Favorite Holiday Food

Recently, I participated in a Facebook event where I asked a simple question:​ What’s your favorite holiday food?

I shared a bit about myself—that I’m Jewish, that Hanukkah for me has always been rooted in food and family, and that long before I wrote fiction, I ran a small food blog for busy mothers. Every recipe followed two rules: no more than five ingredients, no more than three steps. Simplicity, warmth, and something homemade to feed the family. (I once wrote a full post about that little food blog, including a recipe for courgette soup, and you can find it here.)

People answered with their own small histories.

Someone mentioned she tried Italian Christmas cookies: anginetti for the first time. I googled them and understood the choice: soft, lemon-scented, lightly glazed. I want to try them too.

Another wrote:

"My neighbor runs a bakery out of her home and I offer my services as a taste tester. My favorite this season is a pistachio cranberry shortbread. Soooo yummmmm!"

One reply stopped me short:

“My Aunt Kathy used to make orange balls when I was growing up and they were delicious. It was a simple recipe but I could never quite get it right. So they’re just a happy memory now.”

When I asked if anyone had ever managed to recreate them, the answer was no.

Another reader shared Mini Tim Tam balls, and didn’t just name them, she gave the whole recipe, and I'll share it below. No baking. Just a freezer and a willingness to get your hands messy.

Someone else wrote that in their home they celebrate Diwali, and their favorite festive sweet is gulab jamun—soft, syrup-soaked, almost like an Indian version of a donut hole. Different holiday, different tradition, same instinct: marking time with sweetness.

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I shared my own favorite too: a savory dish. Latkes. Crisp, golden fried potato pancakes with grated onions and a little sweet potato for color. My grandmother, who couldn't cook (or bake) to save her life—I think she joined a kibbutz just so she wouldn't have to do either—used to make the best latkes. Go figure.

Reading all of these replies reminded me why food matters so much at this time of year. Recipes don’t just feed us. They carry people, places, and moments we don’t want to lose.

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Here is the Mini Tim Tam balls recipe:

1 packet Arnott’s Tim Tams

250 g cream cheese

300 g CADBURY Baking White Chocolate Block

100 g CADBURY Baking White Chocolate Block optional to decorate

Method

Step 1: Crush Tim Tams in a food processor, then add cream cheese and mix well.

Step 2: Roll into small balls, then pop in the freezer for a minimum of 30 minutes.

Step 3: Melt the milk chocolate, then dip and coat each ball really well with chocolate while still frozen.

Step 4: Melt white chocolate, then drizzle over the balls to decorate.

TimTam balls

Enjoy!

However you’re celebrating—through Christmas cookies, Hanukkah candles, chocolate-coated experiments, or memories that no longer have a recipe—I hope your days are warm and your table is full.