Christmas Sugar Cookies

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Christmas sugar cookies have been a tradition in my family for as long as I can remember. As children, my younger sister and I would always find ourselves in the kitchen around this time of year, making a genuine mess of everything we touched. My mom would mix up a batch of homemade dough and help us roll it out as we got flour all over our cheeks, our hair, and the kitchen table. The cookie cutters we used then and now are the same. The candy cane, sleigh, rocking horse, reindeer, stockings, and tree always leave their mark in the dough.

My mom would let us cut out the cookies, subtly suppressing a sigh when we'd space the cutters so far from one another she'd certainly have to roll out the dough dozens more times.

My sister and I would often tire long before the cookies were finished being rolled, cut, and baked. My mother never said a word when we'd leave her with a mess and run off for an hour while she finished up.

Yet, she'd always call us back to the table, with colorful, newly mixed batches of powdered sugar glaze to greet us. I loved decorating cookies even then, spending extra time to make sure I stayed in the lines and the frosting was just so. My sister loved to cover the cookies as quickly as possible. Often the glaze dripped onto the table long after she abandoned one cookie for another. We were opposite in our decorating approaches, yet our styles complimented one another. She would get the bulk of the cookies done while I concentrated so closely on a select few.

Even as my sister and I have both grown and now find ourselves living in different places, we try to get together to decorate sugar cookies every year, no exceptions. Though the sugar cookie recipe we use has changed and our powdered sugar glaze has been swapped for royal icing, our tradition holds fast. Every year we pull out the same cookie cutters, buried deep in the bottom drawer beneath the straws, napkins, and old party plates. Every year we are reminded that the dough never comes out of the prettiest Christmas tree cutter, rendering it useless. Every year we discover the crocodile cookie cutter hidden in the Christmas-themed assortment and make a few for good luck.

These are the cookies we make every year. These are the cookies that define our holiday traditions. These are the sweet, buttery cookies that bring us closer together.

The winners of the homemade holiday cookie giveaway (and these sweet sugar cookies!) are:

Jennifer Cannon

Those cookies look delicious! My most favorite cookie for Christmas are butter cookies and sugar cookies. I have many wonderful memories of making them with my mother and grandmother....now I am creating new ones by making them with my 2 wonderful girls!

Jess D.

Great giveaway idea! My favorite holiday cookies are what my Grandma calls Chocolate Crinkle cookies. The "crinkle" comes from rolling the chocolate dough in powdered sugar before baking - so cute. She makes them every year and they are just simply amazing!

Crista

Sometime in the seventies my mother bought a set of number cookie cutters, 0 through 9. On the back of the package were two recipes, one for gingerbread cookies and one for sugar cookies. To this day, we still use those two recipes for our annual holiday baking. They are basic, but they are also the best ever!

Be on the lookout for an email from me, ladies!

In other exciting news, Intervistato.com, an Italian/English website that dedicates itself to interviewing and learning more about fascinating people in interesting fields, asked me to do a short interview! How could I say no? Simply being asked was remarkably flattering.

If you want to hear about everything from my blog's beginnings to food photography and recipe inspiration from my own perspective, tune in!

Peppermint Pinwheels & Giveaway!

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Peppermint Pinwheels & Giveaway!

Peppermint Pinwheels

This year I decided to participate in The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap hosted by Lindsay of Love & Olive Oil and Julie of The Little Kitchen. The idea is simple—make three dozen homemade cookies and mail them to three lucky bloggers, Secret Santa style. A few days later, I would find my own mailbox filled with boxes of homemade cookies. And the best part? I could enjoy them knowing someone out there made them especially for me.

When I first heard about this exchange back in October, I was immediately sold. How fun was this idea? Not only do I love sharing my baked goods with others, but I love getting packages in the mail. It was absolutely a win-win situation for me.

Peppermint Pinwheels

But, as the days ticked by, I struggled to come up with an idea for a cookie. I went to the library and picked up half a dozen cookbooks just on the subject of cookies. I flipped through each and every one, feeling more and more uninspired as I turned the pages. Even Martha Stewart, the goddess of all things sweet, couldn't spark my creative interest. As the weeks flew by and I found myself swallowed in work, original cookie ideas were simply lost to the wind.

When the date of the cookie swap finally loomed overhead, the month and a half I had to come up with a fun cookie idea was reduced to all of 10 minutes and restricted to the ingredients already in my kitchen. Out of this exigence, the idea for these Peppermint Pinwheels was born. While the idea may not be original, it doesn't make the pinwheel sandwiches any less fun (or delicious).

After baking and individually packaging each cookie for a safe journey across the country, I wished my cookies well on their journey, hoping the mouths to receive them would enjoy them as much as I did.

