It's Cookie Time

The Christmas Cookie Club
Each year Marnie hosts 11 other friend for a Christmas cookie club. There are rules about how many cookies they need to make (13 dozen- 1 for each member and 1 for charity), what types of cookies they can make (no chocolate chip cookies), and how they must be packaged (creatively, of course). Some women have participated every year of its existence. Others are only able to attend for a few years before moving on. The woman ages span several decades, difference finances, married, single, widowed, and divorced. Some are suffering due to affairs, others are involved in affairs. Some are dealing with death, whereas others have newborn babies, but they're all still friends.

The book takes place over a single night, obviously the night of the cookie party. Each chapter focuses on a different member and tells their story and the basic defining issue they're going through. In a way its format reminded me a lot of Joy for Beginners. For that reason I have some of the same likes and dislikes as I did then. I enjoyed reading each woman's story. But because of the way it was written, I had a hard time keeping track of all the woman. Each time a specific woman was mentioned I had to thumb through the chapters to see if I had read hers yet, and if I had, what her story was.

One thing I loved about this book was each chapter started with a cookie recipe. Of course if it was for example, Rosie's chapter, the cookie was the one she brought to the party. Each time I read a new cookie I thought about making it myself, and there's definitely some I'd love to try.

Another aspect I loved was that in between chapters there was a small history of a given ingredient. For example, they're be a page or two about vanilla, where it would describe how humans first started using it and how that changed over the years. It wasn't expecting this in the book, but I love this type of thing and I was glad to read the small glimpses of history.

I was a little skeptical starting this book in January. I had originally wanted to read this for Christmas, but didn't quite make it. Although to be honest it didn't really matter. Yes, the book does have somewhat of a warm-fuzzy feel to it. But I think if the book was renamed to only The Cookie Club, it would fit just as well. Overall it was a fun book, and I'm glad I found time to read it.

4.5/5