Holiday Cookie Baking
I was raised baking Christmas cookies with my mom and siblings, or at least taste testing each variety at all stages of its production. My mom would create a number of the classics often with recipes passed down from one or the other of my grandmothers or hailing from her high school cookbook, a compilation of recipes from classmates that she has carried since school and now must be kept in a ziploc bag because it resides in so many pieces. We would have classic cut out sugar cookies, French Christmas cookies, English Toffee, caramels, melt in your mouth sugar cookies, Christmas nuggets, fudge, and more.
A couple years ago my sister detoured from our traditional spread to try some new varieties. This year in preparation for spending the holidays with mom and sister in New York City I have prepared a new addition, Triple Ginger Cookies, and one of sister’s favorites, Orange Cardamom Cookies. For the Orange Cardamom I chose to roll the dough into a log and slice it rather than doing cutouts and opted out on the frosting. I did not use star anise in the the Triple Ginger Cookies, but otherwise followed the recipe. I highly recommend both of these recipes.
