Of all the holiday culinary traditions my family holds near and dear (hazelnut biscotti,  Venetian tri-color cookies, and a seven-course Christmas Eve fish dinner, better known as “La Vigilia”, to name a few), I must admit that my favorite is quite possibly the simplest: the gingersnap. Perfect alone or paired with hot cocoa, tea or even coffee (and excellent in ice cream sandwiches, by the way), the gingersnap conjures up many memories. So I thought it only appropriate that my foray into the Annual Workman Holiday Cookie Exchange spotlight a cookie that proves to be a perennial crowd favorite (and is also a breeze to whip up).

For this recipe, I turned to Food to Live By: The Earthbound Farm Organic Cookbook. Written by Myra Goodman, co-founder of Earthbound Farm, Food to Live By features over 260 scrumptious yet casual recipes that emphasize using fresh, local, organic foods as often as possible.

The ingredient list is pretty easy to complete and features the typical stars: molasses, ginger, and plenty of sugar. But it also calls for whole-wheat pastry flour, which is available at any health food store or Whole Foods. Pastry flour, as the authors explain, is lighter than regular flour, and results in a more airy cookie (and the whole-wheat aspect makes me feel a tiny bit healthier).

The steps involve mixing, beating, and rolling tablespoons of dough into small balls (three steps – my kind of recipe). 20 minutes later, the cookies were cooling, and the finished product was perfect: a bit chewy on the inside, but crisp on the outside; sweet, but with that familiar bite of ginger. A neighbor down the hall even commented on how good they smelled (a testament to the ingredients, and the apparent proximity of New York City apartments).

And my co-workers seemed to agree. Happy Holidays to All!

Earthbound Farm Ginger Snaps

Makes about 30 Cookies

12 T. (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 ½ cups sugar
1 large egg
¼ cup molasses
2 t. ground ginger
1 t. ground cinnamon
2 t. baking soda
½ t. salt

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or waxed paper and set them aside.

2. Place the butter and 1 cup of the sugar in a medium-size mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth, 2-3 minutes. Add the egg and molasses and beat until combined, about 1 minute.

3. Whisk together flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.

4. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture and beat until the dough is smooth.

5. Roll pieces of the dough between your palms to form 1-inch balls. Lightly dip the tops of the balls in the remaining ½ cup of sugar. Arrange the dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, sugar side up, 2 inches apart.

6. Bake the cookies until they are very fragrant and cracks appear on top, 8 to 12 minutes.

7. Place baking sheets on a wire rack and let cool 5 minutes. Then, using a spatula, remove the cookies from the baking sheet and place them directly on the rack to finish cooling. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container for 1 month.

At Workman, we love to bake, and our annual Holiday Cookie Swap is when we show off our favorite recipes and decorating skills with mouthwatering results! With inspiration from our new cookie decorating book, Cookie Craft Christmas, and our upcoming Cookie Swap Cookbook (Fall 2010), this year’s cookies were just as beautiful to look at as they were delicious! From old family recipes to new cookbook favorites, this year’s Holiday Cookie Swap was loaded with a wide variety of crunchy treats.

We’ve all experienced it–the mid-holidays burnout. The traveling, cooking, and general stress of Thanksgiving can put your immune system in jeopardy right when the fun of December holidays is starting. Perk up with a quick cranberry treat. Warm or cold, take your pick and enjoy an antioxidant-laden beverage.

From the What Can I Bring? Cookbook by Anne Byrn:

Hot Spiced Apple and Cranberry Cider: (serves 20 – 24)

2 quarts apple cider
6 cups (1.5 quarts) cranberry juice
¼ packed cup light brown sugar
3 to 4 cinnamon sticks
1 teaspoon whole cloves
1 lemon, sliced

1. Place the apple cider, cranberry juice, brown sugar, cinnamon sticks, cloves and lemon slices in a large pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low and let simmer until the flavor develops, about 10 minutes, then turn off the heat and let steep in the pot for 30 minutes.

2. Pour the cider through a fine mesh strainer into a clean pot or a slow cooker. Discard the cinnamon sticks, cloves and lemon.

3. To serve, warm the cider over low heat on the stove or in the slow cooker. The spiced cider can be made a day ahead and refrigerated, covered. Reheat it before serving.

And for those that prefer something a little stronger around the holidays, here’s a recipe from Raising the Bar by Nick Mautone:

Scarlett O’Hara (makes two 5-ounce drinks)

4 ounces Southern Comfort
2 ounces fresh lime juice (from approximately 2 limes)
4 ounces cranberry juice
6 cranberries for garnish

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice and add all the ingredients except the cranberries. Shake vigorously until the outside of the shaker is beaded with sweat and frosty.

Strain into the cocktail glasses, garnish each glass with 3 cranberries, and serve.

Squash, another Thanksgiving staple is usually roasted, mashed and served up relatively unadorned, but Tracey Medeiros’ Dishing Up Vermont adds wild mushrooms, onion, sage – and yes, cranberries, to take the standard in a different direction.

