Good Grief Baking Therapy
Baking therapy. It’s a thing this time of year. Among other holiday goodies, I baked a baker’s dozen of different cookies. Tapping into that inner strength I created 3 inspired original recipes which were totally delightful. Sadly, I don’t have photos of the orange nut pinwheels (Bill’s favorite), jam thumbprints (Caitlin’s favorite), molasses, almond butter cookies, bourbon chocolate chip or cranberry crumb bars, but please enjoy the rest.
Mascavado Spice Cookies 
Pumpkin Macarons 
Kifli
Truth be told I did have a meltdown the day after Christmas. In a room full of people surrounded by our children I suddenly felt like half of me was missing. In an instant and out of nowhere I was overwhelmed by his absence. Gosh I miss him! Cookies can’t change that. I wonder which one would be his favorite. What gets you through the holidays?
Babka Bites 
Holiday Punch Filled Snowballs 
Chocolate Dipped Coconut Biscotti
Here is the recipe for the Orange Nut Pinwheels. Clipped from a magazine, I have been making this spicy, fruit-filled nutty slice and bake cookie for decades. What I love about it is the cookie dough can be made ahead and stored in the fridge or freezer for a week and then sliced and baked fresh when you need them. It’s a keeper.
PrintOrange Nut Pinwheels
- Total Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/2 cup orange marmalade
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/3 cup dark seedless raisins
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup shortening
1 egg
1 cup packed light brown sugar
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Instructions
1. In medium-sized bowl, combine first 4 ingredients and 3 tablespoons light-brown sugar.
2. Into large bowl, measure flour, shortening, egg, and 1 cup packed light-brown sugar. Knead ingredients until dough holds together.
3. On sheet of waxed paper, roll out half of dough into a 14″ by 6″ rectangle; spread with half of nut mixture. Starting with a 6-inch side, roll up dough. Repeat with remaining dough and nut mixture. Wrap and refrigerate rolls 2 hours or until firm enough to slice. (Dough can be refrigerated up to 1 week before baking.)
4. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease large cookie sheets. Cut one roll crosswise into 1/4 inch-thick slices. Place slices, 1 inch apart, on cookie sheets. Bake 10 minutes or until lightly browned. With pancake turner, remove cookies to wire racks to cool. Repeat with remaining roll. Store cookies in tightly covered container.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: cookies
- Method: baking
Keywords: pinwheels, orange nut, dessert, snack, holiday, Christmas cookies
I bake, cook and avoid social media and Tavel somewhere warm for a few days.
Sunshine is good for the soul!!
Congratulations on the new grand baby…my little nieces help me get trough it when it gets tough
Hope you found some peace and joy through your celebrating ❤️
Such a good plan to follow. Thank you for sharing. I was taken by surprise by my emotions. The grief took over in a split second. I don’t believe I ever felt that sense of half of me was gone like I did in that moment. Thankfully, we recover. I mentioned to my husband that there are certain social situations that I guess I must prepare better for or avoid completely. FB for sure! Always love hearing from you <3. You add so much wisdom to the group.