There is no denying we are in the depths of winter. You know, the dreaded “cold and flu” season. Even here in California, the night air is getting nippier, the days a bit shorter, and more than one person in my life is miserable and sniffly.

Gone are lazy afternoons drifting into sultry evenings– sipping tall glasses of iced tea, lemonade, or even frosty margaritas. Cool weather sees us choosing steamy mugs of coffee, hot tea, hot chocolate, and dare I say–  hot toddies? 

I want you to know that the hot toddy is more than just a beverage with a funny name. You probably associate it with ski lodges. Hot toddies and ski lodges are indeed a good combination. But more likely, when winter rolls around, you consider the hot toddy as the original nighttime sniffling sneezing coughing aching stuffy head fever so you can rest medicine. Of course, I don’t know how much actual medical science is behind that theory, but I’ll admit a hot toddy can even make the flu seem more fun.

Basically a hot toddy is made with a spirit (typically some sort of whiskey) sweetened  with honey, and balanced with fresh lemon juice. This combination is then warmed with a dose of tea, coffee, apple cider, or just plain hot water.

My favorite version is made with honey, lemon, black tea, and bourbon. But rum and brandy are good choices too. Simple enough, right?

It's Christmas cookie time. A time that makes everyone smile, right? But you know what? I am not a big fan of making cookies. So fussy and repetitive. Especially when decoration is required. Sticky icing used to glue on sparkly candies that under non-holiday circumstances I would never eat. Which is why I like these Cinnamon Snap Cookies. Simple to make but so full of holiday spirit.

In fact I was invited to a blogger Christmas cookie exchange. Full of bloggers I love and bloggers I know are great cooks. But I showed up empty handed. No cookies from me. I had intended to make these cookies. But I didn't. I felt a little bad. But I was busy. Busy reading blogs...

I read all kinds of blogs, and it takes up all kinds of time. Time I could (better??) spend wrapping ribbons around cookies, right? Instead I read blogs with great photos. I read blogs that make me laugh. I read blogs from people I like, and I read the train wreck blogs too. In fact those are some of my favorites!

Hand pies are the new cupcake, says the Washington Post. Hand pies seem to be like regular pies, only smaller and more portable, call them palm-sized pastries.

I admit I never fully embraced the cupcake movement so I am not too sad to see them displaced. Which is why in 3 years of blogging I have never presented a single cupcake recipe. Not that I don't eat cupcakes (everyone eats cupcakes). I just don't celebrate them the way so many of my blogging brethren do. But hand pies are different. I can embrace something like that. After all they are designed to fit in my hand. The very definition of embraceable. So it's not really that hypocritical of me to post about hand pies with in 30 days of their coronation by The Washington Post as the next big little thing.

My version is Prosciutto-Wrapped Fig and Pecan Hand Pies with Gorgonzola. It's just one of the savory pies I am presenting in this week long tribute to all sorts of pies served before the coffee and dinner mints. This may not be a dessert pie, but it does have some sweet elements to it as well. It's a fig pie, with honey. But there is more to it than that so it is swimming in enough umami that I see this as a first course, possibly a brunch or even a not to sweet but highly decadent snack on the go.