Holiday Baking | Spiced Sables & THE HUNT FOR THE PERFECT TREE

We are in the holiday home-stretch! I have one more festive recipe for you today incase you are in the need for a last minute baking idea.  But first, a story about finding the 'perfect' tree.  Regrettably I am an awful decision maker when it comes to pretty much anything in life.  I always feel like the option that I don't pick is always the better one.  Apparently this is even the case with Christmas trees.  Two weeks ago we participated in our annual tradition of cutting down our tree in Connecticut.  It was a fairly cold day with a damp wind blowing through the valley.  Pine trees of every variety were dotted around the hills of Maple Row Farm and we were destined to find the 'perfect' tree.  We walked past many trees, sizing them up - too tall, too short, some had pine needles that literally felt like needles, while others didn't have enough.  I would stumble upon a tree that looked right from far away but then when you approached it something was off.  Finally my husbands shouts 'I've found it!', and low and behold it was the perfect tree for our apartment. It was tall and skinny, just like him.  With that he knelt down on the nearly frozen earth to saw down our tree just like the year before.  To celebrate our home being so festive I decided to make Spiced Sablé, a delightful French shortbread cookie and dusted it with powdered sugar.  These cookies make the perfect gift because they have a long shelf-life and are a great option really anytime of the year.  

Photography & Styling by Alison Dulaney-Engstrom