Paximadia – Greek Biscotti

Here’s to my last blog post (and cookie recipe) of 2023. Paximadia means twice baked Greek cookies, in other words biscotti. You essentially bake a big log (or two) then cut them, then bake them again. Hence, you are baking them twice. Some Greek Orthodox folks fast during certain times throughout the year. These fasts limit the types of food that are allowed, not all food entirely. One period of fasting is for a 40 day period prior to Christmas day. These biscotti are a good option to have during the fast because they do not contain eggs or dairy. …

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Christmas 2023

Welcome to our home for the 2023 holidays! This year I’m embracing nature, earthy touches, and neutral colors with a touch of traditional reds and greens. Our kitchen tree is an ode to our vacation to Quebec City, Canada because we enjoyed macarons and hot cocoa almost every night in old Quebec. So there are several macaron ornaments on the tree. This summer I found out that I love ferns (mostly because I haven’t killed them yet). It started with one and now I have three. I decided to leave them out on the kitchen table and dress them up …

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Gingerbread Crumb Cookies

Gingerbread cookie. Crumbs. Where have these been all my life? These cookies are a little high maintenance to make but that’s okay with me at Christmas time because it’s the time of year to show off some impressive cookies. I don’t often show prep pictures anymore but I thought it was good to show you how much crumb to get on there. It kind of looks like a stuffed mushroom, but it’s not. When they come out of the oven they magically look little crumb cakes but in a chewy cookie form. They have subtle gingerbread flavors so even those …

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Christmas Dining Room 2023 and The Most Requested Cookie Recipe

My husband and I love baking and handing out cookies.  Chocolate chip (or M&M) cookies are hands down the most requested cookie no matter what time of the year it is.  If you’re lost about where to start your holiday baking, then I recommend you start with these chocolate chip cookies because you can’t go wrong. We also love hosting friends and family, and one place we spend a bunch of time is our dining room. This year it has a rustic/nature/elegant theme. I kept the table center piece very simple.  I used whimsical bird accent plates to match the …

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Doughnut Holes and a Doughnut Tree

Time to make the doughnuts. Does anyone remember that commercial? I saw a photo of a doughnut tree on social media and instantly knew that I had to try to make one for the dessert table at Thanksgiving.  It’s a bunch of doughnut holes in the shape of a tree.  What’s not to love? I could have bought a few boxes of doughnut holes from the store, but no.  Instead, I insisted on making homemade doughnut holes.  Maybe it was because I wanted to save money (gosh, they are expensive).  Perhaps it was because I knew a homemade version would …

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