4 days until Christmas…
Christmas flavors. Ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, chocolate, peppermint, and…maple?
Since I know everyone loves when I do my true confessions, the big reason I decided to make the Seaside Candy roll is because it was on the same page as the Crispy Spicy Cookies and the Easy Divinity. As I was making it, I realized how much my friend’s mom would like it. When I was done making it and firmly into the tasting phase, I realized that it was very much like something you would find for sale at Cracker Barrel. (My husband’s family’s natural habitat). For some people it probably does bring back memories of vacations in those beach towns on the East Coast. I’ve never been, so I don’t know. There is something sort of Christmassy about it, though. Pecans and maple and sweetness. 
This is one of those candies that requires no heat. If you are going to use your handy Kitchen Aid, you want to use the paddle attachment until everything comes together. At that point you can switch to the bread hook to knead the candy. 
We had friends over to help decorate the Crispy Spicy Cookies. My darling, patient husband led a 3 year old, 4 year old, and 6 year old in the process while I was out Christmas shopping. I’m only kind of sorry that I missed it. I walked in to the house to see little hands putting the lightly spiced cookies into open mouths. The flavors are gingerbread without molasses. We had a minor issue while making cookies. Someone didn’t really understand the directions and didn’t know to cream the butter and sugar before adding the dry ingredients. It dried the mixture out a lot. We ended up adding a bit of liquid to loosen things up a bit. I don’t think it affected the flavor.
Christmas isn’t Christmas without something like gingerbread. My son is describing gingerbread as “that soft, sweet, spicy deliciousness that tickles the back of your throat.” I keep telling him that I’m not writing about gingerbread right now, but it doesn’t stop him from telling me. 
That’s what these cookies are like. Snuggling with your oldest on the couch, with a Hallmark Christmas movie on, and the tree lit. The smell of cookies in the air and the sound of your middle child reading a bedtime story to his younger sister. Just light perfection. 
