It’s the Holiday Historical Cookie/Sweets Hop 2023! Grab your biscotti!
Italian cookies that originated in medieval Tuscany – sigh! Cookies that are twice-baked (which is what biscotti means in Italian) and hold up to dunking in tea or milk or chocolate or wine or Prosecco. Another bonus in addition to the wide range possible flavors is that being twice-baked gives them a longer shelf life – so more time to enjoy them! Yes, it’s true – I love biscotti!
My favorite flavors tend to be plain – vanilla (or a touch of almond flavor) is my usual one but I do like chocolate chip, too. Oh, and gingerbread, too. Or one called a Snicker-cookie biscotti that turns out like a sugar cookie with a hint of cinnamon. Mmmmmm. They are easy to make and simply delicious. And although they don’t have a specific link to the Holiday season, I find I make them more near Christmas than other times of year.
I should admit that I turned to trying them because of my cookie-baking failures. It’s true – I can successfully make most other baked goods – gosh, my pound cake is always in demand at family gatherings and events. But cookies? They defeat me. Too flat. Too hard (often compared to small hockey pucks!). Not right. Not enough. So, when I made my first batch of biscotti and they turned out hard and crumbly, I realized they were perfect — LOL!
There are lots of biscotti recipes all over, online and in cookbooks and in family recipes so it’s not difficult to find one to try. I’ve found a great basic recipe along with more recipes that turn them into so many flavors on the Kristine’s Kitchen Blog. I’ve also had some success with recipes from an online site (BiscottiRecipes.org) but it seems to be gone now. Luckily I have print and digital copies of those recipes!
Have you tried making biscottis or other holiday cookies? Are you a Pizzelle maker? Those were my younger sister Mar’s favorites and she made them every year…so good! Or is your Holiday superpower eating them? Hey, bakers need people to enjoy their creations!
Since I’m part of the Historical Authors Holiday Cookie (and Treats) Hop, here’s the list of all the participating authors (many of whom are doing giveaways on their pages so don’t miss them!):
Historical Romance Authors Cookie Hop Link List 2023
(look below for directions if you haven’t seen them)
After you collect the names of all 30 recipes, e-mail the list of authors with their treats to Heather@HeatherMcCollum.com with the subject line: Historical Romance Authors are Sweet. One winner will be chosen on Wednesday, 13 December and announced on the FB event page and on Heather’s website: https://www.heathermccollum.com/ .
For my giveaway, I’m giving one winner who makes a comment below a lovely 2024 Scottish calendar along with a wee Scottish giftie, too! So just tell me if you bake or make Holiday treats or just like to eat them or what your favorites are and I’ll choose a winner TWO WINNERS who will be announced on December 13. Could be one of these calendars below or another of the ones I’ve collected for the New Year! Good luck!
52 thoughts on “It’s the Holiday Historical Cookie/Sweets Hop 2023! Grab your biscotti!”
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I just like to eat them, a baker I am not!
I make them, bake them and eat what I don’t gift to family and friends.
I just like to eat them. Gingerbread cookies are my favorite.
I love snickerdoodles— the original cookie. And pie. Pecan, buttermilk and fudge-lover’s are my faves. I am delaying my baking as long as possible so I can share them with the grandboys and not eat it all myself.
I DO love to bake! A yearly tradition for us are gingerbread bars with cream cheese frosting. Mama comes over to make chocolate fudge with her grandbabies also which is one of their favorite things!
I don’t bake but I do love to eat- my sister has started making gingerbread for the holidays and I eat more than my share
I really like to eat them but when I can I love to bake.
Merry Christmas to you and yours, Terri!! I love baking, especially at Christmas time and this year I made 10 different cookies/squares, as well as a Christmas fruit cake:) My favourite cookies have always been Ginger Snaps.
I do bake at Christmas but that’s about the only time. Our family enjoys the basic sugar, chocolate chips, snickerdoodles, and such. I always make a batch of fudge too. A traditional English pastry my momma used to always bake were minced meat pies with sugar icing. I’m getting some good new recipes to try today. Thank you for this opportunity and Merry Christmas to all!
I love to bake and et the treats
I’m not much of a baker so I prefer to eat baked goods but around the holidays, I do bake cookies with my kids.
I do enjoy making and eating holiday treats! 🙂
Happy Holidays!
Just the recipe idea I needed for a party I am attending. Thanks!
I used to make Christmas cookies to take to work every year, but since I have reached ‘an advanced age’, I leave that to others now–but I still love to eat them!
I love making M&Ms mini chip cookies with walnuts. My family and I love eating them!!
I bake and eat treats.
I love to make cookies and some different candies. I’m thinking of adding some new ones to the mix this year!
I love making molasses cookies!
I like to bake sugar cookies.
I love making chocolate peanut butter cake mix cookies.
