The 2020 Holiday Treat Guide
Normally around this time of year, I’d be stress-baking up a storm and then delivering tins and trays of sweet treats to my friends, family, neighbors, and anyone else I could think of. Of course, my siblings and I used to decorate cookies with our family as soon as winter break started every year as kids. I truly won’t forget the one and only time we ever made Gingerbread men. Eventually, that stopped and this current "tradition” started when I would be waiting for my final fall semester grades in college. I had to do something other than refresh the website every minute. Besides, who doesn’t love a good sweet treat? It also didn’t hurt that my Grandma wasn’t much of a baker (surprising, I know) so she could always count on tons of extra sweet treats to impress her friends with.
This year I don’t feel much like baking even though I absolutely love it, especially at Christmas time. It might be the fact I’ve gone through pretty much every up and down emotion possible like everyone else. It might also be the fact that trying to muster up holiday cheer on certain days feels like a full-time job. I do have a special work “bake-off” coming up and I enjoy delivering sweet treats to loved ones, so I will be baking over the next week or so. Let’s just say it won’t be as much as normal.
When it comes to cookie tins or boxes, whichever you prefer, there is a bit of a science to what is included. One should attempt to cover all of their bases. That means every taste profile and age group. I tend to stick to the classics and add in one unexpected treat, like a truffle. I find that you can’t really go wrong with the classics, they are comforting, and they, sometimes, even remind everyone of their childhood. Plus, if you make a chocolate chip or a cutout sugar cookie, they don’t really have to go to the trouble. It’s a win/win.
So this year’s cookie guide consists of updated recipes for (mostly) classics that were staples of my childhood’s cookie spread. The trays and trays of delicious treats some whose names I can’t even remember to remake them if I tried (Surely, there are recipes somewhere). Not to mention the few sweet treats I’ll be making my friends and family this year.
Top Image: The NY Times