Eat right away - I’m not a fan of boozy fruitcake.
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That’s very kind, thank you. I love project cooking, and have to manufacture occasions to do it.
The ladies of my mother’s acquaintance all would have hosted decades of big holiday/family/friend parties in their younger years, and while I know they don’t miss all the work it involved, I think they do miss the social aspect. I know my mom does, but she wouldn’t be able to throw such a shindig herself. So I’m happy to do it for them.
It’s also true that while I frequently complain about the complete lack of restaurant culture around here, I’m pretty interested in “vintage”/ regional home cooking of all kinds, and so cooking for mom and her friends is an opportunity to make dishes (like the crab soup) that I consider worthy of keeping alive. Other examples of “local” things I foist upon them are chicken corn soup, PA Dutch-style chicken pot pie (which is a stew, not a baked item) and hog maw.
I will also note that almost all the attendees came with hostess gifts. This is a dying tradition (myself and my friends don’t do when we gather twice a year for our standard summer and winter parties) and I’ll be sad when it’s completely gone. We got homemade knitted caps, two pairs of Bombas slippers, local jams, homemade jam, some cute Christmas hand towels, some cute beaded jewelry, and the best gift of all, an enormous box of chocolates from the last of the old-time local chocolate makers. I was so overwhelmed with sugar yesterday that I didn’t crack it open… but I did tonight 
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My kindred spirit, right there.
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I would be happy to get that plate of treats in any tea room. Very nice!
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Yeah I have for sure done things like start a recipe at 10 PM because “it won’t take long”. never true
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Looks gorgeous!!
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We will hold you to it 
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The novelty hasn’t worn off yet…porridge bread with part ww flour, orange zest, maple syrup, pecans, and chopped apple. Yummy toasted.
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Looks great
Anyone have a favorite kransekake cookie recipe? I’m giving my sister a set of cutters at the holidays, and would like to include a recipe. Caveat: should be beginner-friendly.
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Not one I’ve made, but Beatrice Ojakangas has 2 versions in The Great Scandinavian Baking Book. The illustrations there show simple ring shaped forms that stack, not the elaborate star cookie cutter shapes in your picture. Her recipes are for a soft almond dough and uses a pastry tube to fill the shapes. Let me know if you’d like those recipes. For a novice, perhaps just a roll out sugar cookie dough would be easiest, although missing the signature almond flavor.
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I had a strong sense of deja vu.
Your favorite sugar cookie recipe should work.
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Thanks for that! I’m fairly certain there is a copy of Ojakangas’ book under the tree for me, so I will check there. We’ll be opening our gifts at home the day before I see my sister, so there’s a window of opportunity there. I’ll also check a couple of other Scandinavian baking books to which I have access. I’m hoping to offer her a version which can be rolled, so she can use the cutters.
I recall someone in the HO community had made the cookie tree, and see @Saregama has found the link. 
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Yes - thank you! I recall that post from @Trish.
For anyone interested, here is her long version of the process.
And here is the cookie recipe she used.
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As I recall, the cookies weren’t really eaten, like a gingerbread house.
There was some discussion of the possibility of dunking them (coffee, chocolate), but I don’t think we ever heard a final outcome.
The Williams Sonoma sugar cookie recipe was linked in the product page I shared.
@heidicooksandbakes has also made this
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Battle of the pumpkin cookies— In Bloom Bakery vs Scientifically Sweet!
I had a small amount of pumpkin purée, so I thought cookies would be good since they don’t require a lot. I wanted chewy cookies because the cakey pumpkin cookies are good, but I just made a pumpkin loaf. Scientifically Sweet would leave me with leftover, so I thought a half batch of In Bloom’s would be good to use the remainder.
The Scientifically Sweet ones have brown butter and more pumpkin in relation to flour. The In Bloom Bakery look like they contain more pumpkin, but they contain less when you take into account the removal of moisture. My purée had been cooked to remove moisture, so I simply used the amount called for post-draining in the Scientifically Sweet ones. No issues with the dough being slack, so I think I had a good moisture level. I used 4 grams of salt rather than the called for 1/4 tsp, and I used dark corn syrup instead of honey.
For In Bloom’s I patted my purée dry since I technically had more than needed if I used it without blotting. I made no changes other than leaving the salt amount of the full recipe intact for the half batch. I could still have added a touch more salt I think.
I used cinnamon sugar for coating both rather than the pumpkin spice sugar In Bloom called for.
I thought I’d like the Scientifically Sweet ones better because they have more pumpkin, but I find myself liking both equally for different reasons. The In Bloom ones have more pumpkin spice and that’s really delicious and makes you think they’re more pumpkin-y than they are. They are puffier since they contain baking powder, so slightly cakier, but still moist and chewy. The Scientifically Sweet ones are chewier and have the sort of slight caramel note you get from brown butter.
I really can’t choose.
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Crepes with chestnut spread and lightly poached pears, inside and out. Roasted crushed hazelnuts on top, wishing I had some crème fraîche. Next iteration will be in a tart…I’ll be sure to have the crème fraîche!
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Addendum…the crepes were whole wheat pastry flour and I added a little Frangelico to the chestnut spread. The whole wheat was very complementary to the chestnut spread and hazelnuts. But the winner is the rum addition to the tart.
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