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I almost added the word "easy" to the headline on this post. The recipe for Christmas Spice Butter is easy. Admittedly, the other technique -- for making dinner rolls shaped like doves -- requires some time and an eye for detail. If you like the sweet, spicy butter at Texas Roadhouse, this is a good knock-off. It is great on rolls and sweet potatoes. CHRISTMAS SPICE BUTTER 1 cup unsalted butter, softened 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice 1 tablespoon sugar Place all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until fluffy and well-combined. Transfer to a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate until needed. Makes 1 cup. Shaping the doves is the hardest part of making the rolls because you're using thawed frozen rolls. It's no harder than rolling the bread dough into a rope and tying a knot. You'll need clean kitchen shears to snip the tail into feathers. Whole cloves are the eyes and sl...

Held the first Christmas cookie exchange with the church ladies' group Wednesday night. Only three people showed besides me. Heavy fog and prior commitments kept people away. I hope it will catch on in subsequent years. Here are three recipes (one woman didn't bring hers to copy.) REESE BALLS 1 1/2 cups graham crackers 1 1/3 cups crunchy peanut butter 1 box confectioners' sugar 1 1/2 sticks butter, melted 12-ounce bag semisweet chocolate chips 2/3 block food-grade paraffin (Gulf Wax brand) Note: Paraffin is no longer receommended for consumption. You can add a small amount of Crisco to the chocolate to make it shiny Crush graham crackers until fine. Add peanut butter, sugar and melted butter. Roll mixture into balls. Melt paraffin wax with chocolate chips. Dip balls with toothpick into melted chocolate. Place on wax paper until dry. Should make approximately 5 dozen depending on the size of the balls. HARVEST COOKIES 1 1/2 cups flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon ba...