It is cold outside and every day it is getting colder, it is getting dark in the afternoon and it gets dark earlier each day, the Christmas markets are open, Christmas decorations and lights are everywhere and for weeks there are Christmas cookies and sweets in the stores. But I am not in the Christmas mood yet. The thought of Christmas makes me anxious. I have not thought about Christmas cards and I have not made a list of Christmas cookies that I want to make this holiday season.
Last Christmas I made 24 different kinds of cookies and altogether I made 1298 cookies. Even though I was very happy with my 2013 Christmas Cookie Outcome I think there is always room for improvement. This year I really hope that I am able to share some of my favorite Christmas cookies with you. Last year I was disappointed with myself that I just shared a few Christmas recipes. I am a perfectionist and most of the time I am not happy with the result of the photos that I take and then I am not sharing them on the blog. I try to get better at this. This afternoon I will make German speculoos cookies and I will post the recipe sometime next week.
In the meantime I put together a few of my favorite Christmas recipes from the previous years:
Pepparkakor
I have never spent a Christmas without Swedish gingersnap cookies. My recipe is one of my absolute favorite post on my blog. It is a recipe from my grandfather.
Mjuk Pepparkaka
Swedish Christmas Spice Cake is another family recipe which is from my mom. My family and I eat this cake every Christmas season.
Saffron Raisin Brioche
I love brioche and I made my version of brioche for the Christmas season.
Ischler Cookies
It takes a little bit of time to make these cookies but Ischler cookies are very very delicious.
Lussekatter
In Scandinavia Santa Lucia is celebrated on December 13th and on this day lussekatter - it is a sweet saffron bun - are eaten. I love these sweet saffron buns and I have many childhood Santa Lucia memories.
I wish you a wonderful month of December. And happy holiday baking sesaon!
The building in the photo is the National Library of Austria in Vienna. I took this photo a few years ago while I lived in this city. I spent a lot of time in the library and one winter morning there was a heavy snowstorm. It was such a beautiful winter morning and I decided to go for a stroll in order to enjoy this winter wonderland before spending the day at the library.