Sometimes it's best to give AND receive. That's what happened during the holiday season of 2001 as Joy and Cindy battled for the best Christmas cookies and exchanged the delicious results. Listen in on our ongoing efforts to outdo each other, and pick up an idea or two of your own. Click here to see the recipes.

The weekend after Thanksgiving
November 26, 2001
November 28, 2001
November 30, 2001
December 02, 2001
December 04, 2001
December 05, 2001
December 09, 2001
December 11, 2001
December 13, 2001
December 18, 2001
December 19, 2001
December 20, 2001
December 24, 2001
December 26, 2001 - The Day After
December 31, 2001

Cindy
Wish you were here. A cup of coffee and some girl talk. (Not to mention the fact that I should get these Christmas lights up.) Maybe we would frost these trees together! My dilemma is whether I frost and decorate your branches with the tree assembled and then disassemble it to ship.... but that risks you putting it back together exactly. May be better to decorate ad lib and let you see how it fits together best.

Joy
Okay, so why am I not firing back with pizzelle and biscotti? Could it be because it's unseasonably warm here in New England and I can't think Christmas? Is it because I have already ushered in (and vacuumed for) a holiday house guest? I could still blame the fence. Or shall I blame the bananas? Yes, blame the bananas!

I had a half dozen bananas that had acquired too many brown spots for a certain seven year old's lunch box. I couldn't bear to throw them away, and I haven't perfected the mulching pit yet. So I turned to one of my surefire faves - Beard on Bread - and made the surprisingly quick "quick bread," the Banana Nut Bread on page 170. I last made it in 1983! Boy oh boy was it good. I split the recipe, putting half in one of those parchment paper loaf thing-bobs, the other in a loaf pan. We kept (we devoured) the loaf pan model. The parchment paper loaf was tightly wrapped and frozen for one of the many "baked goods" calls on the horizon - the holiday get togethers, the school fair, or breakfast when the second wave of guests arrive. This is the toastable banana bread recipe, and that's why I love James Beard. He actually gives two banana bread recipes, on opposing pages so they can be easily compared, and he makes these distinctions. Not only is it, indeed, a banana bread that will toast to perfection, but it is a flawless recipe. This book is 100% reliable. (Did the man do a cookie book?!!!)

So that's what I baked while you considered the chocolate mice.

Cindy
Does banana bread ship?

Joy
Do you remember the bakery sugar cookies of your childhood? You'd point to the one that looked best in the bakery case.The clerk would reach in with a small sheet of thin waxed paper and grab it. Up close, you'd examine the coating of crackly sugar, the pale ivory of the cookie barely tinged with gold. Your cookie was cracked evenly all along the edge. You'd sink your teeth into it. The flavor was mildly citrus - but which citrus you couldn't tell - and with a touch of vanilla. Ahh, yum! No one could copy them at home.

Well, guess what?

Cindy
Oh boy, I bet you bought that Fiori di Sicilia flavoring at King Arthur Flour. That's how they describe the flavor and I have been jonesing to buy some for a long time (I did try the Princess Cake flavoring and it is similar and very good). Today was going to be the day I really did you in, the butter was softening, I had stocked up on plenty of sugar and flour. Instead, I am off to the pound (for those listening in, my passion for animals runs neck and neck with my passion for food!) to take pictures of the dogs and cats we will rescue this afternoon. On top of that, today is Michael's 18th birthday. Am I getting old or what? Rest assured, however, that I have been making most of these cookies since before he was born. In fact, that fateful year of 1983 when I was homebound (in Venezuela!) due to a difficult pregnancy, I made more cookies than I have made in any year since! Ahh, motherhood...

I decorated your cookie tree last night and it is destined to be swathed in bubble wrap and on its way soon. I am thinking you should have this one ahead of the rest so you can enjoy it longer. Here's a view of the trees pre: royal snow icing, colored dragees and star on top. You don't get to see the finished product yet!

Joy
I am so looking forward to this tree! It will get the royal placement - dining room table under the chandelier (I take liberty with the description of that light fixture).

I should have known better than to try to stump you with that Fiori di Sicilia question. Never try to stump a master baker AND food catalogue junkie with a cookie question. Yes, it is indeed that magical flavoring that distinguishes these cookies, and our friends at King Arthur have given us permission to post the recipe: Citrus Sugar Cookies.

Can't wait to make panettone with the stuff! Sorry, not a cookie. You'll just have to show up in person.

