Christmas Cookies 2020

Happy Holidays!

Although this holiday season has been very different, I was still happy to be able to share our Christmas cookies with family and friends. The assortment included our usual favorites, listed below. I added a Christmas version of our special linzer cookies, a vanilla bean version of my husband’s favorite- spritz cookies, and a new speculoos cookie.

Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2021!

Cookies Clockwise from Top:

• Chocolate-Espresso Snowcaps (2x recipe)
• German Lebkuchen (2x recipe)
• Lemon Butter Cookies (2x recipe)
• Haystacks (2x recipe)
• Belgian Spice Cookies (Speculoos) (2x recipe)
• Raspberry Meringue Kisses (2x recipe)
• Vanilla Bean Spritz Cookies (2x recipe)
• Hazelnut Linzer Cookies (2x recipe)
• Pecan Shortbread Cookies (4x recipe- 2 batches of 2x recipe)

Thanksgiving Menu 2020

Happy belated Thanksgiving and Happy Holiday Season to everyone! We definitely missed our extended family at Thanksgiving this year but our quiet feast was still lovely.

I love to post my Thanksgiving Menu to help me plan in the future. Hopefully some of my menu choices are helpful to others too. I will link the new menu items to posts as soon as I am able.

I decreased the proportions for our small scale feast but we still made quite a variety of dishes in order to accommodate everyone’s favorites. My kids actively participated in the cooking process throughout the day which was the absolute highlight for me. 🙂

We tried a new gravy this year- this change would have been met with great objection from our extended family. 😉 It incorporated roasted poblano chilies, a favorite flavor in our house. We also enjoyed a new festive cocktail which was so fabulous I plan to incorporate it into the menu next year.

Breakfast:

• Fresh honeydew, pineapple, grapes & cantaloupe
• Crumb Cake
• Olive Oil Pumpkin Bread with Walnuts & Raisins (Bundt loaf)

Lunch:

• Classic Split Pea Soup
• Wild Rice & Mushroom Soup
• Skillet Cornbread with salted butter

Festive Cocktail:

• Vanilla Pear Sour

Dinner:

• Herb-Roasted Turkey (upside-down)
• Buttermilk-Poblano Gravy
• Cornbread Dressing with Bacon & Sage
• Cranberry Relish with Apple Cider
• Herb-Scented Mashed Potatoes
• Sweet Potato Spoon Bread
• Slow-Roasted Carrots with Browned-Butter Vinaigrette
• Roasted Cauliflower & Chickpeas with Mustard Vinaigrette
• Pumpkin Pie Bars with optional whipped cream
• Brown-Butter & Vanilla Bean Apple Pie with optional whipped cream or vanilla ice cream

Leftover Dishes:

• Turkey Stock
• Sweet Potato Biscuits

Yes! My cat, Franklin “the Fluff,” has an Instagram page. ❤

Christmas Cookies 2019

Merry Christmas!

This year, I made an assortment of tried and true Christmas cookies to share with friends and neighbors, adding two new Scandinavian cookies that I felt compelled to try after watching an episode of Martha (Stewart) Bakes on PBS. 🙂

Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2020!

Cookies from Top:

• Raspberry Meringue Kisses (2x recipe)
• Chocolate-Espresso Snowcaps (2x recipe)
• Danish Butter Cookies (2x recipe)

Cookies Left to Right:

• Lemon Butter Cookies (2x recipe)
• Pecan Shortbread Cookies (4x recipe- 2 batches of 2x recipe)
• Haystacks (2x recipe)

Bottom:

• Swedish Spice Cookies (Muskotsnittar)
• German Lebkuchen (2x recipe)

Thanksgiving Menu 2019

Happy Holiday season to everyone! I love to post my Thanksgiving Menu to help me plan in the future. Hopefully some of my menu choices are helpful to others too. 🙂 I will link the new menu items to posts as soon as I am able.

