Five Little Things

1. The Ultimate Cookie Exchange

Last weekend, I gathered with some dear friends here in the Bay Area – friends that I have made from this adventure in food blogging. It has become one of my favorite get togethers of the season, because we all bring food we love and batches of cookies to share. It really is the ultimate cookie exchange, with such a delicious brunch. (I brought this quinoa salad, in case you missed it). This year we gathered at the home of Jean from Lemons & Anchovies. She set the table beautifully, with greenery from her yard and some of the succulents she lovingly cultivates.

I wanted to share the cookies we enjoyed from everyone and hope you find your new cookie favorites from the bunch.

There's no way I can let #nationalcookieday slide by without baking a fresh batch of something gooey! So a couple dozen Cornflake Marshmallow Cookies from @tracyshutterbean's blog, inspired by the queen of cookies @christinatosi is just the thing. It's a winner, you guys.

A photo posted by Liren Baker (@kitchconfidante) on Dec 4, 2015 at 2:35pm PST

Cornflake Marshmallow Cookies – I had to try Christina Tossi’s infamously fickle recipe, using a version from Tracy at Shutterbean. I think she does a wonderful job with it, and I opted to make standard sized cookies versus the larger ones.

Cranberry Nut Butterhorns (Rugelach) – I have been making so many batches of this old favorite, so I HAD to bring some of these, too!

Springerle Cookies – Jean from Lemons & Anchovies has been working on perfecting her husband’s childhood favorite. And now, my husband is begging me to try my hand at it. I confess to being obsessed with the beautiful cookie molds!

Persimmon Cookies – Lisa of Ravishing Hunger made these delicious cookies from Todd & Diane at White on Rice Couple even more special by adding golden raisons.

Macadamia Milk Chocolate-Peppermint Cookies – Patty from Patty’s Food made these from One Sweet Cookie: Celebrated Chefs Share Favorite Recipes by Tracy Zabar.

Almond Candy Cane Cookies – Lisa from Authentic Suburban Gourmet will be posting the recipe on her blog soon, stay tuned!

Cranberry, Orange, Pecan Cookies – Gina from SPCookieQueen isn’t the self proclaimed cookie queen for nothing. These are SO good.

Almond Shortbread with Milk Chocolate, Peppermint Buttercream – Gina also made an adaptation of this cookie from Cookie Love: More Than 60 Recipes and Techniques for Turning the Ordinary into the Extraordinary by Mindy Segal.

Chocolate Peppermint Balls – Azmina from Lawyer Loves Lunch will be sharing the recipe for this soon. This is a good thing, because my kids adored these cookies.

2. Cookie Science

Speaking of cookies, Serious Eats explains why it’s so important to cream butter and sugar.

3. Brie

What’s a holiday party without a wheel of brie? Here are The 15 Most Delicious Things You Can Do with Brie, according to Pure Wow.

4. Instagram Husbands

Well, they’re the best. By now you’ve probably already seen this, but it really made me chuckle!

5. “Program”

For my brother, sister, cousins and I, there was one very important, MANDATORY part of our childhood Christmas celebrations: the “Program.” Orchestrated by one of my aunts – the one who really taught me how to cook – all the kids were required to perform for the family at our Christmas gathering. From the littlest cousin to the oldest, no one was exempt. There were elaborate plays and dances (requiring costumes and dress rehearsals), monologues, stand up jokes – whatever we wanted to do. The big performance led up to the equally lengthy and elaborate present opening, where we would watch each person open every single present. We have a huge family, so you can imagine, this took forever! I miss those Christmas parties, and when I saw this, I immediately thought of all my cousins. We’re already planning our reunion tour.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone! Dance a little!