I've made two types of cookies since I last wrote. I made the Chewy Chocolate Cookies from that old stand-by, The Fannie Farmer Baking Book (how could I live without it!). I used powdered espresso - Medaglia d'Oro to be exact - and they are very good. But I'm thinking this is the time to put away the parchment paper that worked so flawlessly for the sugar cookies. These cookies need to spread out as they heat, and I suspect the parchment paper lends just enough insulation from the heat of the pan and too little friction to let the dough melt in the short 10 minute baking period. I refrigerated half the dough and will try it on lightly greased cookie sheets next time. (This is the same recipe I tweaked for the last Academy Awards, my paean to Chocolat. Add ground chili as well as using the espresso powder.)

Secondly, and in my search for Italian cookies from my childhood, I dug up one of those spiral bound fundraising cookbooks in my collection, The Friends of Don Orione Cookbook, dated 1976! Don Orione's is an old age home in East Boston and most of the residents are Italian-American. When I was a child, I used to visit with family to help cheer up the old folks. They were very happy to see a child's face, but then they pinched that face so hard I would cry! It's a pinch and twist thing. Pinch, twist, and mutter, "Che bella facia, cara!" roughly translated as "Dollface!"

Ouch. Anyway, there was an intriguing recipe inside this book that I just had to try - Spiced Ricotta Cookies. I won't post the recipe yet because it's still in the experimental phase - it needs to be tweaked. But imagine a cross between a scone and shortbread, but slightly moist and creamy thanks to the ricotta. It's not very sweet. Not pretty, so they may not make the Christmas Cut. But they are absolutely satisfying with a cup of coffee or a cold glass of milk. Everyone in the house has been noshing on them - as a snack, as breakfast, even as a late Sunday supper.

Next time I'll frost them with a Cinnamon Frosting I once devised.

You'll be pleased to know The Kid and The Dog were photographed with Santa on behalf of the less fortunate dogs and cats in my area. Santa wore a USA cap, which I find taking patriotism a yard too far. But then, I have no trouble with The Dog wearing antlers.

How are you dealing with the "how to keep these fresh til shipping time" question? Are you baking and shipping on the same day? In lots?

Cindy
You may not have any trouble with your "The Dog" wearing antlers, but let me tell you I have had some trouble with another "The Dog." So much for my canine altruism. You know that photographic trip to the pound on Sunday? Well, I came home with a skinny, abandoned foster black lab. A real sweetie, in fact, she already has interested adopters. Probably abused in her past and just starving for love. Not too fond of the crate, but quite fond of the new kitten so we've crated her when we leave to be on the safe side. Except for today, a short trip, just long enough to get some replacement bulbs for the Christmas lights and a spot of lunch. Oh no, you're thinking kitten danger! Rest assured the little bundle of fur is just fine. What's NOT fine? How about the emerald cookie forest, swathed in royal icing drifts and painstakingly decorated to show off on this page...

Are you ready?

A picture is worth a thousand words. Or should we count that in kleenex to dry my tears?

Joy
Honey, you're one tree short of a forest.

Cindy
Witty, aren't we?

I drowned my sorrows yesterday by switching gears to make Hanukkah cookies. Had a heck of a time finding a dreidel cookie cutter so I made one from cardboard and cut around it with a sharp knife. They look pretty good if I do say so myself. I don't imagine I will be putting any of these into your box, but the rolled cookie recipe IS outstanding. I've posted it (Sand Tarts) on the recipe page. The recipe is very good as is, but use some lemon Boyajian oil in place of some of the vanilla and they are fabulous. Put a few drops in the icing, too. I get my Boyajian oil (you know the one that uses 40 lemons to make a tiny little bottle) at Cost Plus World Market. They come in a 3 pack (orange, lemon and lime) for much less than you pay elsewhere.

OK, I can hear you drooling from here - I'll make them again with Christmas shapes for you and yours...

Cindy
In the spirit of "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade," last night I made the mice to scamper through and fill up space in the now "one tree short of a forest." I use a marzipan-taste-alike dough. Really, just a buttery shortbread-ish cookie, with almond flavoring, that is moldable into various shapes. I make an egg-like form, chill and bake. Then, while they are still warm, I carefully insert two whole almonds near the tapered end to form ears. The trick is to make the indentations that will hold them, but not to worry if they fall out at this point. Today I will remove the almonds, coat them in melted chocolate (semisweet chocolate chips work fine for this, no need to be fancy), re-insert the almond ears and, with a small tip and some white icing, add eyes and a tiny white bunny tail. With the leftover dough I made Christmas tree shapes in a miniature Wilton muffin tin. They were a pain to get out (banging the bottom of the pan with a flat spatula eventually did the trick) and again, today I will flow a thin green icing over them and start decorating.

