Taste of The Holidays

There are certain things that just smell Christmas: a crackling fire in the fireplace, roasted chestnuts, hot wassail, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, pine and... BUTTER!  Growing up, I loved watching how my mom and my grandmas gracefully went about in their kitchens creating and preparing meals for the family. It seemed so enchanted to me, they knew exactly what every part of a dish needed to make it taste delicious: a dash of this, a sprinkle of that, a pinch here, a touch there and  then, Voilà!  An elaborate meal would be presented to eat together.  It was then when I realized that my favorite place to connect, was in the kitchen, the heart of the home.  Through the rummaging of cookbooks and trial and error of perfecting recipes, I fell in love with the culinary arts; so much so that when it came time for me to choose a college, some of my first choices were culinary schools and institutes. During the holidays though, that's where my sisters take the lead and really shine! My eldest sister Rachel, bakes decadent and delicious lemon squares, gingerbread, and pecan bars, while my younger sister makes "melt-in-your-mouth" cookies and homemade ice-cream! What's not to love right?  I can remember, one of the first recipes Rachel made was Russian Tea Cakes, these petite, butter cookies with a chopped nut center, cooked until light golden brown in color and then coated twice in confectioners' sugar once cooled. Those I think are my favorite. The smell of the melted butter warms your heart and comforts your insides all holiday season long! 

Check out this Russian Tea Cake recipe from All Recipes  and let me know in the comments what some of your favorite desserts are during the Christmas season!