CHRISTMAS COOKIES || PENELOPE

[Deleted]

'Cause I feel like I can do anything when
My head is spinning and my feet off the ground
When I can't stop dancing like no one's around

23 DECEMBER 2025

With only a few days left before Christmas, two to be exact, the fact that they were starting so late on Christmas cookies was no one's fault but her own. She hadn't mentioned to anyone that she wanted to make some, but now, as time was growing closer and closer to the time they should be finished, she was panicking. There was no way she could get them done before Christmas by herself, was there? No. She knew that answer already. She was screwed if left to her own devices with dough and cookie cutters.

Luckily for Peyton, she had two siblings that were more willing to help her...at least, she had thought. Persephone had other things to do apparently, so it was up to Penelope. Peyton was quick about the house, attempting to track down her other triplet. She was sure none of the others would help out, so Pen was her last hope. Finally, she found her, and slowly a grin spread out on her face. "Pen?" she cleared her throat, nodding her head before smiling brightly, "Wanna make Christmas cookies?" Her voice going up an octave as she practically squealed her question in excitement.

penelope raisa bainbridge

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[penelope raisa bainbridge]

December 23, 2025

Penelope was glad to be home for the holidays, but it felt like such little time to get everything done, especially with the Windsors' ball on Christmas Eve. As she probably could have predicted, most of the family spent their time doing things on their own, and Penelope had been planning her outfit for the next evening's ball when she heard Peyton calling for her.

"Pen?" Peyton inquired. "Wanna make Christmas cookies?"

Her grin matching Peyton's, Penelope immediately stopped what she was doing, nearly dropping a pair of heels on top of her bare feet as she raced over to her. Why Peyton hadn't asked sooner, she wasn't sure, but what was Christmas without the smell of warm sugar wafting throughout the house?

"Yeah," she smiled to her. "Have we got ingredients?" There would be little point in getting so excited over baking if they didn't have anything on hand to bake with, she knew.

@peytonbainbridge

[Deleted]

'Cause I feel like I can do anything when
My head is spinning and my feet off the ground
When I can't stop dancing like no one's around

The excitement that wafted off of Penelope was almost intoxicating, and she giggled as the blonde nearly dropped the shoes that she was holding. Thank goodness she had found someone just as delighted as she was to bake something delicious. Even though they wanted no part in making the cookies, she knew that it wouldn't stop them from eating them. But she didn't care. The warmth of the cookies that made her family smile was enough for her bitterness to deplete. Her triplets always came in with that clutch, and if it wasn't Persephone...it was Penelope Bainbridge.

The blonde bound towards her, racing towards her as if her life depended on it. 'Yeah, have we got ingredients?' The girl nodded in response, a smile growing on her face. "I told mom I was making some a while ago, and she bought everything...I just never got around to making them until now," she said, biting the inside of her cheek but her giddiness never leaving her face. "She even bought new cut-outs for the sugar cookies!" she squealed in excitement, sounding as if she were a toddler opening up her favorite toy on Christmas Day.

penelope raisa bainbridge

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[penelope raisa bainbridge]

December 23, 2025

Peyton told her that she had told their mother that she would be making some but hadn't gotten around to making them until then, which meant that they were set for ingredients. What was more, "She even bought new cut-outs for the sugar cookies!"

It didn't matter that they were seventeen; Penelope, too, had to squeal, though she tried to keep her volume down in case anyone thought that something had gone wrong. "Ooooh!" she exclaimed. They were going to be really good, especially because they wouldn't just be regular sugar cookies. (Penelope wasn't actually picky, but making them even nicer than they could have been made her even more eager to bake.) "Let's go," she giggled, totally prepared to race Peyton to the kitchen.

