Anabeth: Advent Calendar 2024

Out of all of the calls Ana could have gotten today, she did not expect it to be one of Anakin asking her if she knew how to bake. She had to admit she didn't, but considering Anakin was probably even more lost than her, she grabbed Ahsoka and headed over to Padmè's and Anakin's place to help out.

It turned out Padmè was busy on Senate business today and Anakin was in charge of the twins, and despite the kids still being so young, Anakin had somehow managed to get them in the Christmas spirit as well. Now, he wanted to bake some cookies with them to surprise Padmè. Ana and Ahsoka had to admit, the idea was beyond cute.

"Alright, how do we go about this?" Anakin asked, holding one child in each of his arms. Ahsoka quickly decided to take charge "Let me check the holonet for an exact recipe. In the mean time you guys can go grab some flour, sugar, butter and eggs, as well as a bowl to mix everything and. And try and find some cookie cutters while you're at it".

Ana quickly took Leia out of Anakin's arms to give him some room to move before the two of them started looking for the list of items. By the time Ahsoka had found a recipe for them they had also gathered everything and they began measuring out the ingredients. The twins both got to help, one of them pouring in the flour and the other one the sugar. The butter and eggs were however left up to Ahsoka and Ana.

The cookie dough was quickly prepared and as Anakin went to find a rolling pin, Ana and Ahsoka let the twins pick out some cookie cutters. "Oh, you like the reindeer, Luke?" Ahsoka asked as Luke grabbed the cookie cutter with a wide smile. "And Leia seems to be a fan of the snowman and the star" Ana observed as the little girl took one cookie cutter into each hand.

"Found the rolling pin!" Anakin announced as he came back into the room "Where are we with the cookie cutters?". "Picked out three so far" Ahsoka replied "Wait, four" she corrected herself with a giggle as Luke grabbed the Christmas tree shaped one. "Then there is room for one more, I pick the angel cookie cutter" Anakin decided before beginning to put the remaining ones back into the box.

Meanwhile, Ana had began to sprinkle some flour out on the surface of the kitchen counter, much to the amazement of the twins who cheered at the sight. She quickly rolled out the dough as Anakin and Ahsoka grabbed the children so they could cut out the cookies.

"Look, you put it on the dough, and then you press it down like this" Anakin demonstrated the process to the children "and then auntie Ana will grab the cookies you made and put them on the baking tray". It took a few tries and a little help from the grown ups before the twins had the technique somewhat down. However, they found a lot of joy cutting out the shapes from the dough, squealing and giggling happily every time they had successfully created yet another shape. The entire process was very wholesome to watch.

Before they knew it, the cookies were in the oven and the first round of kitchen clean up was starting. However, as Anakin was cleaning the cookie cutters, Ana putting the dishes into the dishwasher and Ahsoka cleaning the counter, the twins had somehow managed to get a hold of the flour. By the time the three adults turned around to see what two of them were laughing about so much it was already too late. The kids and their immediate surroundings were already covered in flour as both were taking hand fulls of it and throwing it in the air.

"Note to self: check that the flour is secure first next time" Ana mumbled as all three of them burst into laughter. They had soon peacefully persuaded the little trouble makers to hand over the flour and as Anakin went to give them a bath, Ana and Ahsoka took the cookies out of the oven to cool and cleaned up the mess made by Luke and Leia.

By the time Anakin and the twins had gotten back to the kitchen, the cookies had cooled enough to be decorated and Ana and Ahsoka had already prepared some icing. With the help of the adults, the twins got to drizzle the icing over the cookies. Afterwards, it was time for sprinkles. Similar to how they did with the flour, the twins were throwing them around, having the time of their lives while creating their "modern art cookies". Once they were done, the twins were pretty much out of energy and Anakin went to put them down for a nap as Ana and Ahsoka quickly gathered up any sprinkles that had not found their way onto the cookies.

"Thank you for helping out" Anakin thanked them as the three of them sat down on the sofa together. "Anything for my godchildren" Ahsoka replied with a smile "It was really fun though". "Yeah, it really was fun. And we also didn't set anything on fire or broke anything, so I consider this a win in every way" Ana agreed with Ahsoka. "Major win" Anakin and Ahsoka replied in union. "Now, how about we use the time the twins are out and have some of those cookies and some hot chocolate?" Anakin suggested. Ana and Ahsoka eagerly agreed.

Soon, the three of them were sat on the sofa with their drinks and cookies, chatting away about their plans for the holiday season, favorite Christmas songs and funny Christmas stories of the past few years. They enjoyed their hour of quiet time together before Luke and Leia were up again and ready to play.

Ana and Ahsoka stayed to entertain them until eventually, the door of the apartment opened to reveal Padmè. Anakin quickly scooped the twins up from the floor and moved to greet his wife with them as the twins did their best to excitedly pronounce the word "Mama".

"There are my three favorite people in the galaxy. Did you miss me while I was gone?" Padmè engulfed her family in a hug before taking Luke out of Anakin's arms to give him a free hand. "Oh, we always miss you" Anakin replied "But we have a surprise for you". "A surprise?". "Yep, a surprise. Ahsoka and Ana helped too. Come to the kitchen and see" Anakin replied.

Ana and Ahsoka followed the four of them into the kitchen, smiling at the excited faces of the twins. "Oh Ani, did you guys bake Christmas cookies?". "We sure did. And Luke and Leia were such a great help, they did all the cookie cutting as well as decorating" Anakin proudly told her.

"Thank you, they look amazing. You guys did so great" Padmè smiled at her children who squealed and laughed happily. "Now, why don't you let me try one of your cookies and then we can all make some dinner? You guys are welcome to stay if you'd like" Padmè looked at Ana and Ahsoka. "Sure, it's been a while since we had time to all have dinner together" they accepted the offer. "Great, let's get to work then. Dinner won't make itself".