It's day 4 of my cookie bake-a-thon...my glycemic index runneth over.

How long has it been since you opened a jar of molasses and took a big whiff?  Well, that's too long.  I find it very easy to forget what molasses smells like, even if it's only been a few days since I've smelled it.  I just had to go get the jar again and take a big pull so I could remind you: it smells like a blend of dark-roast coffee and soy sauce.  That doesn't sound like a good idea for cookies.  But molasses in ginger cookies?  It's necessary, in a big way.

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Welcome to the third installment of my Christmas Hannukah bake-a-thon!

Have you ever had rugelach?  Ever heard of them?  They're these awesome, petite crescents of cream cheese and butter dough wrapped around a filling such as cinnamon, nuts, or preserves.  The fact that the dough is almost nothing but cream cheese and butter pretty much had me hooked.  But I also saw an opportunity to inject a little deep-south peppery twist on this classic cookie.

Pepper jelly. You know, the jalapeno-spiked stuff that gets poured over blocks of cream cheese?  Turns out it's a remedy for someone who bakes and eats lots of cookies and, quite frankly, needs a little help preventing palate fatigue (that's Melissa Clark's term, not mine, but it's well-put).  I was afraid these might be too spicy in the end, but they're just spicy enough, and a welcome change of spice from the typical holiday range of cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg.  I think you'll like them.  And let's forge ahead and put pepper jelly in all kinds of sweet things!  It'll be a revolution.

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I come from a long line of German women who feel compelled to produce baked goods pretty much nonstop from October to January.  I'm not even fudging this fact a bit. I refer to the phenomenon as "extreme baking," or the condition during which our collective kitchens are completely dusted with flour and sugar, all of our tupperware containers have been filled with sweets and handed over to neighbors, and our feet ache from standing over too many mixing bowls, yet we continue to bake without ceasing.  I suffer from the condition, and I don't even have a sweet tooth.

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It's time to start shakin and bakin...Mardi Gras is March 8, so there's still time to get in lots of slices of king cake.  I suggest you try making one, if you're into really big, scrumptious art projects that go great with coffee.  I also believe that a warm Sunday afternoon is the perfect time to try it.

I've made this RECIPE several times now, and I declare it pretty foolproof. The dough has wonderful flavor from the nutmeg and lemon zest added to it (plus a ton of butter).  I'm not going to repost the whole recipe here, because I've never made any changes to it--I'm no tinkerer when it comes to baking.  But I do have some hints about how to form and shape it without ending up covered in gloopy dough.  Thanks to Paul for taking dozens of photos!

P.S.  Get some Cafe du Monde or French Market coffee for this!

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I'm a little crazy these days, and in need of some serious kitchen time to calm my nerves.  Why so crazy?  Next Saturday is the big, year-end music recital for the students I teach in Harvey and Marrero.  Nerves are frazzled, stomachs are full of butterflies.  This is the time of year when I become more psychotherapist than piano teacher, and to be honest, it stretches me pretty thin.  But my brain happens to be wired in such a way that when I get stressed, I like to tackle big cooking projects, like buying lots of bursting-ripe produce that must be used within 48 hours to avoid spoilage.  So while I may be walking around with a furrowed brow for a bit longer, it's a safe bet that I'm well-nourished.

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