It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. A LOT like Christmas. The elves have been busy slicing, chopping, mixing, blending, and otherwise having fun in the kitchen.

We cut back this year – again. Somehow it doesn’t seem like it – we have cookies, candy, fruitcake, breads… bins full of goodies that are getting plated up and given out. And there’s an Italian Rum Cake that will be assembled tomorrow for our Christmas Eve dessert – along with all the rest of the goodies.

There are 4 different biscotti – orange macadamia, traditional anise, walnut, and chocolate peppermint – Aunt Dolores’ Rum Balls, my mom’s Spice Cookies, fruitcake, chocolate nutmeg logs, ricotta cookies, thumbprint cookies, almond butter cookies, chocolate caramel pecan cranberry candies, anise pizzelles, amaretto pizzelles… a lot of goodies.

And all of the recipes are here on the site.

This year’s fruitcake came out stellar! I made this one with amaretto and kept it soaking in amaretto in the basement for a month. More mellow than a traditional brandy. I think next year may be time to bring back the apricot macadamia nut fruitcake – or come up with something completely new and different.

But that’s next year. Right now I’m just going to enjoy all of this!

Merry Christmas!