I, too, am agonizing over the bake/ship calendar. Frankly, I am thinking of freezing some of these cookies, tightly wrapped, of course. Not all would withstand such treatment so I am sorting recipes to see which might. What do you think? What's YOUR plan?

Joy
To begin, I can't tell you how excited I am to assemble the cookie tree! Your package arrived just hours before our first snowfall of the year. We brought home the tree the same evening, so Christmas spirit has arrived with a cold gust from the North and a warm one from Phoenix. Looks like only one tree branch was broken. Thanks for the "repair kit" - I'll post that Royal Icing recipe soon - and the promise of audiocyberoptic assistance!).

Before I forget, I would indeed enjoy the dreidel cookies! If there are any left, send me a sample, please. It's a nice combination of traditions. Raised in a mixed neighborhood, I have been affectionately called "Joy the Goy" by Jewish friends amused by my great interest in the Jewish tradition (okay, in particular, the food!). I imagine the dirth of Hanukkah decorations and supplies in your neck of the woods is a demographic thing - I saw such beautiful things for sale here. Silver and white and blue is such a gorgeous combination - I bet your cookies were elegant!

Sunday was supposed to be The Big Cookie Bake. Somehow, dogs, cats, kids, and other assorted family and friends conspired to limit production, but I managed two different biscotti which, my dear, are winging there way to your mailbox this very minute!

An aside about the term "biscotti." In my Italian-American family, ALL cookies, if Italian in origin, are biscotti, not just the "twice cooked" cookies rife (and so often overblown) at every coffee counter in America. However, I actually sent you two true biscotti - the dough baked once in the form of a short brick, then cooled, sliced, and rebaked, slices on their sides.

The first biscotti, Holiday Biscotti, is based on one of the "old folks" recipes I mentioned above and reminds me very much of the dry, not too sweet, candied fruit studded biscotti of my childhood. The recipe was imperfect and required much more liquid - I decided to use heavy cream instead of milk, and I'm wondering if this will improve their keeping qualities. Let me know! They are perfect with a cup of coffee. I jazzed some up with squiggles of piped white chocolate flavored with none other than the Fiori di Sicilia we've already discussed. (I promise - last cookie with that distinctive flavoring!). Perhaps it was this particular white chocolate, but it was miserable to melt. Last year I tried the nuking method that works so brilliantly with regular brown chocolate (see Tips). It burned before it melted. So I used a double boiler, but found I had to mash the stubborn lumps with the back of a spoon and coax the mixture before it could load into the decorating bag.

The second biscotti is third generation poetic license. More on that one later. But just a note - I packaged them with inspiration. We recently ate up a box of chocolates. Noting that the chocolates needed the same tenderness as these cookies, I recycled the box.

I also threw in a tin of STALE COOKIES. Here are the Fiori di Sicilia sugar cookies for you to taste and then throw to the birds. I think I should cut down on the amount of the flavoring. What's your take?

BTW, I gave your daughter that Wilton Christmas tree miniature Wilton muffin tin, so be nice!

As for the bake/ship calendar conundrum, I think I'll do it the same way I write, shop, decorate, live. ALL AT ONCE! One huge baking blow-out followed by a trip to FedEx. Let's promise to do this side by side in the same kitchen one year.

Cindy
Ahhh, bedlam. In an attempt to ship all of the relatives' boxes in today's Fedex, I made cookies until midnight and beyond last night (no, you're not the only one to get cookies for the holidays!). And yes, I sent one to you, too. Mind you, this isn't the final performance, but seeing as how they were fresh from the oven and I was mailing anyway... You will receive: Fruit and Spice Rounds (one of my favs with ground figs, dates, raisins and nuts. They wouldn't have shipped well frosted, but a tiny drizzle of lemon or vanilla icing on them makes them even more divine), Stamped Spice Cookies (yummy, but the holly and snowflake stamps on top didn't come out as clearly as my cardamom spiced cookie recipe does, but some people didn't like the cardamom last year...), Seven Layer Bars (I know, not too Christmas-y, but I bet my goddaughter will love them), and last, but for sure not least, my grandmother's infamous Easy Doozits (my recipe card for this one is yellowed and written in my "older" sister's best 7th grade penmanship. If you can stir, you can make these. They are the ultimate no-bake yummy.) All recipes coming soon to the recipe page!

