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and with our hundreds of tutorials and recipes is to help folks enjoy the process by saying , ‘ You ’ re new to this . Let us show you how to do it . Because if you do it and you have fun , you ’ ll do it again .’”
That ’ s my goal with the holiday cookies I ’ m decorating : Learn and have fun while doing it . The tutorials on AnnClark . com that Ben referenced ARE extremely helpful , and if you aren ’ t an expert cookie decorator already , I highly recommend looking at them — several times , in fact . You can find easy tutorials to cover every possible decorating season , as well as how to make different consistencies of royal icing for different purposes . I ’ ve been watching them and using the techniques , and I know that in time , I will master them and wow my friends and family at the next holiday gathering . Speaking of which , I was curious to know how Ben and his family and the Ann Clark team like to celebrate the holidays . Obviously , delicious baked goods are involved , but what else ?
“ We try to go skiing as a family on Christmas day ,” shares Ben . “ Get up , open presents , have a big breakfast , then go skiing . We ski Pico and Killington , but Pico is only eight minutes away , and it ’ s fun . We ’ ll run into virtually all our friends who ski , so two or three other families doing the same thing . If it ’ s nice weather , there ’ ll be a bunch of people out there . The kids are in their 20s now , so we have time for that . For our Ann Clark holiday party , we come in , divide up into teams and play a bunch of games . We play cornhole , foursquare , Jenga . The entire company is standing around a table with 2-on-2 Jenga as this thing grows . That ’ s been pretty fun . By the time we get to Christmas , our busy season is done .” Translation : the Ann Clark team can really relax and let off some steam .
As I thank Ben for his time , his stories , and his wisdom , I can feel the pull of the sugar cookies luring me back to the kitchen . Heading toward my color palette of royal icing , I conjure some words of encouragement for myself that I will share with any baker trying something new : do your research , be patient , get messy , and have fun ! Thanks to Ann Clark , I ’ m ready to dive in . n
AnnClark . com
MEGAN DEMAREST
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