Because Christmas Radishes Would Not Do
During the year, I seldom make cookies. There is only one person in the house who really can afford to eat cookies, and then there’s always the mother’s dilemma about sugar and teeth.
But in an attempt to get in the spirit, after three years of getting in a funk or a panic about Christmas, I am baking.
The list so far:
- Oatmeal Raisin Walnut Cookies
- Rum Balls
- Snickerdoodles (vanilla and cinnamon)
- Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Chip Cookies
I have also made spiced pecans (chile garlic) and plan to make cinnamon sugar pecans, as well as lemon sugar Snickerdoodles.
Somewhere along the way, I hope to find the joy of holiday baking that I used to get. As I was (not) resisting (very hard) eating a Snickerdoodle, I tried to think of a healthier (ie, reduced fat, reduced sugar) way to say I love you. Pickles? I have a jar of bread and butter slices which I crave around the holidays. Harry & David pears, oranges, grapes? Never been the recipient of a _____-of-the-month club. At my old job, a client used to send beautiful flats of tomatoes — yellow, orange and red ones. I photographed them too. My parents used to send all the kids who were not Coming Home For Christmas a smoked chicken from some place in the Ozarks.
On the surface, radishes seem like they would work well. Dark red with pretty green tops. That’s very Christmasy…
Yeah, NO. Cookies are the thing. I’ll bake them and give them away (watch out teachers and co-workers!). And maybe next summer, I’ll take up canning so that pickles and radishes in festive jars will take the place of all this sugar, butter and flour.
I said maybe. I am going to have to learn to like radishes, I guess.
Not radishes.