‘Tis the Season

Yes, it is fall.  My absolute favorite time of year.  I love the weather changing.  I love pulling out all the comfy sweatshirts and pajama pants.  I love being able to have a cup of hot tea in the mornings without breaking out into a sweat. 

And I LOVE baking.  All summer long my oven has sat empty save for the occasional take-n-bake pizza.  My canisters have sat unopened to the point I have clumpy sugar.  My beloved Williams-Sonoma baking pans have been neglected.

Here in Omaha it is way too miserable in the summer to even think about a fresh batch of muffins.  Having grown up in the high desert, I am unused to any humidity let alone those days that feel more like we live in a swamp on the Gulf Coast rather than in the land-locked Midwest.  It takes all I have just to deal with the weather without slaving over a hot oven.  And frankly, who wants to eat anything piping hot when the weather is at its worst.

But now that the weather is beautiful and the leaves are changing, I get the urge to whip up a batch of pumpkin muffins or banana bread.  And there is so much yummy fruit in season, how could I resist homemade peach cobbler or pear crisp.

I tried a new pumpkin cake recipe today that, with a little bit of tweaking, will be absolutely divine as mini cupcakes for my annual Christmas party.

For that is what I love most about fall.  Planning for holiday festivities.  Whether it’s a children’s Halloween party, a family Thanksgiving dinner, or our annual Christmas party, I love to plan a party.  And I have decided that I need some new recipes for the parties I will host or attend this year.

There are always those recipes that just make the holiday.  It just isn’t Christmas without some version of red velvet.  The last couple of years I have made red velvet sandwich cookies.  A little bit time consuming, but much easier than making a three-tiered cake.  And generally I make my Black Forrest Profiteroles (a fancy way to say ham and cheese puffs).

But as I planned the menu for our Christmas party last year, I realized that almost everything I made had cheese.  I have met a couple of people who do not like cheese.  Myself?  I can’t imagine not eating cheese, but those people are out there and I happen to know at least 2 of them. 

So, as I plan for this year’s party I am trying out new recipes.  So not only do I get the joy of party planning, I get to do so much extra baking this year!