Gingerbread has been on my list of things to bake for a long time. There’s something about the warm spices of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves, mixed with molasses that makes gingerbread sound so appealing. You already know my feelings about rolling out dough, so gingerbread cookies were not an option. I love having a quick bread around for breakfast, an afternoon snack or dessert, so I figured a gingerbread loaf would be the perfect way to get my gingerbread fix.
It’s December which means it’s Christmas cookie season! In the past, every Christmas vacation at home meant spending countless hours in the kitchen with my mom, sister and friends baking dozens of different kinds of cookies to send out as gifts. I have so many fun memories from doing this that baking cookies has become one of my favorite things about this time of year. Even though I will be spending Christmas in Oki again this year, baking cookies makes me feel a little closer to home and always puts me in the Christmas spirit. It must be the magical combination of mouth watering smells coming from the oven and Christmas music playing in the background. Since I’m already starting to feel nostalgic about Christmases at home (the sunny, 70 degree weather sure isn’t helping), Christmas cookie baking has begun in our house, which means I get to start sharing some of my favorite recipes, both old and new, with all of you!