TWD: The Final Chapter (Kids' Thumbprint Cookies)

This post is late, because I've been putting off writing it. Can this really be my last-ever Tuesdays with Dorie post? Sadly, it is.

Nearly four years ago I joined a little group of home bakers - on a whim, really - never imagining we'd really finish Baking: From My Home to Yours together. I had a brand-new copy of the book, an interest in baking, and a modicum of self-taught baking skills. I didn't really think that anyone outside of my immediate family would read my blog, but then I started getting comments on my posts, and leaving comments for others. Like clockwork, on Tuesdays I would read through the blogroll and see what my favorite bakers were up to - across the country and the world.

I started baking along with the group with one toddler at home in Connecticut, and I am now finishing the group with an elementary schooler and a preschooler in Pennsylvania. During the insanity of our move - suddenly far from friends, family, or anything familiar - I remember being grateful that I could break my mixer out of the moving box and pick up with my TWD friends, as though I hadn't gone anywhere.

Here's that toddler girl - now almost all grown up (okay, she's six). Her hands are almost larger than mine, but fortunately her thumbs are still small enough to make perfect Kids' Thumbprints. This recipe was selected by none other than Dorie Greenspan herself. Although the last thing we needed around the house this week was more cookies, I had to make them anyway. Crunchy peanut butter and strawberry jam - what's not to like? I opted not to roll the cookies in crushed peanuts, and they were still fantastic. A sweet, simple, but very satisfying recipe to end with.

Most of all, I have Dorie, Laurie and Julie to thank for a fantastic experience. But every single person out there who has ever read a post or left a comment - I thank you, too. And I hope to see you when Baking with Julia kicks off in February (please check the Tuesdays with Dorie site for updates). It's an open group, so if you're entertaining the thought of joining in, please do. Wonderful things can happen.