@peytonbainbridge

[Deleted]

'Cause I feel like I can do anything when
My head is spinning and my feet off the ground
When I can't stop dancing like no one's around

Baking had always been a favorite of Peyton's, something that she enjoyed doing. Though it wasn't something she often did, mostly just around the holidays, it didn't make her like it any less. And the idea of baking with someone else had always brought her so much joy. As a young girl, she had gotten a few people to help her along the way, but with everyone moving out or working, it left Peyton to try and talk Penelope or Persephone to help. Not that she minded, she was sure her mother would have if she asked.

Both girls squealed over the idea of new cut-outs for the sugar cookies; it seemed it didn't take much to excite the two blondes. She was sure Persephone would have squealed too if she had heard about it, her loss though. Her smile grew wide as the girl giggled, prompting them both to head out of the room and head for the kitchen. "What should we make first? The sugar? Chocolate chips? Something experimental?" The words came out with a wiggle of her eyebrows as they bound down the steps from the upper floor.

penelope raisa bainbridge

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[penelope raisa bainbridge]

December 23, 2025

It was so nice to be free of Hogwarts for a little while and to have time to do things like baking, and Penelope was sure that Peyton felt that, too. They could put aside the stress involved with being in their seventh year, and it was almost like being transported to when they were younger. The upside was that they no longer needed the assistance of someone older than they were; they could even use magic if they wanted, though Penelope was happy to let Peyton be the one to take charge with that.

"What should we make first? The sugar? Chocolate chips? Something experimental?"

Penelope laughed as Peyton's eyebrows danced. Luckily, this wasn't Potions class; it would be more fun (and hopefully much easier). "Unless there's a recipe for your experiment," Penelope smiled, "chocolate chips sound good…" Something that she could follow without worrying about messing it up was preferable to her. On second thought, they did have cookie cutters, and Penelope went back on her previous idea. "Wait. Pey. Won't the chocolate chip ones look a bit… wonky if we use biscuit cutters, though?" she contemplated. She wasn't sure what they would have to do to change a regular recipe to keep that from happening. Otherwise, she was sure, they would end up lumpy—or burnt.

@peytonbainbridge

[Deleted]

'Cause I feel like I can do anything when
My head is spinning and my feet off the ground
When I can't stop dancing like no one's around

A few times, the young blonde would sneak down into the kitchen and do her own thing at school. She had done it once a while back, making some hot chocolate while the house-elves busied themselves. She wasn't sure if they hated her for doing so, but they never voiced it. She felt terrible for them. She wondered if they enjoyed their job. It wasn't their fault that Peyton was independent and liked to busy herself in the kitchen. She always cleaned up after herself as well, so she wasn't the worse person, especially since the elves were in the process of cleaning when she arrives.

But, it was different at home, and she immensely enjoyed the little life the Bainbridge family led. When the family came together as one, it was her favorite time, though, over the years, that hadn't been the case. Not since her siblings started graduating and starting their lives. Thankfully, Peyton, Penelope, and Persephone were close-knit - she truly believed they would be close for the rest of their lives, whatever it may bring.

'Unless there's a recipe for your experiment, chocolate chips sound good…Wait. Pey. Won't the chocolate chip ones look a bit…wonky if we use biscuit cutters, though?' They had just made it to the kitchen when Penelope asked about the biscuits going wonky if they attempted to use the cutters on them. She frowned, "I mean, we don't have to use the cutters on them. We could save it for the sugar?" she questioned. She mused over it for a second as she started to gather the ingredients and cutters from where their mother stored them. "Or we can see what happens if we try the cutters on the chocolate chips?" she questioned, "Experiment and see what happens on a few of them?"

penelope raisa bainbridge

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[penelope raisa bainbridge]

December 23, 2025

Penelope's realization about trying to use the cutters on the cookies that they were about to begin preparing caused her sister to frown. "I mean, we don't have to use the cutters on them. We could save it for the sugar?" she suggested. Penelope was about to nod, thinking that that would work, when she saw that Peyton was in thought again. "Or we can see what happens if we try the cutters on the chocolate chips?" she asked as she began to gather everything that they would need to begin baking. "Experiment and see what happens on a few of them?"

