An afternoon filled with Christmas baking

It has been a Christmas baking miracle around here!  You should smell the house right now, delicious.  We got on a roll today, a good day to stay home and bake.  Outside, cold, small frigid flakes swirling around, in my opinion the kind of day to stay indoors and cook!  First thing, a batch of chocolate chip cookies to eat while baking with a large icy cold glass of milk.  My guy joined me at the kitchen bar and helped time recipes, shape cookies on sheets and taste test as they came out of the oven.  So far, we have made coconut magic bars with butterscotch and chocolate chips, brownies with a chocolate oatmeal crust on the bottom and peanut butter icing, butter cookies with hazelnuts, coconut and cranberries, peanut butter cookies, chocolate cookies with macadamia nuts.  Banana bread is waiting to go in the oven and I think we will make some chocolate drops as well tonight, a perennial favourite from my childhood.  This week I still want to make some skor bars, Sweet Marie bars, cherry nut bars, spice cookies and homemade butter tarts.  I absolutely butter tarts; it is always a challenge not to eat them as they come from the oven.  For lots of desserts I can make them and then enjoy watching others enjoy them but butter tarts are a real weakness of mine!  It has been a great afternoon, especially after two hours of ironing this morning, ugh!  Christmas is a great excuse to dust off all your favourite dessert recipes and indulge in making them all.