Links: Thumbprint Cookies, Hard Cider, and Winners

On Saturday, I realized with a start that I’ve been focusing on the work of the holiday season instead of the joy. So, to remedy that, Scott and I spent an hour time wandering Philly’s Christmas village (even in the constant drizzle, it was nice) and in the evening, we attended a holiday party that friends have been throwing for nearly a decade now. Last night, I took advantage of Scott’s absence (he’s off helping his mom get ready to move) and wrapped some gifts to tuck under our (undecorated) tree. Now, links!

A really awesome tutorial on how to make small batches of hard cider at home.
I bet these pumpkin butter pocket cookies would work with whatever fruit butter you had on hand!
A useful trick for freezing buttermilk.
Want to give your holiday season a distinctly Scandinavian twist? Stetted has you covered with aquavit and gravlax.
In answer to the question, what do I do with the preserved lemons that I made?
Get your hands on some frozen sour cherries and then make this jam. It combines them with cranberries!
Swimming in jam? Make thumbprint cookies for your holiday cookie plate!
Jam tart!
Cranberry mustard!
Saltine toffee (it’s also good when made with graham crackers) may well be one of my favorite treats ever.
In need of a signature holiday cocktail? Might I suggest the persimmon smash?
Finally, a reminder. As you’re out there doing your holiday shopping, consider picking up a couple extra items for Toys for Tots.

The winners in last week’s Spice Ratchet Blossom Trivet giveaway are…

#28/Tammy
#75/Juliana
#288/Letitia
#431/SuperM

For those of you who were wondering who won that bundle of books I was giving away a couple weeks ago, it was#380/Tina. I posted the winner at the bottom of the post because I didn’t manage to do a link round-up last weekend.

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