It never fails with parties. I make several towers of cookies and treats and not very many people come. But if I make less, lots of people come and they I don’t have enough cookies! It’s a struggle. This year the weather was bad too, so some of our regular crew couldn’t make it. It was lovely to have the people who were able to come though and we had some new guests as well. Everyone was charmed by the tablecloth story as usual and we did pretty well on eating up leftovers. We still have cookies though…

I was excited to try pepperkaker this year and have them actually work! The last time I tried them, they went horribly wrong and I cried. This year, they were a hit and I figured out some tricks for the dough. I used this recipe from Outside Oslo- http://www.outside-oslo.com/norwegian-christmas-cookies-pepperkaker/

So the trick for me was to let the dough warm up just a little and then just wale on it with the rolling pin. Once it started getting too sticky, I would put it back in the fridge. The recipe makes a lot though, so I would halve the recipe next time. They are delicious! This particular recipe doesn’t have black pepper in it, so I would be interested to try one with that added. I eye measured the spices and so probably had some of the proportions off, but they were a hit at the party.

They are pictured here with the Tahini Blossoms which were from the Better Homes and Gardens cookie issue from 2019. People were surprised to find out that these weren’t peanut butter blossoms! They have a nice nutty taste. They did take some extra prep work. You had to chill them, make the dough into balls, and then freeze the balls for a while to prevent spreading. I don’t think it helped that much because they still spread a bunch. They weren’t my favorite, but were liked in general.

The top cookies on this plate are Malted Butter Riches, which were pretty plain. I didn’t have a chance to make the frosting for them, so I might have liked them better with it instead. They were one of the Retro Recipes from the BHG magazine. I was intrigued by the name, but probably wouldn’t make them again. Also from the magazine were the Linzer hearts on the bottom. My friend sent us home from our visit with sugarplum jam, which was delicious sandwiched in between the cookies. We also had sandbakkels from this recipe: http://www.outside-oslo.com/norwegian-christmas-cookies-sandkaker-sandbakkelse/

I really enjoyed reading Outside Oslo, by the way, and have several other recipes that I want to try. Lingonberry cake is high on my list, but I will need to order some lingonberries.

Last, but not least, on this plate are Cranberry Spiced Shortbreads. I didn’t end up making the eggnog icing, but the cookies were still good. They are from Sally’s Baking Addiction. https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/cranberry-spice-cookies/

We, of course, had to have peanut butter balls.

It wouldn’t be Christmas/Epiphany without them!

We also had some dairy free, gluten free, and vegan cookies this year. On this plate were the gluten free/dairy free Almond Spritz Cookies and the Vegan chocolate chip. I was surprised to find vegan chocolate chips from Nestle at the store. I taste tested a few of them and they weren’t too far off what I was expecting. You know I’m a huge chocolate snob too, so if I liked them, they had to be good.

The Vegan Chocolate Chip were from the BHG magazine and the almond spritz were from here: https://www.mamaknowsglutenfree.com/almond-spritz-cookies-gluten-free-dairy-free/

I don’t remember tasting a vegan chocolate chip, so I couldn’t tell you how they tasted, but they were on the table with Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip and people were eating them both up, so they must have been good. The Almond Spritz had a grainy texture, which is sometimes an effect of the gluten free flour. My gluten free blend is nut free, which I learned is not always the case. I was glad to be able to offer them to my friends with different dietary needs though.

On this plate, we have chocolate banana bread and Nissu. The chocolate banana bread was from one of my cookbooks. I want to say Baking Unplugged, but I’m not entirely sure. It was pretty good.

Of course, we had to have a pickle and veggie tray!

We had homemade dilly beans and spicy pickles. Fancy charmed everyone into giving her carrots. 🙂

Another traditional item was the Rulle. It was delicious! I had freshly ground allspice this year again, which made a big difference, I think.

We tried a new savory item this year, in addition to the crab dip and meat, cheese, and cracker tray. These are ham and cheese crescent rolls.

We had a panic moment the night before trying to figure out another savory item to have, as we thought we didn’t have enough. I do tend to focus more on the cookie part. I made the crescent dough because I’m an overachiever when it comes to hospitality. We also had a balela bean salad, which was vegan and fancy. Also, delicious. I ate it for lunches and didn’t have to share after the party. https://reluctantentertainer.com/balela-salad/

So like I said, it was a smaller party, but definitely worth the work. Fancy was in heaven with children and adults to rub her belly. We had the guest room set up with the Husband’s loose Legos and a book of Lego Christmas ornaments. Fancy kept shooting worried glances down the hall, as she could hear them, but not see them. We didn’t get any actual Christmas ornaments, but did get some pretty neat towers.

Next year, I might try to reign it in foodwise…

Ha! Who am I kidding? I’ll see you at the Epiphany Party 2021 post wild eyed, battle weary, covered in sugar, and holding 4 pounds of butter clutched to my chest.