Instead of Coffee, Let's Exchange Baked Goods (recipes)

A Conversation over A Holiday Ritual

Welcome to my baked goods exchange!

Photo by Diliara Garifullina on Unsplash

Since we cannot gather for a real-life cookie/ baked goods exchange, I invite you to a virtual event and a chance to exchange recipes.

Let me get you a drink! I have sparkling water and sodas.

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If we were baking gingerbread cake, I would tell you Neil Gaiman was interviewed in Iceland while he was there for a conference. You can find the interview here. He has some interesting things to say about Iceland and the fact that many people are leaving social media. Are you staying or using it less? It depends on the day for me.

Gingerbread Cake

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

1 cup Grandma’s Molasses

1/2 cup butter

2 1/3 cup flour

pinch of salt

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ginger

1 tsp cinnamon (I put in at least 3 times this amount)

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1 cup sour cream

Heat molasses and butter together to boiling, then remove from heat. Sift flour with salt, soda and spices. When butter and molasses is slightly cooled, add sour cream. Add flour mixture into molasses mixture.

Pour into a buttered pan at bake for 40 minutes.

Nice with whipped cream.

While the gingerbread cake is in the oven I would tell you we went to breakfast this morning! It is always a lovely way to spend the first part of the morning with my husband. It is rainy here today and I have some calls. It is a good day to read in front of the fire.

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If we were baking peanut butter cookies with chocolate kisses smooshed into them, I would tell you my Writing in The Dark class continues. We were delayed a week because of Thanksgiving but are back on track this week. I have enjoyed the writing for this class although it has proven to be difficult in spots. I have to workshop my piece this week and it is an ode. I have not decided what the topic will be yet.

I would tell you I am working on a flash fiction manuscript to get ready to send off at the end of the month. The revisions are coming easier then they have in the past. I have support and encouragement, especially from my husband. I have several circles of writer friends who are helping as well. One of my stories from this collection was published this past week! You can read it here.

I would tell you the information about my Bradbury Trio Course beginning January 7, 2024 will be coming out tomorrow. If you have any questions, please reach out. (Heather Morris and Kim Johnson - I couldn’t find emails for you otherwise I would have sent you individual messages about it!)

I would tell you my Writing with Tarot class is going well! I love to see everyone’s spreads and the writing that is coming from them.

I am playing with two new morning routines for writing. One is from Ada Limon (Thanks Katherine and Tina!) and the other is from Bob Proctor.

I would tell you Chris and I hosted Second Thanksgiving here at the house and had 8 for dinner! It was a wonderful afternoon of food and stories. My brother -in- law was here from Florida in addition to other family. There was tons of food and we had to rearrange the tiny house but it was worth it. We hope it will be a tradition every year from now on.

I would tell you we had our Iceland writing retreat reunion. It was nice to see my friends’ faces and hear their voices. Everyone is all over the world. I love this part of my writing life.

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What are your favorite types of cookies to bake? Do you have holiday favorites and any day cookies you enjoy?

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Want to read my writing? Click here!

As always, thank you for reading!