Archive Issue - Monthly Tidbits Article
December 2007

Winter Holiday Tidbits
by Jill Jackson

Who has started their day off today with a good dose of holiday music? Chances are if you’ve stepped into your favorite coffee house in the morning hours, what is playing over the sound system is bound to put you in the spirit if you haven’t already gotten there. Whether “Oh Dreidl, Dreidl, Dreidl!” or “White Christmas” pipes through the coffee-scented air, you know it’s holiday time!

For some of us this time of year means stress! Okay, who am I kidding, for most of us it means stress. The only difference between myself and the person next to me is that my stress belongs to me and his to him. Equally, we share the burden of this time of year (amidst yes, some good holiday cheer) as we hustle and bustle to make our year-end numbers at the office and take some extra money home to the family just in time to spend it before sales end.

It seems as though the traditional dessert favorites are going to hit the spot, making all the worries disappear—until they resurface—but sometimes comfort is fleeting, so we have to make it memorable! That’s why these serving suggestions can make a world of difference at the end of your meal or the end of the buffet line.

Firstly, if you celebrate Channukah, or the Festival of Lights, one of my new favorites is the Macaroon. Originally created hundreds of years ago in Italy with almond paste and chocolate, this favorite has translated in the United States as a holiday staple in many homes. Made mostly with Coconut, vanilla and almond tastes surrounded by pastry dough, it can be served plain or my favorite, dipped in chocolate! Yum! My grandmother made these from scratch as she did everything else, and I’m sorry to say that it wasn’t until long after her passing that I developed a taste for them.

If Christmas is your favorite holiday ever, you’re not alone and there are so many choices! After taking an extensive poll, many of those I’ve spoken to say that the cookie is their favorite, “rolled in sugar, frosted, spiked with rum, dipped in chocolate, it doesn’t matter”, were among the answers I received.

So, in the name of unanimity, I say, no matter what you celebrate, “Let them eat Cookies!”