Your cookies arrived yesterday. Those biscotti are cute as all xxx (darn these editors) and delicious to boot, but except for the shape they ain't biscotti, honey. Chewy chocolate cookies would be more like it. Or perhaps they were a casualty of our latest winter storm that swept through while they sat in the post and de-crisped them in one fell swoop? I agree on the Fiori di Sicilia sugar cookies. I, too, would reduce the flavoring. While wonderful, it is a bit much. But throw them to the birds? Dear, there is not a stale cookie that a cup of steaming black coffee can't fix.

So... what happened with "the tree?"

Joy
Hi! Biscotti revisited. Put the chocolate ones in the oven for 6-8 minutes at 350 degrees to re-crisp them ("triscotti?") Interesting that they arrived chewy. Now a fresh biscotti is certainly not the dry sticks we are, unfortunately, used to buying from Starbucks and others. Such biscotti are simply stale. They should not crack when you bite into them, but crumble into the mouth. And the size? Well, yes, they are cute, and they are a heckuva lot easier to ship and pack. But I can't take credit - this is the size of the biscotti I was raised on, the size described in all the old recipes. I think the honkin' ones we see in those glass jars are like so much in America - "super-sized!"

Bet it's the gooey chocolate chips that moistened that batch. Did you notice the second layer were the classic candied fruit variety? Are they chewy, too?

Thanks for the confirmation on the Fiori di Sicilia flavor in those cookies - interestingly, the flavor strengthened as the cookies aged! (Is there some fetching analogy here?) I went to our recipes page and made sure the recipe reflected our recommended amount of 1/4 teaspoon:Citrus Sugar Cookies.

The Tree? The Tree is still safely hidden in the breakfront. I am determined to have the focussed attention of my seven year old for that work of art. The after school hours have been wild around here. In addition to the romps through the house with little friends, dogs, doll strollers (visualize Christmas stockings up to her knees, Santa hat), I cannot get her to stop belting out "The Good Ship Lollipop." However, I am setting aside most of this weekend for baking and cookie decorating and we will begin with The Tree.

Oh, another question about those biscotti - how did they ship in that recycled chocolate candy box? Breakage? Did the white chocolate frosting squiggles arrive intact???

I plan to intercept Mr. FedEx tomorrow, grab the box, and hide in the basement with a cup of that black coffee.

Hint: I love cardamom.

Cindy
It is not only possible, it is probable that I have never received a more beautifully packaged, more creatively designed gift in my life! First, I pulled an elegantly decorated box, what looks to be a hat-box, from the mound of styro-peanuts. Inside, oh inside, painstakingly decorated gingerbread people, angels and, of course, a cat. This one, detailed in individually placed black sesame seeds. So, did you do that with a tweezers or what? Next layer, pale pink and pale green amaretti studded with pignoli or sliced almonds. Under it all, some intriguing biscotti. My very first bite tasted of lavender, but my bedtime snack 10 minutes ago left me with a trace of black pepper on the tongue. Should've saved that investigation for the morning coffee!

This is but the tip of the iceberg. Tomorrow the tale of the live seafood warning in the bottom of the box!

Joy

My dear friend, it feels so fine to read your kind words - you are, of course, my Baking Idol, so to please you with cookies is both a joy and an accomplishment! My admiration of your baking skills is in keeping with my admiration of your HTML mastery. Yep, I picture you whipping off a batch of Fruit and Spice Rounds as easily as you upload a new foodies page. Me, I plod.

The biscotti are none other than Maida Heatter's Gingerful Biscotti. Warning! They are habit forming! Definitely a late afternoon coffee break kind of thing.

And, yes, tweezers! This is my sister-in-law's idea and her handiwork (I admit it - I recruited elves). Another trick we used - the tip of a toothpick, slightly sticky from a bit of Royal Icing, to pick up the tiny sprinkle or dragee or candy sequin.

