TeakettleSlim

I’m reviving this long dormant thread to tell you about the Moroccan green mint lime gimlet I made for my birthday. A pint of vodka, infused for 2 hours with a tablespoon each of whole leaf gunpowder green tea and dried mint. Lime juice, simple syrup. It was a fine thing.

I freeze them in whatever form makes the most sense for that cookie, and can bake a variety fresh when needed. After I have enough for a nice variety, I start giving them away. We have a big platter on Christmas Eve, with the in-laws here. Some go to my mother's friends in her apartment building. Many turn into goodie bags for a local charity for homeless teens. Some I keep in freezer for general holiday and beyond munching. Edited to add: I find it a lot more relaxed than trying to make several kinds all on one day and then have all these fresh cookies sitting around needing to be dealt with immediately.

I have my list. The baking has begun. Yes, I AM self-indulgent, how did you guess? In no particular order: 1. Peppermint swirl cookies 2. Nut gems (a Russian tea cake type thing) 3. Thumbprint cookies a) with jam, and b) red velvet cream cheese filled 4. Chocolate ginger molasses cookies 5. Biscotti a) double chocolate walnut and b) dried cherry, lemon, ginger, white chocolate 6. Peppery bourbon gingerbread snowflakes 7. Cut out cookies a) regular and b) chocolate 8. Mocha peppermint shortbread 9. Those orange creamsicle cookies 10. Confetti cookies 11. Garam masala cookies with white chocolate cream cheese frosting 12. Smitten kitchen's pretzel linzers with caramel filling 13. Cornmeal lemon rosemary butter cookies 14. Pumpkin maple cookies 15. Cinnamon bun cookies 16. Brown sugar/brown butter/cinnamon/coffee cut out cookies 17. Eggnog cookies 18. Brown butter/honey/pistachio bars 19. Struffoli 20. Marshmallows 21. Sourdough fruitcake 22. Pralines

Last year I started almost a week late but made a batch of cookies every day of December through the 24th. Baked enough off for us to enjoy that day and froze the rest. When I needed cookies to give away I would bake up an assortment fresh. Then at the end of the month I still had enough that our spread had about 15 kinds on it. I felt awesome. I plan to do it again, starting on the 1st this year. Will pop back in here to post the list when I've got it sorted out.

I made a soup version of Laurie Colwin's tomato pie tonight, plus biscuits. It was a very good idea.

You might try boiling it a bit longer. Gel point is 221F. Sometimes it can take a while to get there!

I don't care for cooked oatmeal either, even baked (though it is better than non-baked). But I took the ingredients for this (subbed dates for raisins and maple syrup for brown sugar), mixed them with pan-toasted rolled oats, and ate them with some yogurt. Excellent! Nice and crunchy and fresh.

Ok, ChocoMom-- how do you peel a Hubbard? The best I have been able to come up with is dropping it on the sidewalk and roasting...j sliced my knuckle open to the bone once trying to get at it with a knife!

Pureed squash.

I'm a bit late to the party, but I won't let that stop me. I am a diehard Hubbard fan-- it's the only winter squash that tastes good enough to eat the plain roasted purée by the bowlful. Which I do. Maybe with some marmalade stirred in. I have 3 of the biggest ones I could find waiting to be roasted right now. If you roast a Hubbard or another sweet large squash and cover it well enough in foil that juices and drippings accumulate, you can boil them down at the end and make a lovely molasses-like syrup. My absolute favorite soup is this one: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/southwestern-pumpkin-soup-104064 Though I double the spices. It's the quickest (no onions!) and smoothest and all around bestest. I do something similar to the Parmesan squash discussed earlier in the thread, but with extra sharp cheddar. Slice up the butternut and layer it in a pan with cubed cheddar, sprinkle on some thyme and drizzle with cream. Bake until bubbly and brown and soft.

That might work! I don't recall having seen it around here, though. I will have to go on a search. Have you tried it in caramels? Does it otherwise behave like cane sugar?

A little girl in our circle of friends is allergic to cane sugar and dairy (among other things). I was planning on bringing a caramel apple station to a potluck she'll be at and would love to be able to offer something she can partake in too since she feels pretty excluded this time of year. I found a recipe using all honey, and tahini, but don't know how she'd feel about the tahini. I am curious about whether I could use all maple? Or coconut oil and coconut cream for the fat? Corn syrup is also an option.

The Jamlady cookbook is another good one.

For our family it is not religious, not patriotic (although some books my children have been given do talk about that mythical First Thanksgiving). Many of my friends have gratitude-focused practices they undertake for the month of November, and while I don't do anything public like 30 Days of Gratitude on Facebook or somesuch, I would say that is more my focus too. And as you say, family, friends, and sharing food. We always try to find people to invite who might not have anywhere to go for the day, and my mother tells about my grandmother giving plates of food to people in need out the back door during the Depression. Celebrating abundance and sharing it to some extent.

Chelseabun, my mother suggested rhubarb too...but I've never been a fan, really. I guess because it wasn't available where I grew up. More importantly, I have not seen it frozen (but admittedly have not sought it out). Will have to add it to the long list for years when we have more guests. I hear many people are fans. AnnaN: YES. That is it! Thank you thank you thank you!