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Instead of the three French hens, seven swans-a-swimming, or a band of drummers drumming - how about twelve Christmas recipes to tide you through the weekend? Here is a list of the holiday-spirited recipes that have the received the most love and attention over the past few years on 101 Cookbooks.

Jumbo Coconut Cupcakes
12/13/2004: These Jumbo Coconut Cupcakes have been staring at me from the cover of Lisa Yockelson's book since last Christmas. I love the billowy frosted tops that look like a coconut blizzard just blew through your kitchen. I decided to give them a shot, and hoped that the cupcake part of the equation matched up to the picture-perfect promise of knee-deep frosted tops... ( read more + recipe )

Classic Cheese Fondue
12/23/2004: The trick to having a memorable and tasty fondue experience is dreaming up great things to dip. Whatever you do, don't stop with the bread cubes... ( read more + recipe )

Gingerbread Cookies
12/14/2003: Gingerbread men are the best. I like to bite their heads off first, then each arm, and then each leg. I have a few opinions on how I like my gingerbread and this recipe fit the bill on every front. This is not the time for chewy, moist, or flaky cookies. When you are making gingerbread men it is important to make a cookie that is crisp, sturdy, and a bit on the dry side. This is especially important if you are making large + tall gingerbread men, or using the recipe to create walls for a gingerbread house or structure... ( read more + recipe )

Peppermint Semifreddo, A Luxurious and Deeply Aromatic Noodle Dish, Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookies (with a holiday twist), Jumbo Coconut Cupcakes

A Luxurious and Deeply Aromatic Noodle Dish
12/21/2003: We ended up cooking by candlelight, and I dusted off the mortar and pestle to make the spice paste. There is something satisfying about working for your food instead of taking the shortcuts many modern kitchen appliances offer. A little elbow grease makes everything taste better. The spice paste was strong, beautifully fragrant, and h-o-t. After I made the paste the rest of the soup was a breeze -- stock, coconut milk, lime juice, and a sprinkling of mint rounded out the flavors. ( read more + recipe )

Peppermint Semifreddo
12/11/2005: Unlike many of the sweets I write up on this site that are rustic, served in the pan, and not very fussy - semifreddo is a bit more fancy-pants, but worth the effort. These little showstoppers are the perfect bookend to a holiday meal - or pass them around your New Year's party if you aren't completely sick of peppermint by then... ( read more + recipe )

Roasted Beet and Blood Orange Salad with Spicy Greens
12/07/2005: My aunt drove four hours on Christmas day to bring me a bag brimming with perfect, delicious central valley citrus from her town outside of Fresno. Freshly picked. Bet you all wish you had an aunt like mine. The bag was filled with blood oranges, kaffir limes and leaves (her friend has a tree), mandarins, special big yellow limes, and a jar of her homemade lemon curd. ( read more + recipe )

Black Sticky Gingerbread, Sour Cream Waffles, Spiced Caramel Corn, Gingerbread Cookies

Black Sticky Gingerbread
12/04/2005: The Black Sticky Ginger bread comes together like the cake that it is - straight-forward, unfussy, with a bit of kick and attitude. It is outrageously dark, dense, flavorful, and delicious. Not the prettiest cake you'll ever make, but it might be one of the tastiest. ( read more + recipe )

Spiced Caramel Corn
12/05/2004: This recipe caught my attention because for a long time I have been thinking about how great it would be to be able to request a few extra ingredients or flavors in the kettle corn we always pick up when we go to the farmers market - and while this isn't exactly kettle corn, it is close... ( read more + recipe )

Sweet Potato Pot Pies
11/15/2004: Have fun with your pies, just about any stew makes a great filling and if you don't want to use puff pastry for the tops, try using dollops of biscuit dough or scoops of mashed regular or sweet potatoes. Its really hard to mess them up.. ( read more + recipe )

Sweet Potato Pot Pies, Classic Cheese Fondue, Banana Macadamia Pancakes, Roasted Beet and Blood Orange Salad with Spicy Greens

Banana Macadamia Pancakes
9/24/2004: I put thin slices of ripe banana on top of the pancakes as they are cooking, flip them -- and then the bananas get all carmelized and delicious where they touch the pan. I serve them sprinkled with brown (or powdered sugar), or crushed honeycomb, and with a bit of pineapple butter melted on top. I love them, and they are a total crowd pleaser... ( read more + recipe )

Sour Cream Waffles
3/24/2005: These Sour Cream Waffles are a breeze to make, and if you've got a bit of sour cream leftover from say....fajita or taco night - you probably have all the other ingredients right now in your refrigerator. They are delicious, light, yet structured waffles that cook up golden brown with just the right amount of outside crunch... ( read more + recipe )

Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookies (with a holiday twist)
12/08/2003: It wasn't until I walked into the new flagship William-Sonoma store on Union Square last week that I saw the vision of the perfect holiday cookie, and unfortunately I cannot take credit for this genius creation. The elves of William-Sonoma were giving out samples of tiny cookies with baked peppermint bark in them. No recipe cards in sight, but they told me the dough was a standard cookie dough, and with that I was on my own... ( read more + recipe )

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