BTW, your cookies are, um, well, except for one of the gorgeous Jewish stars saved for the display tray, in a word, um....gone. Yep, they're history, gonzo, ingested and digested by a most receptive, ooohing and ahhhing crowd. My brother declared the Easy Doozits tasted like a Butterfinger bar and it was a feeding frenzy after that! The Seven Layer Bars had to be metered out in precious rations. I smuggled one Stamped Spice Cookie for the cookie display tray - only to find it GONE this morning! And except for one of the precious mice, which split behind the ears, everything arrived in perfect condition. What is inside those mice? Malted something? They are scrumptious as well as adorable. One is scampering past The Tree.

The cookie tree is a constant source of admiration and temptation. It graces a gingerbread house delivered by a mutual friend, making it look strikingly like my very own abode! Thanks from me and the rest of the cookie monsters in this crazy household.

Cindy
Back to the bottom of that box...

OK, I am ready to admit it. You won. Hands down. And I haven't even sent my finale. Ladies and gentlemen, this woman gives Martha Stewart a run for her money. Well, it's more like a combination of Martha and Miss Piggy...

Nestled in a sturdy crate with a label that really had me sniffing to see if some of Marblehead's finest had been fedexed without the benefit of dry ice, was a seaweedy tangle of tissue, four hulking lobster gingerbread(men?), and a veritable beach of candy seashells. It's brilliant, just brilliant! For sheer chutzpah the blue ribbon is yours, my friend.

P.S. It's the 24th, no time to be writing html, but your finale has arrived, I can't wait to try those ricotta cookies with the carefully included cinnamon frosting! I could smell it through the box! As for the pizzelle, one has already bitten the dust with my second cup of coffee for the morning. Or was that the third? So far today: Donald (repeat after me, Donald, "I am an INSIDE cat.") has escaped and been retrieved and I slid in dog you-know-what on the wet grass while looking for him and did in my knee on the brick patio. Now I can start cooking again. 20 people arrive at 6PM for Noche Buena, the black beans are simmering, the rice is easy, the dough for the rolls is rising, and the cheesecake (how very unCuban!) is chilling. Did I mention that Christmas eve or not, this IS a Monday, so I will be doing my afternoon cat care in Tempe with the guests' arrival on the horizon... Merry, Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Joy

I just put the pizzelle iron away for another year. I never, ever, ever want to see another pizzelle as long as I live (famous last words)! My dear friend, we will collapse halfway through Christmas dinner, but what a run! I, too, slipped - lunged for the barking dog so a dear neighbor could deliver COOKIES without fear of his life. Sciatic nerve now on fire. Then, I went down on the wet tile in the front hall. I was rushing out to the supermarket to exchange the turkey. I kid you not! As it was being prepped for tomorrow's feast, our noses suspected the worst, and sure enough, when I called the butcher, he said, "I thought we'd recalled them all!" He threw in a few free pounds of freshly ground sirloin. May we all survive the holidays!

So, my dear, I look forward to eating the next shipment of Cindy's delights IN BED on December 26th! May you be spoiled, loved, catered to, waited upon, thanked and appreciated. Have the sweetest Christmas. It's been grand baking with you!

Cindy

May I never look at a cookie again... Except for one. Your Spiced Ricotta Cookies, comforting, not too sweet and delicious both with or without the cinnamon icing have been the hit of the day. Hunkered up to the first coffee of the morning, they were they perfect thing to break last night's "I'll never eat again" declaration.

Joy

Apparently, you are not the only one to eat the Spiced Ricotta Cookies for breakfast. This is a great testament to a cookie, or pie, or cake, for that matter, and I will endeavor to post the recipe now. Please note the recipe is still "in development," and I encourage all who try it to send me an email with their results and ideas.

I managed to fit into that long columnar skirt yesterday. Perhaps we burned as many cookies baking and delivering as we did eating them! But more calories await. I did share your beautiful iced Christmas tree, snowflake, and candy cane cookies, and, begrudgingly, the Orange Sable rounds. But I still have my stash of Raisin Filled and Fruit and Spice Rounds - the Swedes are gone except for the crumbs stuck in my keyboard.

A friend and his wife, a pastry chef in NYC, sent a box of treats I wish I could share with you. In person! The oatmeal cookies in the bottom have an Indian spice in them - cumin, fenugreek, perhaps a curry blend? I shall inquire. Quite out of the ordinary, yet close enough to classic oatmeal that they brought a smile to everyone's face.

So the New Age cookie swap was a success. The more cookie energy you put out, the more comes back to you!

Let's put away the baking sheets and post the best recipes over the next few days. Happy New Year, my good friend!