Holiday Baking Roundup

For a sweet end to the year!

Hi!

I’m writing from the Pacific Northwest, where our family will be finishing out the year with my parents and siblings. My sourdough starter made it over with us and is happily fermenting away on top of the fridge (the warmest spot in an otherwise cool AirBnB kitchen), but I don’t have too many plans to turn on the oven from now until we get home. Instead, I’m looking forward to leisurely days with family and friends, and the new inspirations that come from a change of surroundings and pace.

Before I get too deep into vacation mode, though, I wanted to share my 2024 holiday baking treat box recipe round up with you! This was my sixth year of gifting these boxes to friends, neighbors, and family; and it really is my favorite annual baking project. Every year the process feels more tuned in (I’ve written extensively about it here), and I enjoy curating a collection of familiar favorites and new recipes.

Left: getting set up to pack boxes; right: packed!

A couple bonus tips from this year:

• I started using self-sealing bags for any of the items needing individual packaging. They were a timesaver and did a great job keeping items airtight. Would definitely use them again, unless I decide to get a heat sealing machine…hmmm…

• I love these Cambro rectangular containers for storing baked cookies. In Canada, I found them at Costco Business Centre (not a regular warehouse).

Without further ado, here’s what went in this year! I’ll include recipe links below where available.

Clockwise from top left: sea salt caramels, pecan snowballs, chocolate chip almond biscotti, Ontario pate de fruit, ginger molasses cookies, red and green amaretti, classic chocolate fudge, marbled peppermint marshmallows, toasted milk whipped shortbread, kakimochi furikake snack mix, nougat, matcha shortbread trees, confetti rice krispie square.

Confections

• Sea Salt Caramels – Classic chewy caramels topped with a pinch of flaky salt. Recipe from the newsletter archives.

• Pistachio, Cherry, and Almond Nougat – Chewy Italian-style confection made with honey. You can use a variety of mix-ins — I like pistachios, almonds, and either dried cherries or cranberries. Recipe from the newsletter archives.

• Ontario Pȃte de Fruit – Pectin-set fruit jellies made with Ontario-grown sour cherries (red) and haskap berries (dark purple). Recipe in the newsletter archives.

• Classic Chocolate Fudge – Creamy dark chocolate fudge made the old-fashioned way. (Recipe not yet published.)

• Marbled Peppermint Marshmallows – Bouncy, soft marshmallows with a hint of peppermint — the pink swirl is optional but highly festive! Recipe from the blog archives.

Cookies

• Pecan Snowballs – Also known as Russian tea cakes or Mexican wedding cookies, these are classic melt-in-your-mouth pecan shortbread-style cookies. They last for weeks at cool room temperature and are an annual must-make for me. I use Stella Parks’ recipe.

• Chocolate Chip Almond Biscotti – Twice-baked crunchy cookies made for dipping in coffee, tea, or hot chocolate. They are easy to customize and have a great shelf life, two big reasons why they’ve earned a permanent place in my box selection. Recipe in my book.

• Ginger Molasses Cookies – Chewy molasses cookies infused with a festive spice blend. An annual must-make for me. Recipe in the blog archives — make them plain, or try a stuffed version!

• Red and Green Amaretti – Chewy almond cookies made with freeze-dried strawberries (red) and pistachios (green). I always include some type of amaretti in my boxes as they are both gluten-free and highly adaptable — you can switch up the nuts and/or include spices or add-ins to jazz them up. Recipe for the pistachio version available for paid subscribers below.

• Toasted Milk Swirls with Brown Butter Coffee Glaze – Melt-in-your-mouth whipped shortbread infused with toasted milk powder for a deep, roasty flavor. Recipe in the newsletter archives.

• Matcha Shortbread Trees – Classic shortbread infused with Japanese matcha. Recipe in the newsletter archives.

Other

• Kakimochi Furikake Snack Mix – Sweet-and-salty cereal mix popular in Hawaii. Made with furikake, a popular Japanese sesame-seaweed condiment. A treasured family recipe (not currently published).

• Confetti Rice Krispie Treat – Classic cereal treat dressed for Christmas. Recipe from the blog archives.

---

As a bonus for my paid subscribers, I’m sharing the recipe for pistachio & dark chocolate amaretti cookies below. To access the recipe as well as all 60+ past recipes in the archive, consider upgrading to a paid subscription for $5/month. Thank you for supporting my work!

Pistachio and Dark Chocolate Amaretti Cookies

Makes about 24 cookies