“How did it get so late so soon? It’s night before it’s afternoon. December is here before it’s June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon?”  – Dr. Seuss

It’s December and I suddenly miss this place. It seems with the end of the year approaching, I’m slowing down with as much tenacity as when revving up in spring. But reflection isn’t the point of this update, that’s for another time. Today is about cookies! After all, among all the delightful aspects of Actual Winter (how I’d missed it!) is a reignited interest in such activities as soirees and culinary experiments.


Your humble host, her charming beau, with guests Christopher Jones, Takatsuna Mukai, Manko, Jason “Humbug” Atomic and Rachel Freire

The last time G and I tried our hand at the mysterious art of traditional Russian spice cookies, AKA, kozuli, was back in Ireland, as evidenced here.

A new batch was long overdue and, having recently made the acquaintance of a bunch of fabulous creatives, I decided decorating these would make for an entertaining party activity.

Soon, our apartment was filled with imaginative people and the aroma of every available spice. Add a lot of mulled wine to this equation, and you get quite the surreal array of cookie ornamentation. Behold:

Anatomical ducks, dragon bears, sigils, snakes and psychedelic hearts galore!

I hesitate to share our kozuli recipe as we’re still perfecting it, but there are plenty more to try online. Meanwhile, here’s a useful video on royal icing. Substitute lemon juice for water – tartness plays well with sugar and spice.

In all, a lovely night to help wind down the year in sparkling cheer. I hope you’ve been duly inspired and will try this at home! As for me, I’ll return with a year-end post in the coming days.

Signing off for now,