I know that I am taking risks when trying new recipes for a crowd. This year I had a couple of misses…. The first was my Thanksgiving Eve cocktail, Tito’s Apple Cider Mule. It was okay- and we all drank it, of course!- but I had higher expectations as a Moscow Mule fan. I will have to work on creating an improved autumn version.

My daughter and I also made dinner rolls for our feast. After the dough was made, it could be frozen to rise and bake on Thanksgiving Day (a perfect make-ahead plan). They did not meet my expectations either which an unfortunate miss. I did enjoy the teamwork!

My son also contributed to our feast this year by making mashed potatoes. They were delicious. 🙂

The benefit of taking a risk by serving a new dish is finding a wonderful addition to the menu. The Cornbread Dressing with Bacon & Sage may be the best “stuffing” I have ever made. It will definitely be on my menu again next year! I also tried three new desserts and they were all delicious- especially the pear and almond tart.

Thanksgiving Eve Eve:

• Buckwheat Crêpes with Mix & Match Creamy Mushroom, Caramelized Sweet Onion, Sautéed Greens, & Citrus Shrimp Fillings
• Martha Stewart’s Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Thanksgiving Eve:

• Tito’s Apple Cider Mule
• Assorted cheeses with Sourdough Baguette, nuts, and red grapes
• Butternut Squash, Sage, & Ricotta Manicotti
• Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls
• Green Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette
• Pear and Almond Tart

Thanksgiving Day:

Breakfast:

• Fresh blueberries, raspberries, mango, pineapple, & cantaloupe
• Pecan Streusel Banana Bread (Pullman loaf)
• Crumb Cake
• Olive Oil Pumpkin Bread with Walnuts & Raisins (Bundt loaf)
• Bagels with scallion & whipped cream cheese

Lunch:

• Assorted Cheeses with Sourdough Baguette, and sliced apples & Bartlett pears
• Classic Split Pea Soup
• Ina Garten’s Wild Mushroom & Farro Soup
• Red Lentil Soup with Lemon

Dinner:

• Herb-Roasted Turkey with Wild Mushroom Gravy (upside-down!)
• Cornbread Dressing with Bacon & Sage
• Cranberry Relish with Apple Cider
• Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes
• Cheesy Hasselback Potato Gratin
• Sweet Potato Spoon Bread
• Roasted Vegetables with Pomegranate Vinaigrette
• Maple Browned Butter Pumpkin Pie
• Apple-Brown Sugar Pie (with optional whipped cream or vanilla ice cream)

Leftover Dishes:

• Turkey Stock
• Sweet Potato Biscuits
• Turkey Corn Chowder with Bacon

Christmas Cookies 2017

Traditionally, I make one new holiday cookie to share with our neighbors and co-workers. This year, I made an assortment of old favorites. I just didn’t find a new cookie that caught my eye!

Of course, when it was “too late,” a friend gave us a gift of homemade butter brickle.  It was beyond fabulous! I would love to add it next year, or something like it, like an English Toffee recipe that I found from the New York Times. But that’s next year. 😉

Happy Holidays to you all! Enjoy your time with family and friends. ❤ Best wishes for a wonderful 2018!

Cookies from the Top:

• Spritz Butter Cookies (2x recipe)
• Raspberry Meringue Kisses (2x recipe)
• Lemon Butter Cookies (2x recipe)
• Chocolate-Espresso Snowcaps (2x recipe)

Cookies Left to Right:

• German Lebkuchen (2x recipe)
• Speculaas: Dutch Spice Cookies (2x recipe)
• Pecan Shortbread Cookies (4x recipe- two batches of 2x recipe)

Bottom Row:

• Haystacks (2x recipe)

One Year Ago: Christmas Cookies 2016

Two Years Ago: Christmas Cookies 2015

Three Years Ago: Christmas Cookies 2014

Four Years Ago: Christmas Cookies 2013

Five Years Ago: Christmas Cookies: 2012

Thanksgiving Menu 2017

I selfishly love documenting my holiday menu because it is such a wonderful reference in the future. Hopefully, others may benefit when planning for the holidays as well.

