Holiday Sugar Cookies with Natural Red Icing

‘Tis the season to make cookies, and this year, my friend Sarah challenged me to find a natural red food coloring to use in icing for sugar cookies. Did you know that most artificial red food colorings contain crushed beetle-like cochineal bugs? And those that aren’t derived from bugs often contain coal. (Here’s one helpful link in case this interests you, but be warned, there’s a picture of those red crawlies.) Now that doesn’t sound very festive or appetizing, does it? And recent studies found potential links between artificial dyes and hyperactivity and even cancer. That’s enough to turn me off of artificial food coloring, how about you?

Swedish Pancakes with Sweet Clementine Sauce

My mother-in-law’s Swedish Pancakes are legendary. This dish has long been in her arsenal of recipes, since before she even met her part-Swedish husband and became a mom to my beloved part-Swedish hubby. These are like crêpes, but moister and spongier than any other I’ve had. You can top them or fill them with whatever you’d like: fresh berries, powdered sugar, honey, lemon juice, cinnamon, jam, nutella, bananas, whipped cream, chocolate, syrup, or a combination of these.