Over the past three years, these cookies have come to mean Christmas to me. Their soft, cake-like texture. Their not-to-sweet chocolate depth. Their perfectly peppermint-y bite. Tastes like Christmas...so much so that I've already made three batches this year!

I first discovered this recipe a few years ago when researching new cookie recipes for my annual cookie party. I'm not typically a big peppermint fan but come Christmas time I all of a sudden can't get enough peppermint bark candy or peppermint stick ice cream. So I was looking for a way to incorporate this strange seasonal craving into my cookie party and stumbled upon this recipe on a blog called 101 Cookbooks.

Since this recipe makes quite a few cookies, feel free to also freeze half of the dough (or even double the recipe and freeze a full batch) so you have it on hand for when guests stop by unexpectedly during the holiday season. Once you have the dough all lined up on the cookie sheets ready to go in the oven, simply pop the cookie sheet in the freezer instead and once the cookie dough balls are fully frozen you can then put them all in a freezer storage bag. Pop right from the freezer to the oven when you're ready to make them...they might need an extra 1-2 minutes in the oven, but no need to thaw first. Will make your house smell divine while they're cooking, which is nice when guests are visiting as well!

The recipe below is almost identical to the 101 Cookbooks original that I first made years ago, but I've adapted it slightly over the years:

The Henricksen Holiday Cookie Party is a long-standing, fabulous tradition. Christian's mom has been hosting her own holiday cookie party since the mid-90s and I was introduced to it back in 2002 when I started dating Christian.  I thought it was such a fun idea and Christian loves cookies so much that we decided to continue with the tradition for our own little family of friends. It's a fantastic way to gather friends together, sample a dazzling array of cookies and imbibe in festive drinks while listening to the Carpenters croon Christmas carols. Be forewarned though, it's a party that almost guarantees a sugar hangover!

 

So, what's on the menu?  You'll be happy to see it's super easy and low key!

• Cookies of course...some of your own and a batch from every group of guests!
• A savory table with decadent cheese & charcuterie platters along with all of the requisite accompaniments such as nuts, olives, figs, etc...
• A crudité platter
• Homemade Gløgg (mulled wine)
• Warm spiked apple cider with homemade whipped cream

But first, let's talk about the cookies.  This is a cookie pot luck, if you will.  So I usually bake 3 cookies and guests are required to bring 1 dish of cookies of their own as well.  It's fun because you often get a peek into their family traditions or discover a fabulous new cookie for your own repertoire. Since we've been doing this for so many years and have many repeat guests, our party tends to get a bit competitive...those who show up with store-bought cookies are ridiculed a bit :)

It's that time of year again...time to overbook our schedules with cocktail parties, gift exchanges and eat way too much yummy food! You know, those foods that you love but only have at this time of year...for me Paula Deen's Rum Pumpkin Pie with Praline Pecans that I make every Thanksgiving is at the top of that list. I first tried this recipe years ago when I began hosting my own big Thanksgiving dinners for friends and I haven't gone back to plain old traditional pumpkin pie since!

So what makes this pie so addictive? First, the depth of flavor that just the slight bit of added rum adds. It doesn't seem like 2 tablespoons of rum would make that big of a difference, but trust me, don't skimp here. Second the perfect layer of whipped cream covering the entire top of the pie is essential.  No more single dollop of whip cream per slice...a whole layer on top of the freshly made topping is the way to go. Lastly the praline pecans...make more than the recipe calls for and sprinkle on top liberally. This sweet, crunchy, nutty addition adds the perfect amount of textural distinction to an otherwise melt in your mouth creamy pie. If you're feeling ambitious and want to make your own pie crust, Paula's Perfect Pie Crust is a fantastic recipe...buttery and flaky. Of course, there's no shame in store-bought pie crust...just buy the frozen sheets of  rolled out dough that you put in your own pan which is much better than the kind that is frozen and already pressed into a tinfoil pan.

Whatever you decide about your crust, make sure this pie is filling it...you'll be the talk of your Thanksgiving party and have everyone wishing you made two. Seriously...this is the only dessert that I've ever hid from Christian so I can have the leftovers all to myself!

As most of you know, I'm from Massachusetts and a proud Mass-hole through and through despite having lived on the West coast for over 10 years now. While I didn't grow up in Boston, I did grow up heading into the city pretty often throughout my childhood for museum visits, parades, Red Sox games and of course, cannoli from the North End. So every time I return to Boston I make a bee-line straight for my old stand-by, Mike's Pastry, to get myself a cannoli experience filled with childhood memories, nostalgia and yummy Italian pastry.

But on a recent visit when I was doing a bit of foodie research I kept finding mention of another fan-favorite cannoli spot, Modern Pastry, and I had to wonder...could it stand up to my Mike's? Could these other people possibly know something I didn't when claiming that Modern, not Mike's, had the best cannoli in town? Only one way to find out...enter SavoryGirl's Great Boston Cannoli Taste-Off!

So first things, first....acquiring the cannoli. 10pm after a Red Sox game, my best friend and I along with our husbands headed to Mike's and then Modern to get a plain cannoli and a chocolate dipped cannoli from each spot. The vibe of each bakery was extremely different.

