Dear Baking Friend,

When you’re a baker, the 12 Days of Christmas, with their swans a-swimming and maids a-milking, don’t resonate with you. No, you’re more interested in how many weeks the fruitcake should age, what exactly you need for stollen, and oh by the way, should I bake and then freeze these rollout cookies, or just make and freeze the dough?

It’s late October, and the countdown is beginning. This week’s fruit and nut cake can be served right away, but it’s even better with a 5-week aging period highlighted by the regular application of rum, brandy or flavored syrup. If you have the time now, bake your cutout cookies, wrap, freeze, and pull them out to decorate just before Christmas.

To avoid stress during the buildup to the holidays, planning is everything: and now’s the time to start your plan. AND your fruitcake.

P.J. Hamel, editor
The Baker’s Catalogue®