At the end of the year, people everywhere like to eat a little more and treat themselves to things that they either didn't have the money or perhaps even the time for during the rest of the year. Even here in the Far East, people often serve up something special in the last days of the old year and especially in the first days of the new year. People in the western hemisphere of the world celebrate Christmas, whereas here in Japan, it is New Year's celebrations that take place mainly in a family setting and can sometimes be quite lavish. We too may be able to enjoy a few dishes that we wouldn't normally indulge in.

To get us in the mood, I spontaneously decided to try my hand at a few cookies. Baking is not normally something I'm passionate about, but on impulse I thought I'd give it a go. I had received a cookie recipe some time ago and it seemed like the perfect start to a possible career as a baker.

There was a bit of a problem with the ingredients, as we often only have very small amounts of butter in stock. I'd rather not tell you how much butter costs in Japan, that is a story for a completely different post.

But I just wanted to test it out, and the small piece of butter in our fridge was just what I needed. Mixed with a little margarine and the usual suspects such as baking powder, sugar and a little milk, I had kneaded a smooth dough in no time. To spice up the flavor a little, I added some vanilla and already we had the basis for our first cookies. The dough then went into the fridge for a few hours before we moved on to the next steps.

Now it was time to roll out and to cut out the dough, although I had to improvise here as well. But in the end it worked quite well, especially if you play around a bit.

Exactly, a little fun is simply part of it, and we've definitely enjoyed it so far. Fun, a little excitement and anticipation are probably the most important ingredients that you shouldn't forget under any circumstances.

And then it was time to bake, which was done quite quickly as well. After I took the cookies out of the oven, nobody was able to wait to try them straight away. But at least we had as much self-control to allow the cookies to cool down for one or two minutes.

But then we gave them a try and the whole group agreed that they were delicious. The cookies were slightly crispy and, above all, not too sweet. As we had only baked a few cookies in this first attempt, they were of course all eaten very quickly. But we have decided to repeat this great fun again very soon. Hopefully there will be another opportunity in the next few days, as the occasion seems to be just perfect. Let's see if they turn out so well again and whether we can perhaps even optimize the result. I'm already looking forward to it...