A Very Prairie Christmas Bakebook

By Karlynn Johnston, Appetite by Random House 2023 $38

Being a huge fan of the Kitchen Magpie, Karlynn Johnston’s earlier books (like the Prairie Table – which has a permanent spot in my kitchen’s collection), it was with great enthusiasm, and great pleasure to work my way through her newest book.

Perhaps the best part of A Very Prairie Christmas is how effortlessly it builds upon the nostalgia of the Christmas holidays and all the memories evoked by the treats your grandparents may have shared over the holidays, or the things your parents made during all the craziness of the holidays. Or perhaps you had a mother who sort of “winged it” with her holiday baking like mine did - and maybe you thought the recipe (or the general plan of attack) might have been lost forever. This book may just be for you.

Starting things off is an entire chapter devoted to shortbreads and sugar cookies in pride of place with an excellent Scottish

Shortbread (p.31) followed closely by a household favourite – the Snickerdoodle (p.41), and naturally a gingersnap makes an appearance (p.69) with a softer cookie – but fans of the “crunch” are given an option too.

For those with a sweeter tooth over the winter months, there are plenty of options in the “Candy” chapter including Nutty Caramel Popcorn (p.103) which some might call “Poppycock”, peanut brittle (p.104) with several similar recipes for praline brittle or maple walnut. Confections includes Easy Chocolate Fudge (p.132) with a decidedly shifty looking Santa, peppermint bark (p.147) and rum balls (p.156), and there are still chapters on Dainties, Bars, and Slices –check out the Millionaire’s Shortbread (p.207), a chapter devoted to Cakes, Dessert Salads(?) with the very pretty Seafoam Salad (p.232), and Puddings, and of course cocktails and punches.

Brilliantly accompanied by wonderful photography done by the author, the images serve to evoke classic, traditional holiday memories without looking overly staged either – these look like recipes that will come out of the home cook’s kitchen with a modicum of effort. Bonus points if you had or still have any of the tins, mugs, glassware, or mixing bowls featured on these pages!

Who knows, maybe this is the year we bring back the cookie exchange!