On Sunday, I baked Pfeffernusse. I used the last 1/2 cup of citron from a supply I bought about six years ago. The citron was hard, but I revived it by putting it in a small bowl with a little water, covering with saran, and microwaving for a minute. I then let it stand. Of the cookies I associate with Christmas (the others are sugar cookies and shortbread) pfeffernusse are the least unhealthy, with just a stick of butter for the 37. They are also the cookie I most associate with Christmas and my childhood because a relative used to mail them to us. (I asked who it was when I got older and was looking for a recipe, but my mother did not recall other than it was someone on my father's side.) As usual, I ordered the King Arthur non-melting sugar, but it did not work as well this year; the sugar was not adhering to the warm cookies, and I was pressing it on with my hands. I wonder if KABC changed the formulation.

If I am to make these cookies next year, I do not know where I would find candied citron. King Arthur used to sell lovely European, small-diced citron, but they stopped carrying it years ago. When I first baked these cookies I used the citron from the grocery, but what King Arthur sold was far superior to it. Now, I do not even see it at the grocery in the fall.

I baked a new recipe, Honey Oatmeal Rolls that KABC recently developed. I made some adjustments: 3 Tbs. avocado oil rather than 4 Tbs. butter, 1 cup plus 2 Tbs. white whole wheat flour in place of that much bread flour, buttermilk in place of 1 cup water, and 1/3 cup water rather than milk. I also cut the yeast from 2 1/2 tsp. to 2 1/4 tsp and the salt from 1 1/2 tsp. to just 1 tsp. and added 2 Tbs. special dried milk. I shaped these as 16 rolls in a 9x9 pan. (Of course, the batteries in the scale had to be replaced mid-dough division, which meant struggling with the plastic around the lithium batteries meant to keep children--and perhaps adults--from opening them.) We had the rolls with dinner tonight and agreed this recipe is a keeper. I like the white whole wheat here because it allows the oat flavor to emerge; regular whole wheat would obscure it.

My Pumpernickel Rye Bread looks very nice. It is 4 1/2 inches tall, which is what I like in a wider sandwich bread. I am looking forward to slicing it for ham sandwiches tomorrow on Christmas Eve.

I have felt we are cookie deprived. When does a gal of Swedish and German descent only have a single kind of cookie in the house at Christmas? Sacrilege! I looked at the biscotti recipe that Joan posted, then went online to find a printable version. However, I stumbled across another one at MyRecipes that did not use oil and decided to bake it.

https://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/cranberry-pistachio-biscotti

I made only a few changes: I used half white whole wheat flour, added 2 Tbs. Bob's Red Mill milk powder, added 1/4 tsp. orange oil, and did not use salt, since the pistachios I had were salted. I mixed the dough with a dough whisk, added the cranberries (I microwaved these with 2 Tbs. water to rehydrate) and chopped pistachios, then switched at the end to a bowl scraper to bring the dough together. I divided it in half and put each half on a baking sheet lined with parchment. I used a piece of saran around my hands to shape the sticky dough into two logs. I did not use the egg wash, but I did sprinkle the tops of the logs with a sanding sugar that is a mix of red, green, and white. The logs are now cooling before I slice them for the second bake.

Added note: The biscotti are tasty. I would cut back the orange oil to 1/8 tsp. next time. Of course, I had a warm one. Perhaps the orange will be less intense after they cool

Thanks for posting the link, Mike. I am not sure that I would have the patience to make these cookies. Of course, the butter content gives me an excuse not to do so. I've also never had matcha so do not know if I would like them. I chuckled at one poster who commented that when she makes these cookies, she will have her guests watch the video before serving the cookies so that her effort will be appreciated!

Thanks for looking up the hearth pan. I figure at some point they will be available again. I'd prefer shiny ones to the dark finish ones that I have, although they did ok with this bread.

I wonder if someone could start a cooking store co-op. REI got its start many years ago when a guy was searching for a decent ice axe. He found one in Europe, and then all his friends wanted one as well. A co-op was born. Of course, that would be hard to get going these days.