Spyglass’s Picks: Holiday Recipes

Every holiday season, as a small token of my appreciation, I bake my loved ones a batch of my famous chocolate chip toffee cookies. These cookies are the perfect combination of my favorite things: toffee candy and gooey cookies. If you’re bored of the plain chocolate chip cookie, give this recipe a try!   Ingredients:  2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt  ¾ teaspoon baking soda 2 sticks unsalted butter (salted if omittin...

My mom got this chili recipe from a friend, and we’ve adapted it to our liking. We usually make it with ground beef even though the recipe calls for turkey. It’s delicious and easy to make, and the warm chili is perfect during the cold weather! Ingredients: 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 pounds ground turkey (substitute ground beef if desired) 2 cups chopped onions 2 tablespoons chopped garl...

Recipe calls for: One 4–5 pound chicken at room temperature, giblets and neck removed from cavity 2 onions quartered 1 head of garlic cut in half plus 3 garlic cloves minced 3 lemons 2 cut in half and remaining half sliced into thin slices 4 tablespoons unsalted butter softened 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest 2 fresh rosemary sprigs plus 1 sprig minced Kosher salt and fres...

Every year our family looks forward to making this aromatic, woodsy pumpkin loaf. A warm slice of this loaf goes well with a hot cup of tea. Although you may be used to dry and dense gluten free baked goods, this gluten free loaf is not lacking in the chewy, squishy, and fluffy categories. This recipe was adapted from the Flavor Flours gluten free cookbook.   Ingredients 8 tablespoons butter, melted 1 cup sugar 2...

Soft and chewy, chocolate crinkle cookies coated in powdered sugar are perfect for the holidays. These rich and fudgy crinkle cookies require minimal ingredients and can be whipped up fairly quickly. After Thanksgiving, my family and I make these chocolate crinkle cookies on repeat until the holiday season passes.    Ingredients: All-purpose flour Unsweetened cocoa powder Baki...

Every winter, the kumquat tree in my backyard sprouts hundreds of little orange fruits, more than my family could ever finish in a couple months. So a few years ago, my mom decided to start making kumquat “jamalade,” or my family’s silly name for our not-so-tangy, not-so-sweet cross of a marmalade and a jam. It’s always a fun family experience plucking the kumquats into metal bowls with my grandm...

Each year, I look forward to making molasses cookies with my mom. The warm, chewy blend of ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar—and of course, molasses—in each bite tastes like a comforting affirmation that everything will be okay. Molasses cookies are delicious year-round, but they always taste much more satisfying when the weather has dropped below 75 degrees and you’re counting the days ...

From crispy potato latkes to dark chocolate gelt, Hanukkah has plenty of delicious foods to offer, but sufganiyot tops them all. Sufganiyot are jelly doughnuts topped with a generous amount of powdered sugar. I can say with certainty that my Hanukkah experience would not be the same without these delicious delicacies. Every Jewish family has a different approach to making sufganiyot, but here’s a grea...

“When winter break starts and you have some time,” my mom informed me, “you’re making granola.”  Ever since I invented it during quarantine, this sweet-and-savory granola recipe has been a huge hit with my family… to the point that making regular batches of it has become one of my mandated household chores. What screams “holidays” like the warm tickle of cinnamon wafting throug...

The older I get, the more I realize I should be spending December gyrating to Michael Buble. Instead, I spend most of my December wishing my brain cells didn’t ascend to the astral plane at a time when I need them most. It is not holly nor jolly. But this recipe is!  This recipe takes gyrating to Michael Buble and reimagines it completely. This recipe forces you to ask yourself: What if I were ...