Experimentation didn't sound too bad, and only trying the cutters on a few of the chocolate chip cookies would keep the entire batch from going to waste if the ones that were cut into shapes didn't turn out right. Besides, Penelope didn't think that anyone was going to care if some of the cookies were regular and round and some of them weren't. It wasn't as though they were making them for a contest; they were making them for the enjoyment of it.

She agreed with Peyton's thought process about the Christmas cookies, nodding her head as she tied her hair back so that it would be completely out of her way. "Yeah," she answered, washing her hands in preparation for getting started. "We should do that," she said. "Do some of the chocolate chip ones with the cutters and some without. If they end up too weird, then, erm… at least we tried?"

@peytonbainbridge

[Deleted]

'Cause I feel like I can do anything when
My head is spinning and my feet off the ground
When I can't stop dancing like no one's around

Experimenting with the cookies didn't seem like a bad idea; trying new things was always about trial and error. And sometimes, even the failures were known to be a success. Peyton had made a cookie once that was her invention, and to her, they seemed to have failed, but everyone enjoyed them. In her mind, all failures could be successes if you wanted them to be. And even if using the cutters on the chocolate chip cookies would end in disaster, it could be interesting to try anyway!

She watched her sister, noting that she seemed to muse over the idea of attempting to use the cutters on cookies other than sugar. And a satisfied smile appeared on the blonde's lips as her sister nodded her head and began to pull her hair back. She agreed, and Peyton couldn't hold in her glee as she clapped her hands. "Perfect! That's the spirit," she breathed out in excitement.

'If they end up too weird, then, erm… at least we tried?' The blonde nodded her head, the smile still marrying her face. "Exactly. It's better to have tried and failed than to live life wondering what would've happened if I had tried," she said, quoting Alfred Lord Tennyson with a pleased smile upon her face.

penelope raisa bainbridge

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[penelope raisa bainbridge]

December 23, 2025

"It's better to have tried and failed than to live life wondering what would've happened if I had tried," Peyton noted. It sounded almost philosophical to Penelope, but she understood her sister's point: They didn't want to be left with any questions of what would have happened if they had done things differently with the cookies. No, they would just have to go for it. If they turned out inedible, then they had put forward their best effort, and that was all that they could really do.

They had the added benefit of being two Hufflepuffs in a kitchen, so Penelope hoped that their House's stereotype would work in their favor. As terrible as she was at Potions, Peyton was excellent, and she hoped that that would cancel out how poorly she did. She could follow a recipe, at least, and she didn't want any negativity to cloud her judgment about how the cookies would do. If she started to think negatively about them, Penelope worried, then she would manifest that into being somehow, and the cookies would turn out lumpy or burnt… or as some other variety of unmitigated disaster.

"Why don't you measure everything," she suggested to Peyton hopefully, because that meant that she wouldn't be liable in case any of that ended up a mess, "and I'll mix the dough together once it's ready?"

@peytonbainbridge

[Deleted]

'Cause I feel like I can do anything when
My head is spinning and my feet off the ground
When I can't stop dancing like no one's around

Comparing a life philosophy to baking was something that only Peyton would do. Not many Bainbridge kids could say the same; not even Penelope or Persephone would say something as philosophical as she would. She hadn't meant for it to come out that way or for her to make baking a learning experience, but she did. Bringing education to a fun activity doesn't get you far in life. She was thankful that her siblings were used to it by now because Penelope didn't even comment on it.

When Penelope suggested that Peyton be the one to measure everything, a small laugh left the blonde's lips. "I'm on it," she said. She knew that her sister wasn't the best when it came to measurements, that being one of the things that messed her up when it came to potions. Peyton got to work, grabbing all the measurement utensils from where they were kept, and started her task. She did a bowl for the dry ingredients and one for the wet, starting with the wet.

She passed it towards her sister, "Wanna mix this together while I get the dry ingredients ready? That way we're ready to add it together," she said, a massive smile on her face.

penelope raisa bainbridge ● apologizes!

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