From Scratch

Decorating cutout cookies can be as simple as sprinkling sugar on them before they head into the oven or as involved as designs far more elaborate than I’ve done here. When going beyond a minimal approach, we need royal icing, the familiar cement for making gingerbread houses.
But it doesn’t have to be a tooth-chipping mortar. We control […]

It’s not often I run across a rolled cookie dough that doesn’t need an hour or more in the refrigerator before using it, so when I saw this recipe I tried it. I nearly threw it away; it’s from the card a gingerbread cutter was on and I assumed the recipe was for gingerbread.
They bake up […]

When I was a girl I used to wince when my mother dug out the Christmas cookie cutters. It was just a matter of hours until I’d be stuck with helping to decorate them. I hated it, sitting there with a butter knife and carefully coating them with creamy frostings tinted holiday colors that served as a […]

I wonder if this store sells lobster for Passover?
As moonbeammcqueen said in the Comments, A new holiday -  Hamukkah!

 Photo from Seth Godin’s blog

Sphere: Related Content

Whenever I make gingerbread cookies for the holidays, I wonder why I don’t make them more often. They’re really a delicious cookie, especially for those of us without a serious sweet tooth. We associate them with Christmas, of course, but with different cookie cutters they can be used for any holiday or none at all. […]

To all who celebrate it, Happy Hanukkah.
Click on the photo to be taken to three latke recipes at NY Newsday.

The New York Times Book Review’s annual lists of notable and gift-worthy books are out. While the list of notable cookbooks is available only online, the holiday section is both hard copy and at the website.
The notable books run the gamut from those by well-known chefs, such as Jamie Oliver, and specialty cooking, including vegetarian fare, […]

These delectable cookies, with a rich, flaky dough of cream cheese and butter, are probably the most popular Jewish cookie in America, loved by Gentiles too. The name means “little twists” in Yiddish and they’re year-round favorites but are traditional at Hanukkah. It’s early this year; the first candle will be lit the evening of […]

You know the dilemma: you need a gift for someone who likes to cook or bake. Perhaps the cook in your life is like me and has been outfitting a kitchen for years, someone you think has everything. And maybe you don’t cook or bake at all and are at a loss.
Here are some ideas. They […]

Have you ever made a double-crust apple pie, only to cut into it and discover a gaping space between the top crust and the apples? I have and frankly, I don’t know anyone who hasn’t. But it doesn’t have to happen.
One solution is to use more butter in the crust so the pastry really sinks […]

Happily, for those of us who like both, it’s a bit of each.
In a nutshell, it’s a pumpkin pie with apples on the bottom. This is a new recipe for me and I can see it taking its place alongside the traditional pies during the holidays. It fairly screams autumn, and the scent while whisking […]

I like to do ahead as much of a big meal as I can, and since I love crusty, holey bread, I developed this recipe for what are basically brown ‘n’ serve mini breads, shaped like rolls. They’re a mainstay for holiday meals. I make them in the food processor with the metal blade or in […]