By Mel Gresham from the Haunted Yarn Shop Mysteries.
Welcome
to Mel’s on Main, your one stop shopping place for holiday treats. My staff and
I have been working overtime to keep the bakery case full this holiday season. But
wait, before you reach the counter, stop and close your eyes. Now, take a deep,
deep breath and enjoy the warm smells of yeast and cinnamon and chocolate. Then
go ahead follow your nose on over here for a free sample. Do you need a hostess
gift? Or are you so busy running here, there, and everywhere that you don’t have time
to do your own baking? Let us help you out. In fact, I’m going step back, now,
and let the food do the talking for me.
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| Beurre and Sel Jammers |
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| Rosemary Olive Oil Cake with Dark Chocolate |
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| Banana Butter Rum Coffee Cake |
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| Caramelized Upside-down Pear Tart |
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| Peach Pie |
Do you see anything that looks good enough to eat? I
love it when people pick up something to take home, but also when they take the
time to sit down here with a cup of coffee or tea and a slice of something. I
love hearing their reaction to that first bite. And I also love hearing the
memories that flood back with the smells and spices – memories of home and favorite
holiday treats – the cookies their grandmothers baked, the pies they helped
their mothers make.
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What
are you favorite holiday baking memories? Let me know in a comment below and
maybe next year I’ll add that to the menu at Mel’s on Main. And three lucky
commenters will win their choice of one of the Haunted Yarn Shop Mysteries. The
books, in order, are LAST WOOL AND TESTAMENT, DYEING WISHES, SPINNING IN HER
GRAVE, and PLAGUED BY QUILT.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The
award-winning, national-bestselling Haunted Yarn Shop Mysteries are available
in mass market, e-book, large print, and audio wherever books are sold.
Visit
Molly MacRae on Facebook
and Pinterest, or find her the first Monday
of each month at Vintage Cookbooks and Crafts.
Posts
Christmas Cookies of course and my Mom's Bouche Noel on Christmas Eve
ReplyDeletegibsonbk at hiwaay dot net
All the foods pictured above look so delicious! Makes me hungry. Baking memories.....making cut out sugar cookies with our two daughters, especially when they were younger. They may not have looked like they came from a bakery but they were delicious anyhow. dbahn@iw.net
ReplyDeleteEvery year it's cookies, cookies, cookies—sugar cookies, chocolate chip cookies, and oatmeal raisin cookies—it's not long before everyone is sick of cookies … at least for a while!
ReplyDeleteskkorman AT bellsouth DOT net
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSorry I forgot my email above. Favorite memory is making Lefsa with my grandma and assorted aunts and cousins. stclairck@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteMaking sugar cookies and gingerbread cookies with the boys when they were young are some of my favorite memories. I love gingerbread. These days I sometimes still make them, but I don't bother to decorate them. I just eat them as soon as they are cool enough to touch.
ReplyDeletebevarcher AT me DOT com
My mother's thumbprint cookies! lkleback@hotmail.com
ReplyDeleteVera Wilson said: Would bake a couple of fruitcakes. One for the holidays and one to slice up and freeze for later eating. Made the house smell so nice when baking.
ReplyDeletesnoopysnop1 at yahoo dot com
Making cookies with mom...iced tea cakes.
ReplyDeletedmskrug3 at hotmail dot com
Lemon Meringue pie is always a Christmas staple in my home
ReplyDeleteDefinitely Christmas cookies. raquel36m(at)gmail(dot)com
ReplyDeleteI swear I could smell the goodies you posted. :) I loved coming home as a kid and seeing what treat mom had made for the day. My favorite, peanut brittle. I had a microwave version I got years ago which was almost as good. :) Salt, sweet, heaven.
ReplyDeleteI love baking homemade Anise Cookies and having them with coffee Christmas morning. pp92596 at outlook dot com
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite memories is making cookies with my grandma. When she moved to an apartment, she had a really small kitchen, and she used to put the wire cooling racks all over her big dining table in the living room/dining area. We made all kinds, but my favorite were her ginger cookies.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter and I baked cookies every December. My husband supervised. Now that he is gone (along with my mom and uncle who couldn't wait to get their supply of cookies) we don't bake any more. Everybody seems to be calorie conscious. The granddaughter had joined us when she got old enough to help. I miss those days of fun.
ReplyDeletetxmlhl@yahoo.com
My favorite memory at Christmas was my aunt's baking of kieffels, with apple and nut fillings. She was a great baker. monstercreed@yahoo.com
ReplyDeleteEvery year my daughter and I bake cookies together. My husband is the taste tester.
ReplyDeleteagavigan@cox.net
I haven't done any baking yet this year, but last Christmas Eve my sister, niece and I baked seven different types of cookies. It was a LONG day, LOL.
