Choosing what to bake during the holidays offers limitless possibilities. So how do you choose a new recipe to add to your time-tested classics? Take our quiz here to see which type of holiday cookies suit you best (and find recipe suggestions), then flip through this season’s cookie guide for even more ideas.
From thumbprints to exotic shortbread, our collection of holiday cookie recipes has something for everyone. This year, we’ve highlighted the handiwork of bakers with local connections.
I am totally spoiled. I know it. My liquor cabinet stretches to hundreds of bottles. For me, it’s not a matter of whether I should use, say, gin in a cocktail. It’s a matter of which gin from among a dozen or more offerings. Should I go with a classic London dry, such as Tanqueray or Beefeater, or perhaps Plymouth? Maybe one of the new American craft-distilled gins, or perhaps one of the sweeter, Old Tom-style gins? Or how about one of several Dutch genevers?
Deputy Food Editor Bonnie S. Benwick compiled the top 10 cookbooks of the year, along with hometown favorites and others that deserve a place on your bookshelf.
To many people, bubbles in wine are synonymous with champagne, while purists will argue (rightly) that true champagne comes only from the region of that name in France. Champagne is wonderful, but it has a big problem, and that problem sounds like “ka-CHING!”
“Watch your step,” Stephanie Willis says, as we carefully descend into the basement kitchen at 1905 restaurant in the Shaw neighborhood. “It’s a little precarious.”
Gail Dosik of "One Tough Cookie" in New York City demonstrates how to build and decorate a Christmas tree using cookies.
While others were indulging in traditional desserts last Thursday, at my table an Aegean pistachio chocolate tart and upside-down three-chocolate brownie pie won the day. They were the creations I fashioned from goodies acquired at Zoe’s Chocolate, in Frederick and Waynesboro, Pa., and Spagnvola Chocolatier in Gaithersburg.
With the holidays approaching, it’s time to recommend books to give the wine lovers on your list. Here are my top picks from among wine books released this year.
I think of my great-grandfather most at Christmas. He was born to Polish immigrants on the Feast of the Epiphany. He was named Caspar after one of the three Magi, though he went by his middle name, Anthony (and I knew him simply as Pappy). Many of his flannel shirts were a Christmasy red plaid. But more than that, more than the accordion on his knee and the polka in his whistle, I remember him for pierogi.
I think I’ve got the perfect pie crust down pat. Even if being a pastry chef weren’t my chosen profession, I would have spent years working on the formula — because my husband (also a chef) loves pie.
Don’t worry: I’m not here to suggest that you concoct a Thanksgiving feast sized to serve one — and that you then eat it alone, in the dark, in shame. This Thursday is nothing if not community-oriented, and single folks who are able to should be enjoying it in the company of family, friends or both.
There are several myths about Thanksgiving and wine, and I’m sorry to say that they have been propagated by lazy wine writers looking for an easy November column. Unfortunately, they have the effect of making our wine choices for the feast more stressful than they ought to be. Wine writers should not be making this harder; we’re here to take the stress away by pointing you to the sure things, the wines that offer more value than their price would suggest.
No matter how you slice it, there’s a dilemma inherent in serving fake meats on Thanksgiving — and it has nothing to do with sacrificing the traditional spread of roast turkey, oyster dressing and pan gravy.
If Thanksgiving were a movie, it would be one of those sprawling Cecil B. DeMille affairs.
If you were looking to lighten your Thanksgiving spread, lessons from a California kosher cooking instructor would be an unlikely yet inspired place to start. A turkey rubbed with ground sumac, garlic and olive oil, raised to reddish-bronze glory on the grill. Brussels sprouts brightened with pomegranate seeds and pistachios. Individual tarts with apple, fresh cranberries and thin wedges of almond paste.
The cookhouse on Waltz Farm sits 50 yards from where owners John and Sally Waltz live in Smithsburg, Md., but it’s practically a spacewalk away from the universe of modern convenience. Windows, candles and a fireplace provide its light and heat. Built in the mid-1800s, the 12-by-24-foot wooden structure bears patinas and aromas of the past. John’s ancestors did their laundry there, butchered their hogs, rendered lard and made scrapple.
No matter where our family chooses to celebrate Thanksgiving, I look forward to being transported to Hawaii.
The Post’s Travel writers suggest presents designed for the jet setter in your family and friends.
The Post’s Style critics suggest presents designed to bring more joy into the life of the lucky recipient.
You told yourself it would be different this year. All the presents would be wrapped by Thanksgiving. The 200 holiday cards would be handwritten, complete with personal messages. And there would be no spending a small fortune at the post office so Aunt Katherine in St. Louis could enjoy her holiday treats on Christmas Day.
With less than two weeks left until the holidays, this is a prime week for making your list and checking it twice. But you don’t have an army of elves doing your bidding for you, so it’s easy for some Christmas purchases to slip through the cracks — and time is running out. Some developers have created apps that will help you keep your list organized, whether it’s for the naughty or the nice.
The College Savings Foundation has a great idea for what to buy the children in your family.
Oy, it’s been a year. We’re beleaguered. Beaten up. Depressed by the economy, distressed by political dithering, swirled by tornadoes, slammed by hurricanes, shaken by earthquakes. Things must have been better, once — when we were blithely pre-supercommittee, pre-Sandusky, pre-Occupied. Right now we’re on our way to a blue Christmas even Elvis wouldn’t want to sing about.