Acorn Squash with Wild Mushroom Cranberry Stuffing: (serves 2)

1 (about 1.5 pounds) acorn squash halved lengthwise, seeded
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup dried cranberries or currants
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 ounces fresh wild mushrooms such as shitake, stemmed and chopped
¼ cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon dried sage
¾ cup fresh whole-wheat breadcrumbs

1. Preheat the oven to 425˚ F. Place squash cut side down in an 8- by 8- by 2-inch glass baking dish. Cover dish tightly with plastic wrap. Microwave squash on high 10 to 15 minutes, until soft. With a sharp knife, very carefully cut plastic to let steam escape. Remove plastic wrap and discard. Using a pair of tongs, turn squash halves cut side up. Season cavities with salt and pepper to taste.

2. Place cranberries in a small bowl and add ¼ cup hot water; soak 15 to 20 minutes to soften the fruit. Drain and set aside.

3. Meanwhile, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms, onion and sage, and cook and stir until the vegetable mixture begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the breadcrumbs and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the crumbs become lightly brown, about 3 minutes. Add the cranberries and soaking liquid, stirring well until well combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

4. Mound stuffing into the squash halves, and dot with the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter. Bake until heated through and crisp on top, about 10 minutes.

Thanksgiving is the ultimate potluck dinner for my family. My aunt and uncle host three generations for the long weekend, and the number gathered around the table varies from 12 to around 20 over the course of three or four days. My clever Aunt Joan has figured out a good system for feeding this crowd for several days running: she makes a casserole for Wednesday-night dinner and she takes care of the Thanksgiving turkey; all other cooking tasks are delegated to the houseguests.

Her hosting example has taught us all how to be a Good Houseguest. The rules are easy: make your bed, take yourself out for a walk now and then (even better, take a few of the assembled small children with you), don’t wait to be waited on – whether for breakfast or cocktails –  and do not forget to ask “what can I bring?”

Here’s what I bring: Anne Byrn’s Cranberry Tart from (the aptly named) What Can I Bring? Cookbook. And here’s why:

• It can be made a few days ahead. There’s no crust, so nothing gets soggy. This makes for ideal leftovers, too – though there rarely are many to spare.
• It’s portable. The filling firms up as it bakes, so nothing sloshes around in the back of the car while we battle holiday traffic.
• It’s seasonal. Fresh cranberries just shout “Thanksgiving.”
• It looks so pretty. Those bright red cranberries liven up one’s dessert plate next to pumpkin, pecan and apple pies. (My other aunt’s and cousins’ pies are all delicious, but let’s face it – rather brown.)
• It’s simple. Did I mention no crust? Did you understand this means no rolling, and no lattice-making? And other than the cranberries (which I usually grab when they first appear at the grocery store, and stow in my freezer til baking day), the other ingredients are already in my fridge or pantry.
• It’s requested. Last year’s Cranberry Tart was so delicious, everyone asked me to bring it again this year!

Anne Byrn is known around here as “The Cake Mix Doctor” – and her newest book, The Cake Mix Doctor Returns, is a current New York Times bestseller. She’s a wizard with a box of cake mix – a pinch of that, a bit of this, and it becomes an extraordinary and truly homemade dessert. But she’s just as brilliant at cooking and baking from scratch; her food is exactly what I like to eat – fresh, homey and delicious – and the recipes in What Can I Bring? are all smartly designed to be toted with you.

Even if you haven’t been asked to bring dessert for Thanksgiving (in which case your host or hostess should learn a few tricks from Aunt Joan), these recipes will enliven any potluck you attend this season.

Try the Big Green Salad with Orange, Avocado and Red Wine Vinaigrette, which adds a little tropical fiesta to any mid-winter dinner, and is a perfect foil for the beef bourgignon or other hearty fare your host is likely serving. (The addition of parmesan cheese to the vinaigrette is brilliant and unexpected. And it’s now a trick I use all the time. Thank you, Anne!)

Or tell your weekend hostess you’ll bring a big pan of Chicken Enchiladas to serve for the Saturday-after-Thanksgiving lunch. Anne’s sauce is salsa- and broth-based, so it’s not too creamy (a nice break after holiday food indulgence) and the bright Mexican flavors are a welcome change of pace after a few days of turkey sandwiches and leftover mashed potatoes. Like most of the recipes in this very smart book, the Enchiladas can be made ahead and left in the fridge for a day, or the freezer for longer. This means you can do the work at home and just put the pan in your hostess’ oven before lunch – providing her with both a meal and a mess-free kitchen, gifts she will really appreciate after doing endless dishes for what feels like days on end.

Check out the chapter called “It’s a Gift” for thrifty and delicious food gifts– all of which are great choices to bring your holiday hostess. If you brought me a pretty jar of Vidalia Onion Marmalade, I’d pour it over cream cheese, open up some crackers, and skip fussing over appetizers on Friday night after the Big Feast. If you brought me a Sour Cream Cinnamon Streusel Loaf, I’d leave it out for my guests’ breakfast and sneak back to bed with my coffee (hey, the hostess deserves a holiday weekend too). If you brought me a tin of Anne’s Sweet and Spicy Pecans, I’d probably hide them in the cupboard so I could eat them all myself while watching “It’s a Wonderful Life” a couple weeks later… but I’d definitely invite you back for Thanksgiving next year.

Click here for the Cranberry Tart recipe