Dakota Beacon

When the baking starts, can Christmas be far behind? What a grand prelude to a wonderful season.

Home baked goodies make this season one of the favorite times of the year. Nothing compares to a home filled with the aromas of baking together with the melodies of Handel’s “Messiah” and carols sung by the Vienna Boys Choir. Only at Christmas!

Most baked treats at this time of the year are traditional or “seasonal” goodies. Intended for celebrating Christmas and the Holiday Season, these sweets are special. Only at this time of the year will you find these exceptional cakes, cookies, and candies prepared with special care. And what wonderful gifts and treats they make.

Krumkake, Julekake, rosettes, fudge, Mexican Wedding Cakes, and other trifles fill plates, tins, and boxes ready to enrich this festive season dazzling the eye and stimulating the taste buds.

If I loiter around the kitchen I might get to sample one or two goodies. I might even find employment. My wife approaches with a large bowl of cookie dough. “Open the fridge door, please.” Surely this gesture should reap a reward. I’m only too happy to make the effort in hopes of burning off a calorie or two before the holidays really set in.

A simple sugar cookie cut into holiday shapes, iced, and colored with seasonal tones is an obvious a winner. This delicious labor of love may be made by the dozen. Best of all, with all the kids grown and gone from home, it’s left to me to lick the beaters. Not without a sidelong glance from the bride of my life, of course.

If I cannot lick the beaters (I just might lose the race to the dishwasher) I might yet earn a reward helping decorate the cookies. Hopefully, that’s worth a couple of cookies and a taste of icing.

A little enticement may also be worth its weight in cookies. “I’ll wash dishes,” I offer. Naturally, my gesture of goodwill must be handled discreetly lest it be seen for what it is -- a bribe. Sometimes it works, sometime it doesn’t. I say “sometimes” because generally I don’t feel welcome in the kitchen at baking time. This I gather from the urgency of the effort in a no-nonsense atmosphere. I can take a hint.

Julekake is another specialty reserved only for the Holiday Season. Throughout the year cardamom may not be used frequently for its zing. But, at Christmas, cardamom makes Julekake the special, unique, delicious treat that it is.

Spiced pecans are another favorite seasonal goodie. What a superb treat. These, too, are easy to make requiring only sugar, cinnamon, egg whites and, of course, pecans. Though easily made, they are reserved strictly for the Christmas season. I know. I found out the hard way.

Several years ago, on a mild day late in June, I had a yearning for some spiced pecans. Without giving it a second thought, I idly suggested such a treat might be nice.

Have you ever experienced a rude awakening for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time? I did that summer’s day. I don’t recall the conversation exactly, but the response I received to my suggestion for spiced pecans brought a chill to that June day equal to any day in December. Obviously, I had said the wrong thing. Spiced pecans were for Christmas -- period. Lesson learned.

Finally, I must pay tribute to the “black sheep,” the “outcast,” the “orphan” of seasonal goodies -- the fruitcake. Personally, I like fruitcake but it’s the one thing we don’t often make in our home. Nevertheless, the fruitcake deserves its rightful place as a holiday sweet. Frequently this loaf is treated like zucchini. It’s given away because a) it’s so prolific and easy to buy, and b) nobody wants it. In the spirit of Christmas I suggest we show some gratitude for this humble, calorie-laden brick with this plea: “Send me your tired, your poor, your -- fruitcake!”

Let the baking begin!

Dennis M. Patrick can be contacted at (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).