Mini December Edition
Some cookies I've enjoyed baking the the last couple of years...
I think I speak for everyone when I say this year has been exhausting. This is not a remotely original thought. I’ve been lucky — we’ve been safe so far, I’ve been working and thankfully, I have enough hobbies that I can always find something to do. (About to start my 22nd knitting project of the year over the holidays!) But it’s wearing on me, as I’m sure it is the rest of you. I really miss concerts and travel. I really miss going to a coffeeshop with a work friend to buy overpriced coffees and giant cookies. I miss restaurants and hosting dinner parties. Close family members and friends had babies that I won’t meet until they’re toddlers. I’m sure a lot of you miss similar things.
So I’m allowing myself the option to do a “light” edition of this newsletter this month. My husband has become the day-to-day household chef due to my current work schedule and he’s become so good, I’m starting to question whether I’m really all that great a cook these days. But while I did have time to experiment with some fun dishes this month, I’m going to save them for the new year. So check out some cookie recipe recommendations, some of my pop culture consumption… and then, see you in a new year that I hope is much kinder to everyone!
RECIPE Recommendations
Big Soft Ginger Cookies - I made these cookies from Taste Of Home last year for a gathering with friends and made them again just for us this past weekend. They have that perfect holiday flavor, but unlike a lot of gingery treats this time of year, they’re delightfully soft… and not particularly complicated to make!
Confetti Holiday Shortbread - If you, like me, find yourself with too many sprinkles on hand, this recipe from Joy the Baker might be a good way to use them up and bring some festive cheer into your life (I also made these last weekend as pictured above, next to the ginger cookies). Can you really go wrong with shortbread?
Drop Style Christmas Sugar Cookies - I made these cookies from Sally’s Baking Addiction last year and what I love about them is… they’re festive, but not complicated, and it’s really hard to make them look bad (if you’re a little challenged when it comes to adding icing to cookies — which I totally am — this is a really great way to make something pretty).
And of course, last month, I shared my adaptation for a Snickerdoodles recipe… also perfect for this time of year!
Bites of Culture
What I’m Watching:
We resumed our paused Marvel rewatch by revisiting Spider-Man: Homecoming, which has honestly been one of my favorite Marvel movies to revisit, and Thor: Ragnarok, which is the Thor movie I personally like the most (the others are fine?) We also finally watched Rocketman, which is much more imaginative than the likes of Bohemian Rhapsody, just in time for Bowen Yang (appearing as Elton John) to crack me up in this SNL segment.
I was a big fan of The Good Wife, so I’ve been finally been catching up on The Good Fight, which is well produced and has a pretty awesome credits sequence, but I’ll admit that I have mixed feelings about it. (The political storylines are already pretty dated and honestly… made some characters feel very one-note?) I don’t know if I’d watch if I didn’t have some allegiance to its predecessor.
What I’m Reading:
I’ve read a few different things in the past month and have to say The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi was beautifully written (though it does tackle some difficult themes). Also I’m officially in the nostalgia phase of coronavirus quarantine life and decided to revisit Interview With the Vampire, which I thought was an absolute masterpiece as a teen, but can admit is a bit melodramatic now. But it’s kind of the perfect time of year to revisit it! I’m going to reread the next two books in the Vampire Chronicles (the only ones I held onto from my Anne Rice phase) and I’m curious to see how I feel about them now… I do remember them being more exciting than Interview, but it’s possible I’ll find them completely over the top.
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