I had considered trying a new Thanksgiving turkey and gravy recipe this year, but I was quickly outvoted. 😉 As much as I enjoy experimenting with new dishes, this year’s feast was comprised of many favorites from previous years. I did add a new roasted rainbow carrot dish and double apple pie. I am still searching for ultimate stuffing and apple pie recipes.

In addition to our tasty holiday feast, we had two surprise highlights from our celebration. The first was a “turkey hat” that my brother brought on Thanksgiving morning. Many photos were taken of everyone wearing it! Fun. 🙂

The second highlight resulted from roasting the turkey upside-down. (We had tried this for the first time last year and the meat was incredibly moist.) The roasting rack is lined with buttered ciabatta bread so that the turkey doesn’t stick when it is time for it to be flipped over. The resulting “turkey bread” was indulgent and absolutely delicious. I’m going to have to incorporate it into some sort of a dish next year.

Happy belated Thanksgiving to all of you and Happy Holiday season!

Thanksgiving Eve Eve:

• Pork Tenderloin with Mustard-Wine Sauce
• Roasted CSA Vegetables
• Number Cookies

Thanksgiving Eve:

• Cranberry Margaritas
• Easy Mushroom Lasagna
• Green Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette
• Pecan Pie Bars

Thanksgiving Day:

Breakfast:

• Fresh mango, pineapple, and cantaloupe
• Crumb Cake
• Pumpkin-Orange Bread (Pullman loaf)
• Banana Banana Bread (Pullman loaf)
• Bagels with assorted jams and whipped cream cheese

Lunch:

• Triple Cream Brie & Creamy Toscano Cheese Soaked in Syrah with Sourdough Baguette & Red Grapes
• Classic Split Pea Soup
• Cauliflower-Cheese Soup

Dinner:

• Herb-Roasted Turkey with Wild Mushroom Gravy (upside-down!)
• Stuffing with Mushrooms and Bacon
• Cranberry Relish with Apple Cider
• Classic Potato Gratin
• Sweet Potato Spoon Bread
• Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pear & Pistachios
• Roasted Rainbow Carrots with Parsley & Thyme
• Pumpkin Chiffon Pie
• Double Apple Pie
• Pecan Pie Bars (with ice cream or whipped cream)

Leftover Dishes:

• Turkey Stock
• Sweet Potato Biscuits
• Turkey à la King

One Year Ago: Thanksgiving Menu 2016

Two Years Ago: Thanksgiving Menu 2015

Three Years Ago: Thanksgiving Menu 2014

Four Years Ago: Thanksgiving Menu 2013

Five Years Ago: Thanksgiving Menu 2012

Christmas Cookies 2016

I always worry that I won’t be able to get it all done… but once again it just worked out. 😉

I had a few cookie recipes that I wanted to add onto my tried and true favorites, but was only able to make two new ones: German Lebkuchen and Dulce de Leche-Hazelnut Macaroons (posts to follow). I had wanted to make the Speculaas: Dutch Spice Cookies that I had tried last year… possibly even the Haselnussmakronen: Raspberry-Hazelnut Macaroons also from last year… Well, maybe it doesn’t all work out. We still have quite a few yummy cookies to enjoy!

Happy Holidays!!

Center:

German Lebkuchen (1x recipe- I need to make more next year!)

Clockwise from Top:

Raspberry Meringue Kisses (2x recipe)

Haystacks (2x recipe)

Pecan Shortbread Cookies (4x recipe- two batches of 2x recipe)

Dulce de Leche-Hazelnut Macaroons (2x recipe)

Chocolate-Espresso Snowcaps (4x recipe)

Lemon Butter Cookies (2x recipe)

One Year Ago:

• Christmas Cookies 2015

Two Years Ago:

• Christmas Cookies 2014

Three Years Ago:

• Christmas Cookies 2013

Four Years Ago:

• Christmas Cookies 2012