Rosemary made a chocolate mint bark. That's been the seasonal start here.

The missus is about to embark on her annual holiday candy-making binge. Many pounds of innocent chocolate shall be melted-down in tribute to the season.

This is my first vegan Christmas, so I've been searching out vegan treats. Some, of course, have always been vegan, like the Dutch Windmill cookies that I love.

This year I won't be eating the mini butter stollen bites from Lidl (one of our German supermarkets). But Aldi (also German) sells vegan stollen in apple-cinnamon and cranberry-orange flavours, as well as the plain marzipan. I also bought some Lebercuchen (heart-shaped soft gingerbread cookies with apricot filling covered in dark chocolate) which are accidentally vegan too.

I also have some lovely treats of marron glaces, figs in chocolate and orange cookies to eat over the holidays.

We have Aldi here... I wonder if the American locations carry German treats? I’ve been meaning to check the store out anyway.

I had my first egg nog of the season last week. I love it a couple of times a year, but any more than that and it becomes sort of disgusting.

If we are also talking savory holiday treats, tonight I made my annual Chanukah dinner, which included latkes, brisket, and matzoh ball soup - yum! And jelly donuts (a Chanukah tradition) for dessert.

US Aldi should have stollen and oblaten lebkuchen (iced & chocolate-covered gingerbread), at least.

My goal is to avoid the holiday treats, though I did have a few miniature milk chocolate snowmen right after Thanksgiving.

These are the spiced windmill cookies which are so delicious.

And these are the gingerbread hearts with apricot.

Yum!

I definitely recommend trying out the oblaten Lebkuchen that sysinfo links to. I grew up in the NL with Lebkuchen around christmas. They define kerstmis (as in: light, warmth & cheer in the heart of winter) for me so very much.

Ha! 'spiced windmill cookies'. That's very very Dutch. Here speculaas is more associated with St Nicholas eve (Sinterklaas) though: Dec 6th. But I'm sure it's great with any december festivity. :-)