"ChristmasCookies" news and stories

Pappas arranges the recipes into four sections: traditional cookies, family favorites, gift cookies and party cookies. Though each section contains standbys, the highlight is Pappas' gift for presenting ideas and recipes not everyone will have heard of. Most of us know that gingerbread (page 28) is traditional at the holidays, but did you know about the traditions of springerle (page 22), peppernuts (page 31), or Viennese bells (page 36)? Sugar cookies (page 40) and spritz (page 42, if you can lay your hands on your cookie press) and are de rigeur for holiday baking, but why not incorporate lemon wafers (page 45) or pepparkakor (page 44)? And whether you celebrate Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, the Solstice or just calories, don't forget to put together a tray of coconut-orange macaroons (page 89).

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I have a fondness for Little Debbie. She has helped me through many a night when I had a craving for something sweet and sugary. I once had a dinner that consisted of Little Debbie brownies and Diet Coke.

Every year around this time the company comes out with Christmas-shaped snacks (if snacks can be "shaped" like Christmas). I don't mean they're shaped like Christ, I mean they're shaped like Christmas trees (there are other snacks as well, including cookies). The white trees are yellow cake covered in a white frosting, and on a scale of 1 to 10 they get an 8.

The green trees are brownies that are covered with a green glaze (to give it that tree look) and colored sprinkles (for the lights and decorations). My roommate loves the white cakes, but he finds the brownies to taste too "fake" and "chemical-ey." Now, I don't know if chemical-ey is a word, but I think that's exactly what makes them so good! They're kinda addictive, and unlike a lot of brownies, they're always incredibly moist and chewy.

The first time I caught a glimpse of a recipe like this one was in a magazine a couple of years ago. At least, it was the first time that this flavor combination made an impression on me. At that time, Plugra, the higher-fat European style butter, was really becoming a trend in baking and I was slightly more inclined to try recipes that specifically called for it to see if there was a significant difference between it and regular butter. A few batches of cookies later and I wasn't completely sold on the butter, but I was sold on the cookie recipe. That first recipe only had orange and cranberry set into a light and buttery cookie and, compared to the usual holiday array of nut and spice-laden cookies, it was a revelation: bright, buttery and sweet. Over time, I lost track of that original recipe, switched to ordinarily butter (although it is fine to use one like Plugra, if you like) and added some dark chocolate chips to the cookies so that there would be something in them to satisfy every cookie-lover.

The article from Saveur seduced me with its tale of thousands of cookies baked around the clock in the small town of Solebury, Pennsylvania. Trinity Church, an Episcopal parish, raises about $1,700 each year through its 20,000-cookie bakefest. But better than the money was the idea... grandmothers and little boys and single parishioners all working together to mix, roll, bake and box the buttery cookies made from recipes handed down for generations.

How could I resist? So two years ago I tried this recipe when I bought a Costco bag of walnuts and needed to use them up. Ever since I've been buying walnuts, nutmeg and cinnamon specifically for this recipe. These cookies satisfy my longing for spicy, crispy, nutty treats - and they're protein packed and low-net carb, to boot. I eat them for breakfast throughout December.