Balls, bars, biscotti. Dropped, decorated, pressed. Filled, fried, no-bake. Grandma's bourbon balls. The recipe for mincemeat bars from the lady whose name we can't remember but who lived across the hall in our first apartment. The chocolate shortbread recipe we scribbled on a paper towel years ago watching a Martha Stewart holiday special.
It's become another holiday command deciding which cookies to make, how traditional or how "outre." Some years we refuse to drive ourselves mad with new recipes; we'll stick to the standards, but Bon Appetite arrives with beautifully handcrafted Springerle on its cover, treats we are certain will make our cookie jar look like a window in a German advent calendar, and there we are, online, ordering a wooden cookie mold to properly emboss our virgin effort.
The whole thing has been reinfused with nervous energy because of the "Cookie Swap," a party to which everyone brings a plate of their signature cookies, from which everyone leaves strewn with stray jimmies,NHL Jerseys, carrying a paper plate sagging with cookie bootie of all shapes, colors, textures and tastes.
4Chanel Pre-Fall 2010
Always a fan of far-flung destinations, Karl Lagerfeld decamped to Shanghai to show his ornate pre-fall lineup, which combined Asian inspirations and house signatures.
5Chanel presents Maison d'Arts collection in Shanghai