The restaurant in Vermont where I started my cooking career was famous for their apple crisp- fragrant with cinnamon, and boasting a delightfully crunchy walnut and brown sugar topping. Each fall, as soon as the Santa Anna winds subside here in Los Angeles and brisk weather arrives, I think about my autumns in New England and want to cuddle up with a warm bowl of fruit crisp, with vanilla ice cream melting into the tangy filling.

Today it finally cooled down enough to get enthused about planning our Thanksgiving menu, and I want to serve an apple crisp for dessert.

This will be my second gluten-free Thanksgiving. Last year my sister-in-law brought her signature fall offering- a big bowl of pomegranate arils and blackberries, topped with lightly sweetened whipped cream. We will enjoy that again this year, but I am prepared to bake a gluten-free dessert to add to the feast.

Baking holiday cookies is a fun project for this cold and wet weekend. I warmed up my kitchen this morning with a big batch of tender rugelach. The contrast of a delicate unsweetened crust wrapped around a sweet nut filling has always made these bite-sized pastries impossible for me to resist. They take a little more work to form than simple drop cookies, such as chocolate chip or oatmeal, but they are so tasty with such an exquisitely fragile texture, every bite reminds me why I like to make them. 

I created this festive dessert for a holiday gathering with my gal pals (Steve’s name for the group of friends with whom I celebrate birthdays several times a year). Rather than making a disappointing imitation of a baked treat that relies on wheat flour, I prefer naturally gluten-free desserts, and this intense chocolate mousse topped with whipped cream and a sparkling cranberry and crystallized ginger compote was so pretty and indulgent, everyone wanted seconds. 

Pretty, indulgent, relatively healthy, and easy to craft, I made a tin full of these gluten-free confections for us to enjoy during valentines’ week. But, we realized our stash was dwindling yesterday, so we rushed to take the photo here before they were all gobbled up.

The rain this morning forced me to cancel a hike with friends, and so I baked cookies for them instead. I was eager to taste the organic, reduced sugar fruit spreads Crofter's had given me, and knew that thumbprint cookies, their indentations designed to be filled with jam or jelly, would be a yummy way to try the preserves. 

To avoid the crowds of holiday shoppers and to give personal gifts, I have started preparing goodies in my kitchen. Today I boiled up a batch of Maple-Nut Pralines. It took me only half an hour to turn out a large batch of confections, and my house smells like maple sugaring time in Vermont.