Poppy seed strudel w/whole spelt

There is no Christmas without a poppy seed strudel in my home.

Panettone w/whole spelt

All I want for Christmas is...a panettone.

Tomek's mom gingerbread w/whole spelt

There has to be gingerbread in every Polish home for the Holidays, prepared days ahead. This is an old family recipe...to be completed just before Christmas.

Stollen w/whole spelt (German Christmas bread)

I'd been buying Stollen for years and eating a lot of it. Than I thought, why don't I make it myself ... and eat a lot of it?

Whole spelt chocolate kipferls (Austrian croissants)

Austrian tradition, Italian recipe, my home...

Candied orange peel (zest)

...and finally, I made my own.

Cantucci w/whole spelt

Give me a cantuccio and I'm in love.

Soft ginger cookies w/whole spelt

Ina called them "ultimate". She knew what she was talking about...

Panettone

OK, so I don't do dating anymore, I do panettones. I can't sleep, I dream about it, I tell somebody about my dream in my dream. All night before the big day. I finally get up, all awake, not tired at all from the lack of sleep, filled with great expectations.

Austrian croissants

I'm continuing my countdown to Christmas with cookies. My cookie jar can't be standing empty. The gingerbread cookies are gone.

American fruit cake

I shouldn't be tasting the cake till December 24th...or 23rd...but I did, this morning...things you have to do for the sake of research. I'm very happy with the result, even if I just had one end piece.

Gingerbread cookies

I've done research about gingerbread cookies, hands on. I do it every year. This is my first try this year. The recipe is called "Gingerbread Cookies 101", and it has the most positive reviews. I had to make something good, because Hania needs to take some to school. I don't want her to feel bad about bringing bad cookies prepared by an incapable mom.

Lemon ricotta cookies

Wow! Wow! I've never had anything like that before, cheese cookies! A cheesecake and a cookie in one.