The Tub of Goodness

The rest of my house is a case in point that Martha Stewart does not live here, but my pantry is another story.

It's a lot smaller than I'd like, and it's overflowing with provisions, but there's a strong sense of order. Namely, these tubs like pictured above. My spices and baking goods are all stored in them, so I can pull out what I need at a moment's notice.

For instance, the baking tub has baking powder, baking soda, various chips, extracts, cocoa powder and vanilla. This way, if the urge to bake strikes, I have all I need in a matter of seconds instead of spending a half hour rooting through all the spices for a stray ingredient.

Hey, it works for us. And it's why there are now 8 dozen chocolate cookies (with pb chips, Reece's pieces or dried cherries in them) and a double batch of sugar cookie dough in the fridge.

There's only one thing missing from the tub, and that's because Hershey's stopped making them. My specialty for years were Chocolate Raspberry chip cookies, something that friends and family came to expect. Ed told me tonight that it doesn't feel like Christmas without them.

I tried making similar cookies last year with extracts, but they don't taste quite the same.

Somehow, I think the rest of the yummy confections will soften the blow...