Christmas Cookie Shopping list:

• Chickpeas
• Duckfat
• Black Chocolate
• Armagnac

This week a local newspaper reporter asked me what was a typical American Christmas Dinner tradition.  From this corner of my French kitchen, I stumbled over the usual suspects: roast turkey- the French do that, too;  ravioli- my Italian family’s contribution; there’s always eggnog- try explaining that to a Frenchmen! In my stuttering Anglicized Phone French, I finally found the one safe and very American idea-  Christmas Cookies. So relieved to find this safe haven from political discussions, I volunteered to send a recipe or two.

Full disclosure: I am not a cookie baking sort of cook. I love cookies, of course, and can eat my weight in uncooked dough, but if I’m going to make something homemade, I want it to have my own personal stamp. Perhaps not so typical, but all mine.  So, I looked to my 2011 Christmas post about Italian Chickpea and Chocolate cookies, and reached back to a duckfat shortbread recipe. I thought I’d throw in a few gingery gingerbread pigs as well just for fun. Recipe to follow!

I am on my own at Camont this Christmas (waving at my Boston family from here!!!), but I am making batches and batches of cookies to take to my farmers market friends tomorrow. They are my French family. After all, they work hard all year for me and what are a few cookies and a Gascon hot toddy going to taste like on a cold December morning ?

From my Kitchen-at-Camont to yours- have a wonderful holiday season and share some of your favorite cookies with someone you love.  Thank your farmer with sweetness and armagnac.

I Heart French Farmers!

 And I Heart all you Faithful Readers, too!