Maraschino cherries, peanut butter a sweet surprise

Homemade Holidays: Though not an exact flavour match, these Chocolate Cherry Surprises may scratch an itch for those missing Cherry Blossoms — the iconic (and divisive) Hershey’s treat discontinued earlier this year.

Festive dessert series begins with a good old-fashioned cookie swap

The next dozen issues of the Free Press are going to be high in sugar content and sentimentality.

Our annual Homemade Holidays series kicks off Tuesday and features 12 festive dessert recipes published over 12 days. The goal is to highlight family traditions, while providing readers with inspiration for their own holiday baking adventures.

Past editions have included vintage treats from the Free Press’s archives, reader-submitted recipes and staff favourites.

This year’s batch showcases the connective power of cookies.

New go-to cookie recipe voted best by family members

This chocolate cookie became a Conroy family favourite through extensive taste-testing and rigorous reviewing.

Liqueur adds punch to flavour profile of apricot rugelach

The first recipe in this year’s Homemade Holiday series is a hands-on pastry that plays with tradition.

Traditional fruitcake laden with many memories

Susan Shortill isn’t a big fan of fruitcake. But she is a fan of this fruitcake.

“Fruitcake is polarizing. I don’t personally love it, especially when you would go to weddings back in the day and you would get that little chunk of dried-out (cake), but this changed my mind,” she says.

For one, it’s moist and chocolatey. For two, it comes from Dr. Sheena Guest, close family friend who hailed from Scotland and has since died.

Shortill has kept this Chocolate Fruitcake in her collection of stained, tattered and well-loved recipe cards for nearly 50 years.

Puddin’ it out there: Family favourite sweet treats require minimal effort

This Homemade column features recipes for persimmon pudding from Eileen Ewanchuk, muskeg pudding from Grant Anderson and Aunt Rachel’s apple pudding from Cherry White.

Homemade Cooking School: Baking tips and how to make scones

The most important rule of baking?

“Patience with yourself,” says Richard Warren, a pastry chef and baking instructor at Red River College Polytech.

Side shows: These culinary supporting roles earn the Thanksgiving spotlight

Three side-dish recipes, each with a fun twist. Enjoy Diane Nelson’s recipe for Zippy Carrots, Debbie Hurrell’s Cranberry Salad and Debbie Nolan’s Pork Sausage Stuffing.

Homemade Cooking School: Squash your aversion to veggies

In this Homemade Cooking School class, Camille Metcalfe shares how to make the most of produce.