The Great Gluten-Free Spritz Cookie Recipe Quest

I blame the FlyLady calendar for what you are about to read. I don't like that the Cozi app doesn't sink with Google Calendar--which I've used for years and am not adapting--so I imported the calendar. After I did this I started reading the daily missions per zone. The one that caught my attention had nothing to do with cleaning and everything to do with observing. You stand in whatever room and objectively look at the things you have in the room: pictures, figurines, throw pillows, furniture arrangement, etc. Do you love what you see?

This is so not a good question to ask a woman who hasn't changed her decor since 2005. I've added things but for the most part everything I own is at least 8 years old. I hate my coffee table because it is NOT me but it was free so I use it. The rest of my things are things I love but they don't change--which I do recognize as normal. BUT, I crave a change!! This led me to thinking about Christmas presents which led me to adding things to my Amazon kitchen wishlist and thinking about cookies. (I think in tangents and if you speak Emily you totally understand how I got to cookies and how cookies led to the rest.)

My mom is half-Swedish and every Christmas she pulled out her Mirro Cookie Press and made her Swedish grandmother's Spritz cookies. She would also make persimmon cookies and, honestly, those two recipes epitomize Christmas in my family to me. Forget presents, just bring on the dozens and dozens of cookies!

1960's Mirro Cookie Press
Nothing made now works as well as this baby.

Since I decided to go Gluten-free the things I miss most are desserts, especially holiday desserts. So I hunted for an almond flour spritz cookie recipe. I found two but the first one I found didn't use the cookie press and it just looks wrong. The second one made me happier as it uses the cookie press but I'm not sure about substituting coconut oil for butter. Honestly, they have to be the right shape or they don't taste right.

Source

As I was searching for the recipe I started thinking about the way our house looked at Christmas. We had decorations that were from Sweden and were quite beautiful. All year we had our Dala horses out and several embroidery items but at Christmas my Mom got out her Grandmother's Christmas ornaments. We also had cross-stitched Christmas stockings Mom made which she still hangs in her home. We half-joke in the family that she wants to have them buried with her. I have been searching for Christmas stockings I like for a long time and I finally found ones I like.

This spiralled into a new Pinterest board. My mom's mother gave each of her grandchildren a Christmas ornament every year until she died. They were fun when I was little and our tree looked great because no ornaments matched but I don't really like mine. I have all 26 but I have no desire to put them on my Christmas tree. We were not close to her and they represent bad memories for me. For the past 3 years I've been slowly collecting metallic colored ornaments when they go on clearance after the holidays. I've always liked the look of a tree with white lights and silver and gold ornaments but it is slightly boring.

As I was looking at the stockings I found, I was curious about other Swedish Christmas decorations. I love the simplicity of the red and white theme and think the red will add the perfect accent to the white and metallics that I already have. It also helps that my dishes I use everyday--which I'd like to switch to just special occasion--are red and gold. (This is how I ended up on the kitchen wish list, adding Fiestaware sets.) Plus, I love the candles in every room and stars hung in every window. My mom's younger sister decorated with Swedish everything and I think it was a huge influence on all of us. Our heritage is proudly displayed in her home and specific Christmas things are there during the holidays. I was also curious about Czech/Bohemian decorations. The Swedish and Czech represent both sides of my family and I added an Art Deco twist because I love it so.

I haven't fixed my everyday decorating blahs but I have discovered things I love about Christmas decorating. I might actually decorate with more than my advent calendar this year. Red, white, silver and gold with evergreen garlands and a tree. I have a bizarre urge to make a wreath.

My everyday dishes with some Non-Lazy Potato Soup
Chris Madden Red Montalira