I love baking, usually make the usual suspects. I’m keen to try this biscotti recipe. I’m addicted to gingerbread cookies at Christmas so should really make my own. I did make a yummy gingerbread cake last year.
I love to make them and it them 😊
Eat not it. Seriously auto correct is the bain of my existence. 🤦♀️
I enjoy baking but don’t do much with all the children grown and gone. I love making pies and mincemeat is what I make at Christmas. I also do gingerbread cookies, Swiss Meringue Horns, Toffee Bars, Bourbon Balls, and Sour Cream Crescent Rolls, and others.
I don’t bake as much as I used to. Peanut Butter Blossom are my favorite.
My oven doesn’t work so I can’t bake now. Cookies always get too hard or else they’re not done enough. I would make pumpkin pie for the holidays. Brownies are my specialty.
I used to make Holliday bakes, but my kitchen is not up to par anymore, so now I don’t. My favorite to make was anise cookies. They were more cake than cookies but they were still delicious.
Both! I bake alot during the holidays and I enjoy eating all the holiday yummies! ❤️ Thank you for the chance! ❤️❤️
I love to bake and eat them. LOL I made a tradition of baking Christmas cookies with my nephews every year for gifts. My favorite so far was Peppermint Hot Chocolate cookies.
eat them
I have baked Gingerbread Blossom cookies with a candy cane kiss along with the peanut butter blossom cookies with a chocolate kiss or candy cane kiss too…they were tasty and I love to eat the baked goods too.
Candy cane kiss or chocolate kiss in the center of each cookie.
I bake a LOT of cookies and sweets at christmas. this year I will bake:
Gluten free Sugar Cookies
chocolate Chip Cookies
Peanut Brittle
Honeycomb Toffee
Crackenbush(sp?)
Pumpkin Spice Toffee Cookies
Iced Molasses cookies
Grinchmas cookies
Twix cookies ( my kids call them Crack cookies)
Pumpkin pie
Yule log
So, now I have more recipes to try!!!
I bake my own treats : have always made Lemon Sugar Cookies, Cinnamon Rolls, Nigella Lawson’s Sticky Gingerbread, and Jam Thumbprints. This year, I’m branching out into some different flavors and going with Lemon Crinkle Cookies, Lemon Coconut Shortbread, a Salted Chocolate Pretzel Caramel Candy, and Australian Melting Moments but I’m using homemade Dulce De Leche for the filling
I love to bake. Especially gingerbread. Gotta have gingerbread sweaters to decorate.
I dont bake, but I make candy. Now, I make mostly chocolate covered pretzels, chocolate covered peanuts, and peppermint bark. My faves are snickerdoodles.
I use to make them but my handy hurt to much so now I just eat them.
I just like to eat them 🙂
I love to bake and eat.
I go through phases when I want to bake. But nearly every year, we have to make some cranberry bliss bars to satisfy the sweet tooth.
I enjoy baking but don’t have much time for it right now, and I definitely enjoy trying other people’s treats!
I like to eat holiday treats specially if it has chocolate.
Hi Terri 😊
Oh Wow!! This is a hard question!! I’m more of a treat eater, as opposed to baking them, but my Mom and I like to bake Chocolate Chip Cookies together ♥️ I love anything chocolate and will NEVER turn down a treat!! I do really like the Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies and the Oreo Balls 😍 So yummy 😋
Thank you for the amazing opportunity in your generous giveaway, Terri 🩷 Thank you also for the Biscotti recipe 🥰 I hope you’re enjoying your holiday season 💚♥️
~Rhonda 💙🦋🩵
I LOVE to bake year round but something about the holidays makes it fabulous. We just made two kinds of ginger cookies and nutmeg roll-out cookies. YUM!
I loveeee Anise pizzelle cookies my dad used to make tin buckets full of them so so good
I love to bake! I will be trying some of these new recipes this year as well.
I’m not much of a baker. My favorite cookie is snickerdoodles
I’m not the avid baker but I do like to eat cookies and treats so I continue to learn how to make the things that I like 😁 My favorite is gingerbread cookies during the holidays ❤️
We used to bake cookies and make candy for Church Cookie Walk, Christmas gifts for family and friend. Most we baked 360 dozen cookies, 10 kinds of candy. Daughter has 2 ovens. But her work is so demanding and she doesn’t have time to bake than many, still bake some of our favorites.
I’m hoping I can make these recipes
I do like Scottish things
The first cookie I ever baked in my iwn was a biscotti. I had no clue what I was getting myself into. Lol. I’m usually a big fan of bix mixes or buying from a bakery but I was invited to a Christmas cookie exchange party.
I like to bake.
Spritz cookies my MIL’s recipe
Cinnamon rolls, apple cake with streusel topping, blueberry muffins, apple pie, chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal raisin cookies , chocolate angel food cake with chocolate whipped cream frosting
Merry Christmas!
My dream is to one day go to visit Scotland and see the lochs and mountains of the Highlands.