ReplyDeleteEmail: word_trix(at)yahoo(dot)com
The time my son-in-law went wild for chocolate crinkle cookies cemented that as a holiday favorite. His grandmother had baked them, so he had lovely memories. Then there was the time we all got together and made gingerbread houses from scratch at my daughter's house and I made my own grandchildren, grandmother memories. They may not remember it themselves, but there are pictures!
ReplyDeleteMy e-mail is ncroessner@comcast.net. If I win a book I'd like to get the first one, so I can follow through with the others. Or, any one would be great.
ReplyDeleteWatching my sister putting together a cheesecake and laughing and laughing as we recounted memory after memory of Christmas past. It's always the laughter that I remember most. joan@hadac.com
ReplyDeleteBaking marble cake and apple cake every year which is memorable for the precious time together and the scent of the apples, cinnamon and chocolate. elliotbencan(at)hotmail(dot)com
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother made a delicious applesauce cake and my mother made apple slices and eclairs. They could both bake and cook so well they should have opened a restaurant with a bakery. I know I got my love of cooking from both of them.
ReplyDeletesallycootie@gmail.com
Baking mandelbrot and delectable lemon biscuits was our tradition. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com
ReplyDeleteBaking with my grandmother---great sugar cookies---I just wish she would have left a recipe.
ReplyDeletesuefarrell.farrell@gmail.com
I was born in Finland so when I was young my mom would bake delicious Finnish goodies.
ReplyDeleteKit3247(at)aol(dot)com
Baking different shaped gingerbread & sugar cookies with family. Everyone had their own favorite shape chosen again & again over the years. Most fun was year we created a train with coal car, caboose & pullman cars.
ReplyDeleteWe usually have rum cake for the holidays.
ReplyDeletesgiden at verizon(dot)net
My grandmother made the best Anise Cookies (her recipe seems similar to Italian cookies) with drizzled icing on them. She used real anise oil that was only sold in the drug store. I have the recipe but it never tasted the same when I made them. kuzlin at aol.com
ReplyDeleteI've made rum cake before and it's always very moist and delicious. We always had Chicken & Dressing, cranberry sauce, potato salad, deviled eggs, peas, beans, several pies----a feast!! Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteFood and memories. Wonderful stuff.
ReplyDeleteMy mom made a fruit cake for non-fruitcake people. Chock full of dates, raisins, chocolate chips, pecans, and fresh cranberries (instead of maraschino cherries) with just enough eggy, buttery batter to hold it together.
I've made it, but it isn't nearly as interesting.
libbydodd at comcast dot net
My Dad always made fruit cakes every year and they were delicious! My specialities are rum balls, Italian wedding cookies and lemon meringue pie! ruthmazur46@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteMom made a fruitcake which is the best fruitcake ever. It's more like a pound cake loaded nuts and candied fruits. No citron. That's the part I hate in most fruitcakes. lkish77123 at gmail dot com
ReplyDeleteNot a holiday baking memory- but being with my grandmother when she made chicken soup. Nothing like the aroma with her "secret" ingredients. When I make it today, those memories come flooding back.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite baking memory is making cookies with my mother. I loved the smell of the cookies baking in the oven. I loved watching her decorate the sugar cookies with icing (we were only allowed to watch). The house always smelled so good. After she was done making the icing we got to lick the beaters (yum). Happy Holidays! Doodlesink@hotmail.com
ReplyDeleteFruitcake...My Grandmother always made it homemade and delicious...also ambrosia which is something you don't hear much about.
ReplyDeleteMarilyn Watson
ewatvess@yahoo.com
My mom was a terrific baker anytime of the year! When I was a kid, my fondest memories in regards to baking would be when she, my sister and I would make cut out Christmas sugar cookies and decorate them with colored, buttercream frosting. I have followed in her footsteps and have done these with my kids and grandkids now for over 30 years. Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays to all!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite holiday baking memory is learning that there was no meat in my great grandmother's mincemeat pies. And they were delicious! I recently found out that Oliver Cromwell once banned mincemeat pies when he was in power and so now I can honestly say that I was a rebel since childhood, even though that law has been repealed for years.
ReplyDeletejenne.turner (at) unt.edu
I don't remember any favorite holiday baking recipes but if there were any recipe that was my fav, it was the frosted molasses cookies that my Grandmother made. Those were a way that she spelled "love" to us when she knew we were coming over, any time of year so I assume that was on holidays, too! jeaniedannheim (at) ymail dot com
ReplyDeleteFave holiday memory is making cookies every year with my second mom. With xmas music playing in the background and cookie smells wafting through the house. Zeta@iwon.com
ReplyDeleteThe food looks good. I thought that was banana bread in the picture. I love pumpkin pie and also chocolate and cinnamon. I've been thinking about chocolate cookies.
ReplyDeletecatbooks72(at)gmail(dot)com
My Mom was always baking. Every day she would make several types of cookies....the aroma when you walked in the door was amazing. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
ReplyDeletekjdugas(at)verizon(dot)net
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMy mom made the most wonderful fruitcake. It wasn't the gooey kind that most people think of when you mention this treat. Hers had a more cakelike batter and had fruit and pecans. I loved citron in it. She even made a chocolate version. We had to let it age in the refrigerator for a couple of days before eating it. I was so impatient that sometimes mom would cut me a small piece once it cooled. We put a slice of this fruitcake and a glass of milk out for Santa on Xmas eve before going to bed.
