Head over to the Paper Palate today - part of the newly launched Well-Fed Network - where I've blogged about testing some of the recipes in Martha Stewart's special Holiday Cookies issue.

Cocoa meringues were a blast to make (and eat). I love how a bowl of liquid egg whites combined with sugar and heat and force change into an entirely different substance. Twisted butter cookies were simple but tasty. A Martha-ized version of the Thin Mints of yore resulted in delicious results, and was surprisingly easy to execute.

And on a different note, I'm actually in Berlin, on my mother's computer, totally and utterly confused as to why Typepad seems so different and unnavigable here. Is there something in the drinking water? Is it my jetlag? Does Apple want to see me cry? Anyway, have patience and bear with me. I might figure it out, I might not. Here. Goes. Nothing.