Christmas Isn't Christmas Without... Spice

Starting around Labour Day, if I'm within 60 feet of a Michael's craft store, the scent of cinnamon is overpowering. That's how I know Christmas is less than a year away. They stack these bins with cinnamon scented pine cones right in the entrance way, and it literally hits me in the face anytime I want to check out ribbons or washi tape.

But spices, including cinnamon, have their moment at this time. They're warming, and add a little something special to what we bake and drink. My mother used to bake Polish spiced cookies called Piernizcki made with honey and about 60 different spices and iced with a peppermint icing. I don't make them as much because I remember them being such a stiff dough to wrestle with and some choice oaths and curses muttered by Mum.

They are, however, The Granddaddy of Gingerbread cookies; even the name indicates the heat due to the amount of ginger. You can read more about them in this NY Times article

Maybe I should give them another go, however.