There is hardly a more Italian way of celebrating the holidays than a slice of panettone and a flute of prosecco, a December ritual in homes, cafes, and restaurants throughout Italy. This sweet toque-shaped yeast bread stuffed with raisins and candied orange and lemon peel originated in Milan. It’s often served with a sauce of zabaglione, a custardy sauce made with egg yolks, sugar, and Marsala wine, or crema di mascarpone, and accompanied with a glass of sweet wine such as Moscato d’Asti. The name panettone comes from the Italian word “panetto,” a small loaf cake. The addition of the suffix “-one” makes it a large cake.

The origins of the cake date back to a type of leavened cake sweetened with honey and enjoyed by nobility during the Roman Empire. The cake makes cameo appearances in Italian paintings in the 16th century and is associated with Christmas in the 18th-century writings of Pietro Verri, who wrote an epic history of Milan.

But Panettone didn’t become a household item until 1925 when Angelo Motta, a Milanese baker, began commercial production of the bread. He’s credited with modifying the shape from a low, dense loaf to the tall, airy bread we know today. He introduced a natural leavening process, more like that used in sourdough, and allowed the bread to rise three times over 18 hours before baking. This produces the bread’s lightness and soft texture.

Motta’s bread was an enormous success and soon a competitor arose. Giacchino Alemagna created a similar bread, pricing his higher. The competition proved good for both brands, with Motta seen as the panettone of the middle-class, while Alemagna targeted those willing and able to pay premium prices. Today, the brands Motta and Alemagna dominate the market. Over 100 million panettone are produced by Italian bakeries each holiday season. Italy only has 60 million people! Even with about 10% of production bound for export that is a lot of panettone per person.

While commercial production of panettone dominates in Italy and abroad, many small bakeries (or le pasticcerie in Italy) make their traditional versions of the famous bread. Macrina’s version was inspired by a recipe in Carol Field’s wonderful book The Italian Baker. Our loaf is studded with candied citrus and dried fruits and enriched with eggs and butter. Nowadays it’s easy to find decorative paper baking molds, but I prefer to bake these loaves in clay flowerpots, which look beautiful and make great holiday gifts. The dough takes time and cannot be rushed, but it’s more than worth the wait. If you’re looking for an alternative to the version shipped over from Italy you can pick one up at any of our cafes this month, or find my recipe in the Macrina Bakery and Cafe Cookbook. Then grab a bottle of prosecco and invite some friends over for a very Italian holiday celebration.

Happy Holidays, Leslie

Turkey gets all the glory on Thanksgiving Day, but no plate is complete without a spoonful of stuffing, tendrils of scrumptious salad, and a beautiful basket of bread. We have some savory side dishes that are so good, they might just steal the spotlight.Holiday Porcini StuffingOur Holiday Porcini Stuffing Mix starts with handmade bread that's dried in-house, then combined with cranberries, savory porcini mushrooms, and a blend of sautéed veggies. With enough stuffing to fill a 14-pound bird, you're sure to satisfy the entire group - and hopefully have a little leftover for turkey sandwiches. Pick up a package, complete with recipe, at any of our cafés.Sweet Potato & Delicata Squash GratinThis rich and creamy side dish is a must-have at your holiday table. The combination of sweet potatoes, delicata squash, roasted mushrooms and chopped walnuts will have you rethinking standard mashed potatoes. Click here to print the recipe.Sweet & Spicy NutsSure, our Sweet & Spicy Nuts are irresistible right out of the bag, but they are even better chopped and added to a salad of fresh greens and dried cranberries, a roasted mix of winter root vegetables, or as a topping for sweet potato soufflé. Find our signature blend in our cafés.Dinner RollsWhile we have plenty of loaves to choose from, our pillowy soft, full-flavored dinner rolls are an easy way to wow your guests. Choose from Porcini Harvest, Buttermilk, Rustic Potato, Olivetta or Whole Wheat Cider Rolls or mix and match a couple of trays to suit your guests' tastes. Leftover rolls will come in handy for making those day-after-Thanksgiving turkey sliders. Find our dinner roll trays in our cafés.

What better way to indulge with abandon than with a table filled with holiday desserts? Using a colorful tablecloth, a few cake stands, and our delicious assortment of pies, tarts and cakes, we can help you end Thanksgiving dinner on a very sweet note!

Maple Apple Pie

This show-stopping double-crusted pie is hands-down, everyone’s favorite. Sorry, Mom. It was recently named one of the 12 Best Bakery Desserts for the Holidays by The Seattle Times.

Dessert Table Tip: Team up this nine-inch pie with our nine-inch Macrina’s Pumpkin Pie and fill in the table with miniature versions of our Brandied Orange Pecan Pie and Pear Ginger Upside Down Cake.

Pecan Streusel Pumpkin Pie

Streusel is the new bacon; everything is better with it. We’ve perfected pumpkin pie and taken our recipe up a notch (OK, several notches) with a layer of sweet and crunchy pecan streusel.

Dessert Table Tip: Round out the dessert table with a nine-inch Pumpkin Cheesecake with Cranberry Compote and tiers of Gingerbread Spice Cups.

Pumpkin Cheesecake with Cranberry Compote

This silky, lightly spiced cheesecake is a twist on traditional pumpkin pie. Resting atop a crushed ginger molasses cookie crust and topped with cranberry compote, it satisfies all of your fall dessert cravings in one delectable bite.

Dessert Table Tip: Appease every palate at the table by teaming up this cheesecake with a nine-inch Brandied Orange Pecan Pie and miniature Maple Apple Pies.

