Holiday Goodies

Christmas is not complete without gingerbread, be it houses, cookies, cake, or any dessert flavored with those warm spices of ground ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg. The dense spicy cake traces its roots to 11th century Europe. There are so many versions from eastern Europe all the way to Scandinavia, but I'm focusing on the cookie. In Germany there is Lebkuchen and Pfeffernüsse. In Hungary, gingerbread cookies are called Puszedli. They look just like Lebkuchen, but are smaller. Polish Pierniki are also quite special cookies. The town of Toruń is famous for their heart-shaped cookies, filled with jam and covered in chocolate. These cookies all share similar ingredients and flavors.

Puszedli and Lebkuchen are made with honey and have a lighter color than the gingerbread cookies Americans are familiar with. The traditional decoration is a whole almond pressed into each cookie. Then the cookies are brushed with a sugary glaze that gives them a wintry look. But since neither cookie has almonds in the dough, I forgo the nut decoration and keep them simple. I make the classic round cookies and heart cookies to mimic the Polish treats. But if you're so inclined to decorate the cookies with nuts, walnut halves are traditional with Puszedli. Pecan halves, for an American twist, would do the trick just as well. These cookies, as with all gingerbread, are best made ahead of the holiday. They get better and softer with age.

Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp
Cowboy BBQ Burger
Buttermilk Fried Chicken
Alan's Grilled Salmon
Barbecue Beer Ribs
Mango Shrimp Kabobs

Evelyn Hall’s Baked Beans
Chili Butter Corn on the Cob
Mac and Cheese
Mediterranean Orzo Salad
Old Fashioned Potato Salad

Tomato & Avocado Salad
Watermelon, Feta & Mint Salad
Lulu's Tastiest Coleslaw
Suzanne Goin's Succotash

The Bootleg | Cuba Libre | Dark 'n' Stormy | Mai Tai | Margarita | Mojito | Sassy Sangria
Sea Breeze | Tequila Sunrise | Tequila Gimlet | Watermelon Falls

Almond Pear Pie | Apple Pie | The Best Brownies Ever | Blackberry Pecan Crisp
Maple Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies | Crunchy Ice Cream Sandwiches
Grandma Hazel's Lemon Cake | Peach Cobbler | Plum and Toasted Almond Galette
S’mores Cookie Bars | Fresh Strawberry Pie | Whoopie Pies

Are you looking for that perfect cookie to round out your holiday cookie platter? The one that will please the chocolate lovers, the coffee lovers and nut lovers alike? This is it!

It is complex and full of goodness. I suggest tripling the recipe because it is crazily addictive. But, here is why I like it for a cookie platter. You need variety in your assortment of holiday cookies, but every cookie can't be a labor intensive nightmare. You'll never get it done. Listen to me, I'm so cynical?  But really, it's experience talking. You know what I mean. We all want these gorgeous plates of holiday cookie beauty, but it is so hard to do.

You have to have a few cookies that knock it out of the park on taste and are easy-schmeazy to make. This one doesn't need eggs and all that other fancy stuff. It's so easy to throw together between all the sugar cut out cookies.

Another classic Christmas cookie - Shortbread is a traditional Scottish dessert that consists of three basic ingredients: flour, sugar, and butter. According to Wikpedia, this cookie resulted from medieval biscuit bread, which was a twice baked, enriched bread roll dusted with sugar and spices and hardened into a soft and sweetened biscuit called a Rusk.

Eventually, yeast from the original Rusk recipe was replaced by butter, which was becoming more of a staple in the British Isles. Despite the fact that shortbread was prepared during much of the 12th century, the refinement of shortbread was actually accredited to Mary, Queen of Scots, in the 16th century.

The name of one of the most famous and most traditional forms of shortbread, petticoat tails, were named by Queen Mary. This type of shortbread was baked, cut into triangular wedges as they are in this recipe from Cook’s Illustrated.