As every Scandinavian grandmother will tell you, it's best to begin the Christmas baking season no later (and preferably earlier!) than the weekend after Thanksgiving. Part of this is a matter of convenience combined with a desire for abundance - most specialty cookies and cakes freeze incredibly well and can be brought out and served, on spectacularly varied dessert plates, whenever guests arrive. Sometimes time is also required, though, so that baked goods like fruited cakes and ginger cookies can reach their full depth of flavor and texture - if properly stored, many homemade baked treats improve by sitting for a few days or weeks.

That's why I'll be getting a start on my Scandinavian Christmas cookies this week (it's traditional to serve at least seven varieties on Scandinavian tables). Our other About.com Food Guides will be busy in their kitchens, as well - please keep an eye on our blogs to participate in our upcoming delicious (if virtual) Cookie Exchange! As part of an early sampling, why not try ...

From Barbara Rolek, our Guide to East European Food: Kolaczki exist in most Eastern European cuisines and are spelled variously as kolaci, kolache, kolacky, kolachky, among others. Fillings run the gamut of apricot to raspberry to prune to cheese, and some truly untraditional flavors like pineapple are sneaking into the mix. This recipe starts with a flaky cream cheese dough.

From Carroll Pellegrinelli, Guide to Baking: Butter Spritz Cookies are small delicate cookies that are made with a cookie press. Cookie presses typically come with several disks to make various shaped cookies like Christmas trees, hearts, flowers and so on.

Christmas cookie image © 2009 Kari Diehl, licensed to About.com.

One of the larger truths of the old Swedish cooking adage, "You take what you have (on hand)," is that not only is this a very economical way to cook, but it also often leads to some outstanding culinary discoveries.

This is certainly the case with Kari's Own Pea Soup mix, which uses a combination of spices so amazing that I'll never go back to using the cloves I was out of one day when I was making my traditional recipe (prompting me to try, of all things, whole star anise as a substitute flavoring in my soup).

It's so different - yet good - that I've decided it will make a great "jar gift" this Christmas to share with only my very favorite people.

Whole star anise can be found in most Asian groceries. This isn't your grandmother's pea soup, but it's the one I'll hand down to my own grandkids eventually. Try it, I dare you!

Kari's Own Pea Soup Mix text and photo ©Kari Diehl, licensed to About.com

If you're lucky enough to attend any one of the many Scandinavian holiday bazaars that are being held among Scandinavian-American communities this season, you're sure to find this delicious almond cake on sale. Baked in a special ridged pan (primarily made - gasp - in Germany), Scandinavian almond cake is a quick and delicious item to have on hand when friends and family show up for impromptu holiday visits. This cake, like most Scandinavian baked goods, freezes beautifully. You can often find the pans (commonly under the Bethany Housewares label) in specialty cooking stores, on eBay, or you can order them online from distributors like Ingebretsen's or The Wooden Spoon.

Scandinavian almond cake photo & text ©Kari Diehl, licensed to About.com.

The ladies of our local Daughters of Norway chapter, Nellie Gerdrum Lodge #41, are all facing a busy week as they prepare for their tenth annual Scandinavian Fair, a highly attended holiday event that includes a Scandinavian Bakery, a café that serves traditional favorites like homemade pea soup and lefse, and Nordic crafts offered for sale by talented artisans.

My contribution last year was a batch of Norwegian Goro - delicately imprinted cookies that are prepared on a special cookie iron, flavored with cardamom, and have a texture that's a unique cross between a cookie, a cracker, and a waffle. Like most Scandinavian cookies, Goro can be baked ahead in quantity and frozen, making it easy to include them as part of the seven-item cookie plate that is traditional in Norwegian and Norwegian-American households during the holiday season.

I haven't decided yet what I'll be baking this year ... this week I'll feature a few of the delicious possibilities here.

If you're in the Pacific Northwest this Saturday, November 7th, drive on up to the Hampton Inn's Fox Hall in Bellingham, WA and check out the festivities!

Goro image ©2009 Kari Diehl, licensed to About.com.