Sure home your back gets better.

Feel better soon.

Best to focus on healing yourself so you can get back to giving to others. Hopefully those you've so been so generous to, can give back to you!

Hoping you are feeling much better soon. You are smart to listen to your body.

I do hope you will have recovery soon. Take care of yourself...hopefully someone else will remember these people with cookies in your absence.

I know how you feel as I am working on fixing a back problem as well.

I'm wondering though if you are up to it, you could get a cookie gun? Easy to make and not hard on the back with all the rolling. Not as professional as yours I'm sure, but it might prevent you from feeling down.

Sending healing thoughts your way. If you really want to still give, and can afford it, buy the cookies this year. I know it won't be cheap. My son works at a bakery, so I know the prices are high!

You could send previous recipients a card, with a note saying something like, 'Making Christmas cookies is one of my favorite parts of the Holidays, but I'm a bit under the weather this year. IOU one box of goodies.' A box of cookies in the off-season might be most welcome. Who knows, maybe someone will bring you cookies. ;)

Hope you're feeling better soon.

Best of luck with that, Steve!

I remember you posting pictures of all the cookies you make every year Steve.

Your kindness and generosity will be missed, I'm sure. I like Georgysmom's idea! I would never have thought of that.

Take care of yourself and your back, and next year you'll be up and running, as usual.

I echo everyone else's wishes for you to get back to normal.

Georgysmom, now I know how you get so much done. Thanks for the lesson on organized cookie baking.

Steve, hope your back is on the mend and that you will be good as new soon.

Steve, my sister strained her back over a month ago, and has finally found some relief by getting a 'theraputic' massage. It will take more than one--maybe three or four-- but she said her back, hip, leg, felt better than than they have since she hurt herself. Just a thought, but it might be worth a try.

Steve, I know how a miserable back pain can take all of the fun out of doing anything in the kitchen. Or anything else, for that matter. I've been having chiropractic treatments for a couple of weeks myself and am feeling soooo much better.

Hope you're all recovered in a jiffy.

Georgysmom, what a wonderful idea! Looks like I'll be able to make some cookies for at least the neighbors.

I've been doing this for over 20 years and was really upset that I wouldn't be able to this year. Ironically, most of the ones I selected for this year are the good old standbys, Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip. I'll still make my Apricot Bars and Date Nut Bars, but they'll be later towards the end.

Georgysmom, do the chocolate chip freeze o.k. till you bake them?

Steve

I make mostly the old fashioned cookies,too. Years ago I did fancier ones but found my kids liked the oatmeal raisins, chocolate chip, peanut butter, almond, snickerdoodles the best. I wound up having to eat the fancy ones. Chocolate. chips freeze great. raisins freeze great.....they all freeze great. They're good for several months in the freezer. It all began as a matter of necessity. I would beg the kids to leave the cookies alone until after I had my annual Christmas coffee for neighbors and friends. They would still sneak the cookies. They would attack all their favorites, leaving not much of an assortment. No matter where I hid them, they found them. One year I thought I was very clever and locked them in an antique piece I had in the living room and hid the key. One day I noticed a lot of crumbs near this piece and when I unlocked it, half the cookies were gone. Turns out, if you removed the drawers, there was no bottom under them and the kids were reaching down for the cookies. I spent most of December baking and rebaking. I finally came upon the idea of making them but not baking them. I found it to be so much easier. I'm a messy cook and this way, the kitchen is all cleaned up after making them and so much easier to bake them. I hope this helps you . I'm sure if you try it, it will be the only way to go in the future. If someone stops by unexpectedly, you can always whip up a tray of cookies.

Sorry you have been down....and hope you get better soon....

I like the idea about freezing the cookies.

I would love it if I were gifted cookies that were ready to bake whenever I was hungry for them.

Georgysmom.....I'm looking for a soft chewy oatmeal raisin cookie. Do you have one you would share?

pattico

Hi pattico ... what's that? ... just one cookie?? You're sure??? o j

P.S. Hope you're back to normal soon, secsteve - good wishes for an early, full recovery. o j

patti.....did you want a cookie or the recipe? LOL Right now I only have chocolate chip and oatmeal peanut butter in the freezer from several weeks ago. Haven't yet started making them.

a recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies....lol