Mayhem in the Kitchen!

Family Christmas Cookie 10: Snowball Cookies

Of all the cookies my grandma made for Christmas, these are one of the most memorable to me. I think it’s because they’re just so pretty! The bright white frosting combined with the coconut makes for such a delicate, lovely looking cookie, and provides a nice contrast on a cookie tray when placed next to…

Family Christmas Cookie 9: Sugar Cookies

No Christmas cookie plate would be complete without sugar cookies! Much like the gingerbread cookies I shared earlier, this same recipe came from several sources, and I eventually tracked it down to my old 1963 copy of The Cooky Book. This isn’t my favorite recipe for decorating or using precise cutters, but it tastes…

Family Christmas Cookie 8: Gingerbread Boys

One of the really fun parts of compiling this recipe list was comparing and contrasting my family recipes with my husband’s family recipes. In most cases, there’s a wide contrast between the two families – most of my grandma’s cookies were more elaborate and from newer recipes, while my husband’s family cookbook is heavily…

Family Christmas Cookie 7: Angel Pillows

Angel Pillows are a favorite from my mum’s side of the family. I made them with strawberry preserves, but my grandma always made these with apricot or peach. I believe the recipe must have come out of a magazine or advertisement, as the tattered copy I was given mentioned a few brands by name, but…

Vegetarian Chili and Cornbread Dumplings

Ooooooof has it ever been chilly here in Minneapolis. We’ve had below zero temperatures every day for a week, not to mention a good six inches of snow! Mayhem has also been terribly upset (exhibit A, exhibit B) and has been taking every opportunity to let us know that he wasn’t prepared for this. Usually…

Family Christmas Cookie 6: Pfeffernüsse Cookies

This recipe is another of my father-in-law’s additions to the second edition of my mother-in-law’s family cookbook. They always say men marry their mother, but MINE often remarks that he actually married his father. One reason for that is our shared love for anise, and, in turn, these German Pfeffernusse (“peppernut”) cookies. Unlike the other…

Easy Egg Nog Bundt Cake

Last year I was ill for the entire week leading up to the Christmas celebration for my mum’s family, and while I was definitely feeling better by the time the party rolled around, I was simply too behind on everything else (the driveway needed shoveling, the hamper was overflowing, Mayhem had a strange smell about…

Family Christmas Cookie 5: Grandma Ruth’s Apple Fruit Cake

Each year, my husband’s family anxiously awaits the arrival of grandma Ruth’s apple fruit cake, which is another favorite from the family cookbook. I love this fruitcake for three reasons – most importantly, it reminds me of my favorite grandmother-in-law, secondly, it has a lovely sweet flavor without the bitter bite of citrus rind that…

Family Christmas Cookie 4: Spritz Cookies

I think just about every family has a spritz cookie recipe that only comes out around Christmas time. Ours originated from my mum’s church cookbook, and features a light cookie with hints of both vanilla and almond. My grandma used to make these with the wreath shape in her cookie press, tint the dough green,…

Family Christmas Cookie 3: Russian Tea Cakes

Like yesterday’s Snickerdoodles, Russian Tea Cakes were in the first edition of my husband’s family cookbook, and were a staple at my mum’s family Christmas gatherings. My favorite thing about these is that they’re not too sweet, making them a great alternative to biscotti with a nice cup of coffee on Christmas morning. This post…

Family Christmas Cookie 2: Snickerdoodles

Snickerdoodles were a recipe in the first edition of my husband’s family cookbook, and a favorite at many of my own family gatherings. These were some of the first I cookies I baked and distributed at PAX as a member of the Cookie Brigade, and not only did they sell out faster than my monster…

Family Christmas Cookie 1: Gingersnaps

These classic Gingersnaps are made from a recipe passed down by my husband’s Grandma Lorraine. While I wasn’t lucky enough to meet Lorraine, these hold a special place in my heart as one of the family recipes we shared on our wedding dessert buffet. This post is day 1 in the series Mayhem’s 12 Days…

Drop Sugar Cookies

I hope all of my American readers had a fabulous Thanksgiving – I know I sure did! Most of the time we need to juggle holidays between my side of the family and my husband’s side, but this year we were fortunate enough to celebrate twice, once on Thursday with my family, and once on…

Cranberry Almond Coffee Cake

It dawned on me that once I mentioned my Quest for Brunch Excellence, that I should probably make good on sharing some of those wonderful recipes. This morning we had friends coming over for a little vacation planning, which I thought was a perfect excuse for breakfast coffee cake! As I’ve mentioned before, my favorite…

Bakery Style BIG Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Tomorrow we’re celebrating another colleague’s birthday at work, and he’s not much into sweets. Since it’s a Friday, I’d toyed with the idea of just bringing in a bottle of gin, or perhaps a nice liqueur, but what’s a birthday without treats? Instead of going crazy with cake, I opted for some simple crowd-pleasing cookies,…