-
My 12 Favorite Holiday Cookie Recipes
I’m knee-deep in my holiday baking right now. Every year, I do a ton of baking in December, then box everything up for gifts for my friends and fam. It’s great — everyone gets to enjoy some delish cookies, and who needs more stuff, anyway? As I was baking the other day, I thought it was high time I put together a post with all my faves. There are so many great cookie recipes to choose from on this site, but these are my top 12 favorite holiday cookie recipes. See if you can’t find something to add to your cookie tray this year! 1. Old-Fashioned Gingerbread Cookies From my…
-
Northern Ginger Cookies
This week marks five years since I hit “publish” on my first blog post! When I started this blog, I honestly thought I might do it for a year or two. But five years in, I’m still loving it and have no intention of stopping. To celebrate five years of baking and blogging fun, I decided to create a signature cookie recipe: one that reflects not only the name of my blog, but also the cozy vibes of this beautiful place I call home (and some of my favorite flavors). Everyone give a warm welcome to Northern Ginger Cookies! A New Kind of Ginger Cookie Northern Ginger Cookies are soft…
-
Fudgy Dark Chocolate Double Ginger Brownies
Fall has arrived, though officially summer still has more than a week left to dazzle us with its sunshine. This is my favorite time of year — the summer sun still holds enough warmth to add some bronze to your skin, while the chill in the air invites you to grab that sweater on your way out the door, just in case. The leaves are beginning to change, the days are getting shorter, and the cooler nights offer a taste of winter to come. This time of year my taste buds turn from the fresh, light flavors of summer and begin to crave the warmly spiced flavors of fall: cinnamon,…
-
Old-Fashioned Gingerbread Cookies
Happy December and happy holiday baking season! As a baker, this is undoubtedly my favorite month of the year for making treats. Since I give cookies as Christmas gifts, I get to bake a TON of treats over the course of a few weeks. It’s SO much fun! Since Thanksgiving, I’ve already made 6 kinds of cookies, and as I’m writing this there’s another batch of dough chilling in the fridge and candied grapefruit peel drying on my counter. I’m basically in holiday cookie heaven. While I like to try lots of new recipes each year, there are a couple of family favorites that just have to happen every December.…
-
Soft Gingerbread Amaretti Cookies
Normally I wait until the weekend after Thanksgiving to start baking holiday cookies. There are so many delicious fall treats to enjoy, why rush into the holiday season? But last weekend I was having SUCH a craving for gingerbread that I couldn’t wait. Last Christmas I made Love and Olive Oil’s Soft Amaretti Cookies, and they were DIVINE. So this year I tweaked those deliciously chewy cookies to make a gingerbread version, and oh boy are they tasty. Say hello to Soft Gingerbread Amaretti Cookies! History of Amaretti Cookies Amaretti cookies are a traditional Italian dessert that can be traced as far back as the 17th century. They are known…
-
Ginger Rhubarb Cupcakes
Summer arrived in full force this weekend here in Duluth. It was sunny and 70°F with a lovely lake breeze. Heaven. My Mom came up to visit (for the first time since Christmas!) and we spent as much time as possible outside – including hiking in one of my favorite spots and enjoying some glorious lake views. I tell you what, these kinds of days make up for those dark, 20-below winter days and then some. With summer finally here, my thoughts immediately go to BBQs and potlucks – friends and family gathering to enjoy each other’s company and all the delicious summer foods. Even though this summer will look…
-
Gingerbread Granola
The Holidays are here friends! My gift to you this holiday season is a delicious new breakfast treat. This Gingerbread Granola is full of the warm spices of the season, with a sweet-tart punch from dried cranberries. It’s perfect for cozy mornings in your jammies with loved ones. Plus, it’s quick and easy to make, which is what we all need this time of year, right? I had grand plans for the blog in December. So many new cookie and candy recipes have been swimming in my head (“visions of sugarplums” and all that) over the past few months, all of them perfect for the Holidays. But as often happens…
-
Grandma Rena’s Molasses Cookies
My Great-Aunt Evy passed away this week. Like many of the older women in my family, she was a kind, loving, smart, and spunky lady. I didn’t see her often, but whenever I did she was quick to give me a smile and a hug, and always made me feel so loved. She will definitely be missed. Learning of her death made me think of all of the other great ladies I’ve been lucky enough to have in my life, including my Great-Grandma Rena. I don’t remember much of Grandma Rena, since I was young when she died, but I do remember one thing vividly – sitting at her kitchen…
-
Peach Ginger Pie
One last summer recipe before fall begins in earnest, before we give in to all of the pumpkin spice and apple cinnamon flavors of this next season. This Peach Ginger Pie is the best way to use up that last batch of peaches and have one more taste of summer. This is a simple recipe, as all the best fruit pie recipes are – just fruit, sugar, corn starch (to thicken the filling), and ginger. Plus your favorite flaky pie crust. Simple, but heavenly all the same. Pie Crust and Pie Birds For the pie crust, see my Rhubarb Custard Pie recipe for ingredients and instructions (including photos). It makes…
-
Apricot Ginger Granola
The air is starting to get crisp here in Northern Minnesota. The days are getting shorter too, and I’ve even seen a few leaves beginning to change. Fall is just around the corner. I love fall – it’s by far my favorite season – but I’m not quite ready to let go of summer yet. I’m not ready to give up hot sunny days, cold drinks on the deck, ice cream cones, BBQs, and fresh summer flavors. To help bridge the gap from summer to fall, I created this Apricot Ginger Granola. It has the bright sweetness of apricots and a bit of tropical flavor from coconut mixed with the…
Recipes and Musings from the Zenith City
