Both the snowflakes and the cookies have been coming fast today. Our yard is filling with snow, and I chose to stay in all day and bake. I don’t do that much for the holidays, especially in the years when we travel. No tree, simple window lights with no outdoor lighting, a poinsettia and now my Solstice cactus - gee, this sounds like a lot now that I list it, but compared to friends’ homes, it really isn’t.
What I do pursue intensely is cookie baking. Some years I’ve done over a dozen kinds, but this year I’ve only gotten to 9, I think. This year we have 2 different kinds of cut out cookies - sugar and gingerbread. Note the many gingerpeople for dressing up to look like the other guests at the decorating party. Also plenty of dinosaurs, as I believe some Dinosaur Comics re-enactments are being planned.
Date pinwheel rolls are in the refrigerator chilling for baking tomorrow. They are one of Karen’s favorites. The almond cookie dough, which used to be made into adorable mice which took forever to mold and decorate, now get a simple cookie stamp and taste just as good. The cinnamon logs, being drizzled with glaze here by Jenny, are one of Merry’s favorites.
I was going to make a new recipe for Macadamia Lace Cookies, but guess what? Even frozen, macadamias just don’t keep for years without going rancid. (Jenny definitely has a point when she suggests my freezer may be a bit, ahem, overloaded.) Guess what else? Pine nuts make a great stand in. I’m calling these Lacy Pignons.
Helen loves the lemon slices. They look pretty convincing here, but wait until they get piped with lemon glaze to mark rind and segments. I’ve also got dough in the refrigerator for a Swiss chocolate spice cookie that I recollect Helen liked quite a bit. Why Swiss? It uses Dutch process cocoa and spices from the other side of the world. I guess anything that tastes that good doesn’t have to make sense.
And finishing the day as it started, with a snowstorm, some Mexican wedding cakes or Russian tea cakes or whatever you happen to call these goodies.
With the peanut butter kisses from earlier in the month, I think we are fairly well set.
Sweet things to you,
Ellen
Jan and Ellen are identical twins who have always had an innate fashion sense. Crafting is an integral part of their lives and they stay stitched together sharing their love of knitting, family and community.
December 21st, 2008 at 5:07 pm
Oh, my goodness! That’s a lot of cookie yumminess there
What a great range of recipes, too.
December 21st, 2008 at 11:23 pm
Dale has done a good job of making cookies as we need them here, but I think he would love some of yours! I know I would.