I usually bake these around Christmas, but the recipe was requested recently and there is no reason they wouldn't be good any time of the year.

The recipe is from a Better Homes & Gardens "Cookies Cookies Cookies" cookbook.

Cranberry-Pecan Bars

Crust
1 cup AP flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Combine the flour and sugar and cut the butter in until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in the pecans. Press into a 13x9x2 inch baking pan and bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

Topping
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon shredded orange peel
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped cranberries
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Combine the topping and spread over the partially baked crust. Continue baking for another 30 minutes. Slice into bars while cooling.

At least in my family, cookies are more of a holiday tradition than breads are. Here are three I am baking this year:

Cranberry-Orange Oatmeal Drops
Magic Squares

I made these for the first time this year. They are excellent!

The has been a family holiday favorite since I was around 10 years old. I believe it was a recipe off the side of a graham cracker box, but we got it from a family friend.

Magic Squares

1 stick of butter
1 package graham crackers (1/2 box of crackers)
1/2 bag chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 bag shredded cocoanut

I made this recipe up last night. We thought they were great, so I think I'll make them again for Thanksgiving.

The sweet potatoes give the rolls a beautiful orange color. They also give off a nice earthy smell. You don't taste them very much, though they do keep the rolls soft and supple.

I made mine too large, more like hamburger buns than rolls. Next time I'll divide the dough into smaller pieces.

I made a stab at some 100% WW rolls today. (Well, I did sub in about 70 grams of white cake flour because I didn’t have enough WW pastry flour.) I was surprised to realize that shaping those little balls was a lot more difficult than shaping a loaf sized boule.

Folks, I just want to say I appreciate the fact that so many of y'all are keeping that bread flag flying despite this psycho heat wave. Is it *not* hot anywhere in the continental US?

Ok it's cold and flu season here in Ontario and I'm curious what others do when they get hit by colds and/or the flu? Home bakers and bakeries all apply.

Do you cease all baking, wear protective apparatus (masks, gloves, etc), close up the bakery for a few days (or longer). Now being a small business owner myself I know it's wildly impractical to close up for any length of time but how have you done it or are doing it right now?

I'm nurturing starters from a distance right now :( 

I currently live in an old drafty farm house which in this cold winter weather is dry enough to dry salt in :) My last house was newer and less drafty and had a humidifier.

I've seen the proofing times rise dramatically and am trying to find ways to counter this. It's also tough to keep the temperature above  the 69 F or 20 C range too.

What methods have you found to lessen this kind of impact?

In the summer we swelter in humidity so that will be a completely different experience.