have a feeling it ties into my anxiety disorder, and in that sense it probably isn't all that healthy, but I adore traditions.  I love looking forward to doing the same fun things every year.  And around Christmas, that includes The Jingle Bell Run 5k.

This year was especially fun.  In part, because Thatbaby is finally at an age where he can take it in and enjoy it.  And also because this year's expo was especially fun.  Like the Sprouts booth - which seemed to have taken the entire store and brought it out for the participants to fill their bags with.

I didn't take anything that would make a mess of my bag, which meant I left the chips and salsa and hot cocoa.  Not pictured below are the orange wedges, banana, muffin, bagel, and coffee we enjoyed.  Seriously, how amazing are these people?

My bag still ended up full of water, coconut water, some immunity drink, joint powder, kind bars, Justin's almond butter packets, trail mix, carrot bread and coffee cake.

This year's Jingle Bell Run really ended up being food-a-palooza.  Our next pre-race stop was the cookie decorating tent.

Thatbaby was probably more interested in the cookie itself than decorating, but he still put in a good effort.

The finished project.

Although all thoughts of the cookie quickly vanished when he overheard me telling Thatboy about the smoothies Jamba Juice was handing out.

Finally it was time to line up for the start of the race.

There was a lot of prerace warming up that involved dancing and moving around.

And then we were off.  Not especially fast.  Actually, kind of slowly given that we were pulling Thatbaby in his wagon.  He loved seeing all the costumes, "jingle balls," dogs, and the planes that flew over Balboa Park on their way to the airport.  

I don't love this new course, I miss actually going through the park and I don't love the giant hill we now climb up.  There are no mile markers, but at a certain point, Thatbaby decided he wanted to get out and run himself.  And he did for a bit, until he wanted back in the wagon to keep working on eating his gingerbread cookie.  He came out one more time so he could run across the finish line and get his medal.

We figured Thatbaby would fall asleep as soon as we got into the car and I had planned to do our grocery shopping while he slept in the car with Thatboy.  Except he didn't fall asleep.  So he ended up doing the shopping with me.  And then we decided to grab some lunch before heading home, since he would surely fall asleep in the car on the way home.  

This time we were right.  He was out before we got onto the freeway.  We took this opportunity to get rid of the remaining gingerbread cookie while he slept.  And I unpacked the groceries and got a little workout in.

When he awoke, Thatboy headed out for a surf.  Thatbaby and I did our typical weekend adventure while Thatboy was away - cookie making.  One of the best things about this time of year is that slice and bake cookies make their way into homes across the country.  And why not?  They make it so easy to bake up a quick Christmas cookie.

I've got nothing against storebought cookie dough, but this is an easy thing to keep and make in your own freezer too.  It's one of the easiest cookie batters to throw together, and if you roll it into a tube and throw it in your freezer, you can slice and bake whenever you want!

Chocolate Slice and Bake Cookies

1/4 lb butter

1 tsp vanilla

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup sugar

1 egg

2 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted

1 1/2 cups flour

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1/4 tsp salt

1. Cream the butter in an electric mixture.
2. Add the vanilla and beat well.
3. Add the sugars, egg, and chocolate and mix well.
4. Combine the flour, cream of tartar, and salt in a separate bowl and then add it into the wet ingredients. 
5. Roll the dough into a tube, wrap in foil, and refrigerate or freeze until ready to bake.
6. When you're ready, slice the tube and bake the cookies at 400 for about 8 minutes.