Via Amazon.
The celebrity-obsessed often wish for holiday gifts that are a little, well, unrealistic. This is why some parents have had to explain to their tween daughters at least 10 times that, while Santa Claus is quite magical, he simply can’t stuff Justin Bieber into a stocking. But it’s still possible to give or receive a little piece of Bieber — or other entertainers, TV shows and films — this holiday season. With that in mind, here are a few gift ideas for the celebrity and pop culture lovers in your life.
We frequently get asked what gadgets, books, and other gifts we’d recommend for the weather enthusiast. With the holidays rapidly approaching, we thought we’d offer some ideas. In this post each of the Capital Weather Gang members has provided at least one gift recommendation. Feel free to add your recommendations and ask any questions in the comment area...
If getting pepper-sprayed at Wal-Mart while fighting a 70-year-old for the last waffle iron isn’t your idea of an enjoyable shopping scene, perhaps a kinder, gentler — and more Washington-flavored — excursion is in order.
Gift ideas for the 1 percent.
Last month I received a news release listing 10 gift ideas for college students. Three of the top ideas: “Anything Apple,” gift cards for “the essentials” like Starbucks and gift cards for “the luxuries” like Pottery Barn Dorm. The last item listed is cash.
From a USB drive that fits on a keyring to a charger that juices up to six devices at one time, these gadgets are meant to generate smiles during the holidays.
All you need to do is take out your gift list and your credit card. If you’re lucky, most of your holiday shopping will be complete by the time you finish reading.
Oy, it’s been a year. We’re beleaguered. Beaten up. Depressed by the economy, distressed by political dithering, swirled by tornadoes, slammed by hurricanes, shaken by earthquakes. Things must have been better, once — when we were blithely pre-supercommittee, pre-Sandusky, pre-Occupied. Right now we’re on our way to a blue Christmas even Elvis wouldn’t want to sing about.
Oy, it’s been a year. We’re beleaguered. Beaten up. Depressed by the economy, distressed by political dithering, swirled by tornadoes, slammed by hurricanes, shaken by earthquakes. Things must have been better, once — when we were blithely pre-supercommittee, pre-Sandusky, pre-Occupied. Right now we’re on our way to a blue Christmas even Elvis wouldn’t want to sing about.
Oy, it’s been a year. We’re beleaguered. Beaten up. Depressed by the economy, distressed by political dithering, swirled by tornadoes, slammed by hurricanes, shaken by earthquakes. Things must have been better, once — when we were blithely pre-supercommittee, pre-Sandusky, pre-Occupied. Right now we’re on our way to a blue Christmas even Elvis wouldn’t want to sing about.
Oy, it’s been a year. We’re beleaguered. Beaten up. Depressed by the economy, distressed by political dithering, swirled by tornadoes, slammed by hurricanes, shaken by earthquakes. Things must have been better, once — when we were blithely pre-supercommittee, pre-Sandusky, pre-Occupied. Right now we’re on our way to a blue Christmas even Elvis wouldn’t want to sing about.
Oy, it’s been a year. We’re beleaguered. Beaten up. Depressed by the economy, distressed by political dithering, swirled by tornadoes, slammed by hurricanes, shaken by earthquakes. Things must have been better, once — when we were blithely pre-supercommittee, pre-Sandusky, pre-Occupied. Right now we’re on our way to a blue Christmas even Elvis wouldn’t want to sing about.
Oy, it’s been a year. We’re beleaguered. Beaten up. Depressed by the economy, distressed by political dithering, swirled by tornadoes, slammed by hurricanes, shaken by earthquakes. Things must have been better, once — when we were blithely pre-supercommittee, pre-Sandusky, pre-Occupied. Right now we’re on our way to a blue Christmas even Elvis wouldn’t want to sing about.
Holiday gifts for gardeners, like gardeners themselves, are down-to-earth and practical. People with rolled-up sleeves and muddy hands will love you for making their job easier and helping them trump last year’s yields. Forget whimsy. Avoid flimsy. Here are some presents that go right to work.
In case you’re one of the people taking part in this American atrocity called Black Friday — made even more obnoxious this year by corporations that are beginning the retail orgy on Thanksgiving Day — let me stop you right here with a little shopping advice.
Get the perfect present for everyone on your list without breaking the bank. Defining our categories as fashion and beauty; tech treasures and men; teens and tweens; and foodies and book lovers, we found many gift possibilities under $25. We do include a few splurge-worthy items, because it is, after all, the holidays. (By Janet Bennett Kelly and Holly E. Thomas)
Know an entrepreneur? Here are some ideas to jump-start your holiday shopping.
My daughter participated in a Christmas gift exchange in her young-adult-usher ministry. Every teen but my daughter brought gift cards. She came with a movie to exchange. Her gift was not so popular.
After 5 p.m. Friday, head to South Moon Under at National Harbor to score a 10 percent discount on purchases. It’s the last day of the store’s Family Fridays promotion. 5-9 p.m. 100 American Way, 301-567-0511. www.southmoonunder.com.
Instead of a car review this week, here’s my list for best gift bets for cool dads:
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