Peppermint Pinwheels Peppermint Pinwheels Peppermint Pinwheels

Inspired by the idea of a cookie exchange, I thought it would be fun to send out a dozen cookies to you. Yes, you! And so three of you lucky readers will find a box of handmade cookies sitting in your mailbox in the next week. I love getting mail and, when it just so happens to be edible mail, it just makes it that much more fun. I want to share in the season of giving with you!

To find a box of cookies on your doorstep...
1. Leave a comment below and tell me about your favorite holiday cookies. Make sure to include your email address when filling out the comment form so I can get ahold of you!
2. You must live in the United States or Canada. I unfortunately cannot afford to send cookies further away (and I fear they may arrive shattered after such a long journey).
3. The contest will end on Wednesday, December 14th at 10 pm (cst) and the winners will be chosen randomly and announced on Facebook and Twitter immediately thereafter (and on here Thursday morning).

Good luck!

Peppermint Pinwheels

Peppermint Pinwheels are bold and colorful holiday cookies. Featuring vanilla sugar cookies and peppermint buttercream frosting, the cookies have no shortage of flavor. The cookie sandwiches are surprisingly soft, making it difficult to eat just one. While pinwheel cookies may appear intimidating, just note that, if you can roll out dough for cut-out cookies, there is no reason you couldn't whip up a batch of these since the same concepts apply. Do not skimp on refrigerator time and these cookies should turn out just as beautiful for you!

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Pumpkin Panna Cotta

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Pumpkin Panna Cotta

Pumpkin Panna Cotta

The Midwest has its own quirks, as does any region. It isn't until you leave the area for awhile that they suddenly become apparent (and oh do they become apparent). I've moved around a bit in my 20s—living in North Dakota, Minnesota, Montana, and Wisconsin for various lengths of time—but it wasn't until I spent some time in Europe that my Midwestern quirks really began to show.

As a child of the Midwest, I would occasionally see television shows or movies that would mock the Minnesotan "yah, sure, ya betcha" accent (Fargo and New in Town, I'm looking at you). Unlike the classic Minnesotan accent (which, by the way, is greatly exaggerated and I haven't met a soul who actually speaks like that except this woman), the quirks of the Midwest seem to stay in the Midwest. In fact, we hardly recognize we have them.

Pumpkin Panna Cotta

Lately, I've noticed the Midwestern use of the phrase I s'pose. Let's be clear; it is never "I suppose." It's I s'pose. Around the Midwest, this turn of phrase is used frequently and I've only recently started realizing just how often I use it myself. I s'pose has come to mean I-don't-want-to-talk-to-you-anymore when you are on the phone or I'd-really-like-to-be-going-now when you are visiting someone in person. It's perceived to be very polite, but it's nevertheless effective.

For instance, when on the phone with a relative or friend, simply saying "Well, I s'pose" will signal the end of the conversation and the goodbyes will soon begin. Just recently, when my family had the relatives over for Thanksgiving, everyone was sitting in the living room and it was getting late into the evening. My uncle said the magic words I s'pose in a short lull of conversation and everyone immediately stood up to head on home.

Who knew such a simple, grammatically incorrect phrase could hold so much power?

Pumpkin Panna Cotta Pumpkin Panna Cotta

Perhaps the biggest Midwestern quirk is our pronunciation of very simple words. We use long vowels instead of short vowels in certain situations. Simple words like bag, magazine, or dragon are pronounced with the long a sound (as in baby or mate) instead of the short a sound (as in cat or mat). While most Midwesterners would hardly bat an eye at this, I've found you do get made fun of for it when you venture out into the rest of the world (and I have, on several occasions).

This was never more apparent to me than when I was at a grocery store checkout in England. I was packing my purchases up in my backpack when I realized everything didn't fit and I would need another bag. I asked the lady for a bag (using the long vowel "a") and she stared at me like I had grown a second head. "A bag?"

"Yes, a bag? One of those?" I said, pointing to the paper bags in her hand.

She still stared at me, uncomprehending this seemingly ridiculous request.

"A BAG?" I said once more, confused, resorting to miming the shape and function of a bag to get my point across.

"Oh, you mean a bag." She said, using the short vowel a, looking sorry for me, as if I had gone through my life mispronouncing such a simple word.

What quirks do you notice in the regions where you live?

Pumpkin Panna Cotta

Pumpkin pie has been a staple of the holiday season for as long as any of us remember (and for good reason, too—it's delicious!). This Pumpkin Panna Cotta is a twist on the traditional pumpkin pie. With the buttery crust gone, the pumpkin filling finally has a chance to truly shine on its own. Panna Cotta is essentially a thick custard and, when combined with the flavors and spices of the classic pumpkin pie, it becomes the perfect substitute to the real deal. Once you taste your first bite, I have a feeling you will forget pumpkin pie ever had a crust.

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