ReplyDeleteI miss fudge from mother and mother-in-law. Not the same when you make it yourself.
ReplyDeletetcuevas@iccable.com
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite holiday memories from years past was when my Great-Aunt Birchie would arrive on Christmas Day with her homemade peanut butter fudge. Even though she always made enough, we always ended up fighting over it. She's been gone a few years now and Christmas just isn't the same without her and her candy. Here is her recipe: http://theselftaughtcook.com/2011/12/peanut-butter-fudge/
Making gingerbread cookies for juvenile hall kids.
ReplyDeleteI'll take a piece of that Caramelized Upside-down Pear Tart please! When I was a kid, I'd always help my mom make Christmas cookies. I was the decorator of our Kris Kringle cut out cookies-no frosting, just sprinkles! Now my friend and I have a tradition-I go to her house and we bake lots of cookies for her family and me!
ReplyDeleteI have a peanut butter date ball recipe that my boys love. I had to hide them in order to have any left for Christmas.
ReplyDeletekpbarnett1941]at]aol.com
My mom making her sweet potatoes pie.
ReplyDeletexzjh04@ Gmail.com
This may be a duplicate? I used to love baking Christmas cookies.
ReplyDeletekaye.killgore@comcast.net
My friends Bush's, would make the best cookies ever! As I grew older I asked for the recipes. Silly me, she didn't use them. She had made so many over the years she didn't need them. Wonderful memories of sitting in her kitchen eating her superb goodies! angelhwk68@yahoo.com
ReplyDeleteMost years we bake different things but we always have peanut butter kiss cookies. I like to make them with my kids. It makes it really feel like Christmas.
ReplyDeleteMoonbay7399@gmail.com
This year my grand nephew in Montana helped his grandma bake. He loved messing with the flour as I could tell from pix on FB. Wish I could have been there.
ReplyDeleteDrat you and that rosemary/dark chocolate cake and your carmelized pears too!!!! I'm doomed to go grocery shopping now!
ReplyDeleteAs a child, I loved when my mom baked Christmas sugar cookies (using Christmas cookie cutters). Then we would use food coloring to "paint" the cookies which was fun.
ReplyDeletemyrifraf(at)gmail(dot)com
Thank you!
My family and I make caramel corn, peanut fudge, pumpkin bread, corn flake candy, and chex mix. We also like to try new things as well. This year I made peanut brittle :)
ReplyDeleteHappy Holidays,
Lori
lorih824 at yahoo dot com
As a child "helping" my Grandma and Mom bake all of the traditional Dutch Christmas treats (Banket, Jan Hagel Cookies). My brother and I are 1st generation Americans born to immigrant parents. Dave and I both were taught how to make and carry on the family traditions by two of the best bakers I had the privilege of knowing. servedogmom@yahoo.com
ReplyDeleteMy Grandmother (whose mother left the Amish) made real butter butter cookies that were to die for, and Scottish shortbread that was buuuuutttttery for Grandpa too. My family is all kinds of melting pot so we'd have Amish, German, Lithuanian, Jewish (both Sephardic and Ashkenazi), and Italian treats galore! Latkes & keftes, rugelach, Pfeffernüsse, Lebkuchen, Poppyseed Spurgos, Shortbread, Anise cookies, cookies with nuts like pistachios and cashews, baklava, halva, Turkish Delight, Bumuelos & Sufganiot.... Oh my goodness I love the holidays and all the many foods and traditions! yumyumyum
ReplyDeleteMy favorite baking memory is my grandmother then mother and now me baking paska - a Polish yeast bread made with sugar, butter, vanilla and eggs and flour of course It's great with butter and/or ham. Traditionally we serve it as a first course on our special Christmas Eve dinner.
ReplyDeleteCandy Cane Cookies. Hands down. It's a Betty Crocker recipe that's been around at least since I was a kid (mid 1950s) and they what my whole family looks forward to. They are fussy to make but you can't beat how cute they look or how they taste. I make them every year. :-)
ReplyDeletePearl
pearl.r.meaker@gmail.com
Oh that banana butter rum coffee cake looks so yummy. Happy Holidays. lady.janel@hotmail.com
ReplyDeleteI'd take a piece of everything if I had a chance. It was quiet here so had basic. DH been eating up the goodies almost faster than I can make them. The Rasin Cinnamin Bread lasted longer than anything else.As for the book I'd like If I win, Unholy Matrimony would be great. BTW, I snuck some chips and onion dip in, nobody seemed to notice but everybody sure seemed to help themselves. Have a Happy New Year.
ReplyDeleteForgot my email, Nancy at jluebke @ frontier.com
ReplyDelete