Well, technically, the decorations are for New Year's celebrations because the Turks don't celebrate Christmas. But they look exactly like Christmas decorations, complete with snowmen, reindeer and Noel Baba.
So to get into the holiday spirit, I'm warming up my kitchen and baking some festive treats.
On Monday, Nov. 19, you can join me at the Istanbul Culinary Institute where I will teach how to make hazelnut-cardamom shortbread squares, candied chestnut tarts, Italian Tadal Christmas cookies and dark chocolate-cinnamon mousse. You can sign up for this class by clicking on the institute's monthly calendar here.
Italian Tadal cookies are a holiday tradition of my in-laws in the U.S. My mother-in-law's grandmother brought the recipe with her when she immigrated from southern Italy to the U.S. Tadals seem to be an American-Italian version of Taralli Dolci from the Puglia region of Italy. But every holiday season, my in-laws gather together, make and roll out the dough, then bake and decorate the cookies with a colorful powdered sugar glaze.
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| I added aniseed to my dough as well. |
If you can't make my class at the institute, I will be hosting the same class at my home on Wednesday, Dec. 5, through the International Women of Istanbul. There will be one additional recipe of Linzer jam-filled cookies.
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| Candied chestnut tarts surrounded by a custard and buttery tart shell, dusted with cinnamon on top. |
Happy baking!
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| Hazelnut-cardamon shortbread squares. They can even be sandwiched together with ice cream! |