My baking skills aren’t what they used to be. I have no excuse. With food allergies, my baking has curtailed. It doesn’t help that I’m married to the third biggest cookie monster, Cookie the Original being first, @kentforrester being second….

I started trying to make Polish/Ukrainian Rugalah. I didn’t remember this much work. This delicious holiday pastry from Eastern Europe was a given at our Christmas celebrations. It can be filled with apricots, raspberry preserves, cinnamon and nuts, or chocolate chips. I dumped the cream cheese, tons of fattening butter and flour together, but lacked a mixing bowl. The whirling beaters didn’t make it far enough into my deep Tupperware tub – stay with me here….

I had to get another plastic tub. I whipped it up, and read further. Divide dough into 4 sections, layer between plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours. Then roll out and cut into squares. If the dough softens, refrigerate again, and keep going. I work for a living. Being self-employed, I get no paid holidays – this is taking too damn long. My old Betty Crocker cookbook was open to Russian Tea Cookies page – yea! All I need to do was add powdered sugar!