[red hot rudolphs]

Peter here... Holiday cookies are such a tired convention (I'd say they're "sooo last year," but I'd sound like a blond Valley Girl--and that's sooo not me). And if I offended anyone out there who is in the midst of baking some holiday cookies, I meant no offense. I'm just really, really, REALLY excited about something that's going to become an annual Barber tradition.

And so, I present to you the first annual installment of (drum roll, please) the SARAH-BARBER-EXTRA-YUMMY-SUPER-DELICIOUS-INCREDIBLY-PHENOMENAL CHRISTMAS REINDEER CUPCAKES--(by the way, that is the official name, if you're wondering). OK, so let me explain what you're seeing (and unfortunately what you can't taste!): the faces are Oreo cookies with a "V" shape-cut, the antlers are pretzels, the eyes are white-chocolate chips, and the red noses are Red Hots. Oh yeah, and there's chopped up Oreo cookie mixed in with the cupcake batter, too.

All I have to say is that when I first bit into one, I went weak in the knees, uttered a whole lot of unintelligible noises, and felt like fireworks were going off in my mouth. Simply amazing. And if you want the recipe, don't bother. It's a closely guarded family secret that Sarah will take to her grave (not really, it's in a commercially available recipe book, but "family secret" sounded better).

Here's another shot of the whole "herd"--
Who needs cookies when you have a whole plate of these? I mean, seriously? Matter of fact, I think I need one right now...