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I love holiday baking! Every year, my mom, my sisters, and I get together to bake for the holidays, and if we're lucky, we get together in November and December. I'll admit that I'm a better baker than a cook, so I look forward to our get-togethers more than anything.

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Holiday baking has been a part of families' lives for well over a thousand years, if not much longer. In the middle ages, a number of spices and even sugar were very expensive. As a result, when people did have a tiny bit of precious spice, like cinnamon or nutmeg, they stored the spice to use for special occasions, like Christmas. Although for a time in the 16th and 17th centuries, Christmas was banned in Scotland and England. During those terrible years, even baking for Christmas was banned and bakers were encouraged to report anyone requesting specialties like Yule Bread to the authorities. In England, soldiers with long noses were chosen specifically to sniff out spices in any suspicious Christmas baking. They'd have smelled my house from two miles away on baking day!

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I'm so thankful that I don't live in that time period. There's something about baking that brings those cozy feelings of family and home. The love and joy that are so much a part of what the holidays are all about. No matter where you are and who you're surrounded by, I hope you'll set aside some time to do a little baking, using this recipe and the other amazing recipes from my fellow authors.

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Even if you burn water, it's not about how good the treats turn out, it's about spending time with those you care about, making new memories. And if that pan of cookies comes out charred and smoke pours out of the oven... call for a hot firefighter!

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Want to read more about Christmas being banned in Scotland? Check out Yuletide Customs of Old Scotland.