Cooking the Books

Join us on Thursday, Dec 10th at 6:30PM for a virtual recipe swap! This year the holidays will look and feel a lot different, so we want to make sure that we are keeping the “social” while we are all doing our best to be socially distant. All are welcome to attend and share their favorite holiday recipes!!

Because we will be using the Zoom Virtual Meeting Room platform, participants will be instructed to share their recipes via the Zoom chat box. If a participant is unsure of how to post a link to their recipe, they can email it to Whitney Brown (wkbrown@sailsinc.org), who will post the link in Zoom and on the Cooking the Books library webpage. 

This event is free and open to all. Registration Required for invitation to Zoom Meeting Room.
Click Here to Register.
Registrants will receive the invitation to the Zoom Meeting Room on the day of the event.

Favorite Holiday Recipes – STAFF

• Banana Fritters
  “There are certain treats that I look forward to every year at the holidays. Banana Fritters are one of my favorite treats! They are a bit messy to cook, but they are delicious. I’ve enjoyed these from the time I was a small child. As a teenager, my mother would put me on “Fritter Duty”, where I would have the important task of ensuring the fritters didn’t burn and reached a perfect golden brown.”- Mary P.
• Grandma’s Lemony Butter Cookies
  “I remember my grandmother making these cookies for the holidays, using festive holiday-shaped cookie cutters, like turkeys for Thanksgiving, Christmas trees for Christmas, and hearts for Valentine’s Day.  She would bring them to us in metal cookie tins that contained layers of cookies carefully separated by wax paper.”- Kristen L.
• Italian Anisette Christmas Cookies
  “I have eaten many versions of this cookie throughout the years. You can find them in round, drop cookie style, or in an “S” or pretzel shape, but the white icing with the multicolored sprinkles always remains the same. They’re always made at Christmas, sometimes at Easter but never the rest of the year. One aunt made them without the anise flavor, but in my house we always add plenty. Believe it or not even the kids like them that way although that may have more to do with the heavy coating of confectioner sugar icing. This version of the recipe comes mainly from The North End Cookbook.”- Nicole G.
  
• Mini Cinnamon & Sugar Bites
  “My Grandmother would make pies, which we couldn’t eat right away, but then she would take the leftover pastry bits and we would make this quick treat together.”- Kitty S.
  
• Molasses Cookie Recipe
  ” A family fav!!!” – Nina T.
  
• Pecan Tarts
  “My go-to recipe for holiday parties. They are always a hit. Just a little something and you don’t feel like you’re over indulging.”- Kathy K.
  
• Spritz Cookies
  “We used to make these spritz cookies with our Mom every Christmas.  The cookie press had all kinds of designs, but the ones that worked best were the trees, wreaths and stars.  I would always want to try the fancier ones and they never worked well, but my Mom always let me try.   We would make the icing with food coloring in two colors,  light green or pink and then add sprinkles.  The smell of almond and vanilla brings me back home to Christmas with my mom.  Delicious! I should add that when I had a daughter, I purchased a cookie press so that we could carry on the tradition.” – Catherine C.
  
• Strawberry Tiffany Torte
  “My mom has been making this dessert for Christmas Eve for as long as I can remember!”- Whitney B.
  

Holiday Cookbooks in eBook Format
This list is certainly not a complete one, but just a few suggestions to get you started on your holiday cooking journey!

• The Cozy Christmas Movie Cookbook by Holly Carpenter
• Festive Holiday Recipes by Addie Gundry
• The Friendsgiving Handbook by Emily Stephenson
• Holiday and Celebration Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg, M.D.
• Holiday Cookies: The Ultimate Chewy, Gooey, Crispy, Crunchy Treats by Alice Medrich
• The Instant Pot® Holiday Cookbook by Heather Schlueter
• Jewish Holiday Baking by Uri Scheft
• A Literary Holiday Cookbook by Alison Walsh
• The Little Book of Jewish Feasts by Leah Koenig