Very little evokes the spirit of the season as well as the sugary scent of a warm batch of cookies baking in the oven. We don’t need words to describe the waft of golden butter and warm vanilla mingling with the perfume of pastry; we need only our senses and a store of Christmas memories to call upon.
These stamped designs embellish anise-spiced German springerles are ideal for keeping, for sharing, or even as an offering to Santa on Christmas Eve.
Heirloom recipes offer an abundance of seasonal sweets. Centuries-old English fruitcake is reborn as a densely rich cookie.
Belgian Spiced Wafers are enlivened by an unusual ingredient–Chinese five-spice powder–and trimmed in sparkling sugar.
A Christmas cookie swap is a time-honored and heartwarming celebration of the season. Try these Norwegian Chocolate-Hazelnut Cookies for your own cookie swap party.
One of the oldest and most revered cookie exchanges is the annual Wellesly Cookie Exchange, which these Classic Gingerbread Snowflake cookies would be perfect for.
Photography Mac Jamieson
Recipe Development and Food Styling Loren Wood
Find the complete story of “A Baker’s Dozen” in the November/December 2008 issue of Victoria magazine.