Mike's, just as I remembered, is bustling, disorderly, frenetic and has an air of anticipation within the large open bakery. A ridiculous assortment of cannoli type to choose from...not necessarily traditional, but certainly something for everyone. The women behind the counter are a bit gruff but in a forgiving way...almost as if they're playing the stern but loving Italian grandmother role.

Modern, on the other hand, is quiet and orderly with customers queuing in a straight line outside of their tiny shop. The cannoli selection is much more limited, but definitely more traditional. The women behind this counter are similar to those at Mike's in the sense that they also aren't friendly or warm but instead of being gruff, they are curt and short on patience with their customers.

So now onto the cannoli themselves...we removed ourselves from the potentially biasing atmosphere of either bakery and walked down to the Greenway right outside the North End to do the tasting itself. Jeff, always one to play along, presented the first cannoli to me in grand first-bite tasting style. We of course ensured that I had no idea which box the cannoli came from so that this truly was a blind taste-test (I am a researcher by trade after all). As you can see above, our theatrics were starting to draw a bit of attention...

Nothing says summer like strawberry shortcake for dessert!  I grew up eating those little sponge cakes you buy at the store with cool whip but over the years I've developed a completely homemade strawberry shortcake recipe that I absolutely adore. It's super easy and well worth the tiny bit of extra effort over store brought. My recipe below makes enough for about 8 servings.

Berries: 3 baskets of fresh, ripe strawberries 2 tsp. sugar

Quarter strawberries into a medium sized bowl...if they're larger strawberries cut into sixths or eighths. Sprinkle with sugar, stir, cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit in the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes.  This is called macerating...the sugar softens the berries and pulls the juices out of the berries so that you get a nice natural sauce along with your berries.

Valentine's Day is right around the corner, which means you need some sweet treats to celebrate with your loved ones!  One of my favorites for the holiday is chocolate dipped strawberries.  Light but decadent and a rare enough to feel special...well at least we don't eat them very often, not sure how much chocolate dipped strawberry eating goes on in your house! Now, there are plenty of fancy and sophisticated recipes for chocolate dipped strawberries, but this is my DIY version.  Easy enough to make on short notice with ingredients we often have in the house.  Okay, so maybe not everyone tends to have a stash of chocolate chips on hand at all times, but we do for some reason.  He he!

Ah, krumkake...the cookie that equals Christmas in Christian's family!  If you aren't familiar with krumkakes, it's a Norwegian waffle cookie that is crisp, light and delicious.  Especially with coffee or tea...but then again, I think we just like an excuse to eat cookies for breakfast.  It's similar to a delicate ice cream cone, and some even use them this way (or to fill with other delicious treats such as whip cream!).  The holiday undertone of this cookie, however, comes from the hint of cardamom.  Fabulous!

So how do you make these beauties if you don't have an adorable Norweigian grandmother cranking them out for you like a pro? Oh, how we miss Grandma Henricksen!  Well, it takes a bit of special equipment, some patience, and fingertips tough enough to handle the hot cookies (aka, Christian in my household...although even he wears heavy duty kitchen gloves).  The batter is ridiculously simple and the process is really fun...part of the holiday tradition in our household since we often make them on the living room table in front of a Holiday movie!

I recently held a family recipe contest at the call center in Peoria, IL that I oversee as a part of my day job.  I got so many amazing contributions of recipes that sounded delicious & had a fabulous back story, but there could only be one winner...and that winner was Michelle Turchi's Family Succarini (or Zuccarini) Cookie Recipe!  Just in time for me to try out for my annual Cookie Party!

So what did I think?  They're quite yummy...and remind me a lot of biscotti, so are a great "breakfast cookie."  But making them in this particular little shape and then trying to dip them in hot bubbling sugar without burning yourself is a bit labor intensive.  So I think next time I make them I'll make them larger so they're both faster to make and easier to dip.  That probably means they wouldn't technically be Zuccarinis....but hey, they'd still taste just as good!  Kudos to Michelle for making them every year...hers were much more beautiful than mine so maybe she has some tips on how to make the process easier as well!

Michelle's lovely family backstory and recipe are below...enjoy, and of course if you have a family cookie recipe of your own please share!

The recipe below is a SavoryGirl original that was inspired by what was in season at the Farmer's Market years ago when Christian & I first started trying to eat locally and seasonally.  While it is certainly different now, growing up in New England the only thing I knew about figs was that they were a critical component of Fig Newton's...oh how I've grown.  Now we count the days until fresh figs appear at our Farmer's Market each year.  If you're lucky you'll get an early crop in the spring and then another crop in the fall...so keep your eyes peeled!

We just made about our 5th clafouti of the summer when I suddenly realized that I haven’t yet shared this favorite with all of you!  If you’ve never had the pleasure of eating a clafouti it’s kind of a cross between a custard and a cake and is simply delicious.

There are two reasons we love the clafouti so much in our house...the first is because it is one of the fastest and easiest desserts you can possibly make and you often have all of the ingredients in the house, meaning you can even whip it up on a weeknight!  The second reason we love it is because the mild vanilla, cinnamon and lemon flavors are so versatile that it works with almost any fruit you have on hand...especially summer fruit like berries, Italian plums or cherries (the traditional fruit of choice).  Versatile, easy and beautiful to serve, what more could you ask for?  Gotta love those French bakers!