Give us a call or stop by one of our cafés to pre-order your Thanksgiving desserts through November 24!

Amuse-bouches, hors d'oeuvres & appetizers, oh my! You don’t need a lot of time or creative flare to pull together an elegant spread of party-worthy bites. Take a look at our favorite ways to kick off the festivities without breaking a sweat.GrissiniYou often find these crisp Italian breadsticks dressing up the tables in restaurants across Italy, but here Grissini gets a lot of curious looks for its long shape. Rolled with fennel, green olives and olive oil, our Grissini has wonderful flavor on its own, but we love to wrap it with thinly sliced prosciutto just like they do in Italy.Sardinian FlatbreadThe Seeded Sardinian Flatbread is the newest addition to our flatbread selection. Each piece is adorned with toasted sesame, poppy and fennel seeds, adding extra color, texture and flavor to your holiday table. Top with a savory jam and favorite cheese, serve with charcuterie or break them apart and dip in one of our housemade spreads.Crostini

Like the Sardinian Flatbread, our Crostini is a delicious blank slate. We have Crostini available in different flavors, but this time of year we reach for our Cranberry Apricot Nut Crostini. Mingling the flavors of dried fruit, toasted nuts and a hint of clove, this Crostini is a nice balance of sweet and savory. Pair it with our Potted Cheese or top with creamy fromage blanc and a drizzle of honey for a perfect party appetizer.Francese CrostiniFor those who don’t mind spending a little extra time in the kitchen, you can whip up a full-flavor Francese Crostini in a snap! Simply toast a sliced loaf of Pane Francese, spread it with our Fig & Olive Tapenade and then top it all off with some toasted pine nuts for a crowd-pleasing snack everyone will think you spent hours on.

'Tis the season for baking! Whether you're hosting a Christmas party or having a quiet holiday celebration at home, chances are cookies will be part of the equation.The tradition of baking and sharing Christmas cookies stretches back for centuries with its roots firmly planted in Europe. As people migrated to America, so did their cooking traditions. According to McCalls' December 1994 issue, the earliest account of Christmas cookies in America came from the Dutch in the 1600s.With an assortment of Ginger Molasses Cookies, Swedish Overnights, Mexican Wedding Balls, and Sour Cherry Brown Sugar Shortbread Cookies, our Christmas Cookie Box is a melting pot of cultural flavors. Like folklore, some of these recipes have been shared and modified so much their origins have become blurry, but we've tracked down some truths about each recipe.Ginger Molasses CookiesAs Leslie says, ginger has a natural warming quality that's perfect for this time of year. With its recipe closely mirroring that of gingerbread, conventional wisdom tells us that the Ginger Molasses cookie is a miniature version of the sweet and spicy cake.Mexican Wedding BallsThese cookies are perhaps the most ragtag of the bunch. Also known as Russian Tea Cakes, Snowballs and Butterballs, it's believed that this recipe came from the Moors who invaded Spain in the 8th century. Some food historians say the recipe eventually migrated to South America and Mexico with European nuns.Swedish OvernightsNo Scandinavian Christmas celebration would be complete without Swedish Overnights. Also called Swedish Heirloom Cookies, Swedish Overnights share similar ingredients to Mexican Wedding Balls. These cookies can be dusted with powered sugar, or in this case, colorful sprinkles for a festive touch.Sour Cherry Shortbread CookiesA classic Scottish dessert with three basic ingredients, shortbread makes a quintessential cookie. It's a popular choice for holidays, because it's so adaptable and can be cut into festive shapes. We've added coarse crystal and brown sugars, tart cherries and vanilla to our recipe for more complex flavor.Like those before us, we hope you enjoy sharing these recipes for many years to come!

Our chilly autumn days easily lend themselves to holing up indoors. To keep from going stir crazy, we turn to baking – naturally. There is nothing more comforting than biting into a warm, freshly baked cookie. Between rainy weekends, school bake sales, and those swiftly-approaching holidays, we thought you might enjoy our best cookie baking tips.Tip #1  Most cookie recipes call for room temperature butter, but in the excitement of diving into a recipe it's easy to forget to take the butter out of the fridge ahead of time. For those moments, simply slice the butter into smaller pieces, layer evenly on a plate, and leave it on the counter until it gives with the press of a finger – about half an hour.Tip #2  The best cookie sheets are the heavy-gauge, stainless steel variety. Dark-colored cookie sheets may cause your cookies to over-brown on the bottom.Tip #3  Baking cookies one sheet at a time is generally recommend for thorough cooking, but that's also time intensive. If you're baking more than one sheet at a time, rotate them from front to back and top to bottom halfway through the cooking time.Tip #4  Cold dough is best for making sugar cookie cut outs. If your dough warmed up with handling, cover it in plastic wrap and pop it in the fridge until it's well-chilled - about two hours. Once you're ready to work with it, keep any unused portion refrigerated until it's needed. On that note, cookie dough should be slightly cool before it goes into the oven, since warm cookie dough spreads excessively as it bakes.Tip #5  We like using a small, spring-loaded ice cream scoop to portion out cookie dough. This keeps the cookies a nice, uniform size and helps them bake evenly.Tip #6  Avoid cooling your cookies directly on the cookie sheet, as this causes them to overcook. Instead, gently place them on a cooling rack once you've pulled them from the oven.Now that you're ready to bake up the perfect batch, pick up More from Macrina for Leslie's favorite cookie recipes!