Alright, here are mines! Every year, my mom’s pound cake is the ultimate winner. She even adds a hint of coconut, and let me tell you, that’s where the holiday magic truly begins! But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t equally excited for our Disneyland tradition where we go and stand in line (because let’s be real, Disney and lines go together like marshmallows and hot chocolate) and pick up Mickey Gingerbread Cookies. Totally worth the wait every single time! 🏰

I froth over a spiced cookie at this time of year!

My go-to recipes are:
Ginger molasses cookies (I made over 80 this passed weekend)
Dutch Pepernoten (Admittedly, I always count on family members to show up with these. Too tedious for me to make!)

 

Hot chocolate with lots of marshmallows after sledding! Also coconut bon bons! https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/15258/coconut-bon-bons/

My family always makes these two treats around the holidays:

• Santa Apples: this is a decoration that is cute and makes your home smell good with the clove.
• Christmas Wreath Rice Crispy’s: you essentially make rice crispy treats with corn flakes and shape them as a Christmas wreath, then add 3 little red hot candies on it as a bow.

Any hot drink such as hot chocolate, hot cider, mulled wine are also great

My wife’s family makes a lot of really weird old-people cookies that don’t have much appeal.  I go straight for the good old frosted sugar cookie every time. 

One of my favorite thing about the holidays is getting to eat my family’s sausage bread. It’s sausage, spinach, and shredded mozzarella cheese stuffed in bread (that’s sprinkled with a bit of garlic powder) and I cannot undersell how delicious it is. Thankfully I recently learned how to make it so it no longer has to exclusively be a holiday treat, but still nice to show up places and have it handed to me already on a plate! 🤪

•  Hot Glass of Wassail: we go to Silver Dollar City in Branson, MO most years during the holiday’s and you can’t walk around the theme park without a hot glass of Wassail!
• No Bake Oatmeal Chocolate Cookies: You could have them anytime of the year, but we always make them for the holidays when lots of family are around!
• Cinnamon rolls smothered in extra icing: this is a family tradition on Christmas morning when we are opening gifts!

My family’s five pound fudge recipe that is so creamy and good, but we haven’t made it in a long time.

Recently I’ve been loving Michael Symon’s cranberry sauce with bourbon and orange. Such a satisfying flavor!
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/michael-symon/cranberry-sauce-with-bourbon-and-orange-11770497

One recipe my mom pulled out of my grandma’s cookbook was for a cinnamon/caramel “bread” that you drop by spoonful's into a cast iron skillet to finish. I need to make that this year!

Anything with cinnamon! Cinnamon rolls, snickerdoodles, a little cinnamon sprinkled in my coffee -- to me that feels like Christmas.

A recent treat has been added to my list of staples for my Christmas dinner outside of the typical. A Yule Log Chocolate Cake. Soooooo Good!!!!

Lithuanian white salad alongside 11 other dishes that Lithuanians need to get ready for Christmas Eve as per traditions!

I love a good lussebulle! It’s a Swedish treat made with saffron and raisins. I know, it might sound a bit unusual, but trust me—it’s incredible, especially paired with some mulled wine!

I love “Holiday Crack” - it might sounds funky but the combo of saltines, chocolate and toffee is the BEST and I always associate it with family and the holidays.

I love making sugar cookies and royal icing from scratch with the littles.  It takes a little while but it’s so fun to see the creativity that comes out of cookie cutting and decorating them!