Thanksgiving being later this year, the
whole holiday season has seemed to just suddenly appear out of nowhere! It hit me yesterday – attending first Sunday
of advent services and coming home to open the inaugural box on that Advent
calendar that has been sitting on my counter for weeks calling to me – that
it’s time to break out the holiday cards and start baking and planning menus
and decorations and renewing all the wonderful family traditions that this
season brings. If I close my eyes, I
can smell the spice-laden kitchen and the welcome heat of the oven that
receives a continually rotating array of goods for baking.
Cookies are my specialty – I generally make
anywhere from sixteen to twenty different varieties every year at this time,
and I have a tradition for that as well.
I pore over my recipe files and
books for a week or two, picking out the family favorites that simply must be made, and finding several more
new ones to try. Then I go through them
all to make up a grocery list, purchase the supplies and spread them all out on
my kitchen table within easy reach. The
measuring cups and spoons and whisks and mixers and all the paraphernalia of
baking line up on the counter ready for duty.
I start on a Friday evening right
after work, making up several different batches of dough that can be refrigerated
for baking later. Then I rinse out the
mixing bowl to start on another right away.
Early on Saturday morning I am back at it, baking the previous night’s efforts
while I make up more batches of dough. The
extra warmth of the kitchen at this time is always welcome. And the smells – ah! the smells! Chocolate, of course. Cinnamon.
Raspberry jam. Vanilla extract,
and toasted almonds or hazelnuts. Coconut, and caramel and… sugar. They all merge together into a welcoming balm
that brings contentment even in the bustle of activity – aromatherapy at its
best!
