November 25, 2011

Happy holidays!

I know most of you are in the throes of holiday time, but we’d love it if you would take some time to send us some recipes.

We’re really excited about a new feature focusing on birthday cakes. Since our readers love to celebrate holidays, we decided it was time to include an amazing birthday cake in every issue.

We’ll be sharing great decorating ideas along with fabulous cake recipes. Got ideas or recipes for us? Or even pictures to inspire us from special birthday cakes you’ve made? We need cakes for all seasons—winter, spring, summer and fall. Please send recipes and decorating ideas and photos to: Fieldeditors@tasteofhome.com with CAKES in the subject line.

Here’s what else we’re hungry for:

 • Your go-to recipes for weeknights. We’re working on summer issues right now, so think summer. Send us those recipes that include fresh fruit and vegetables. Quick on-the-grill recipes. Short ingredient list and relatively fast to fix. Send them to fieldeditors@tasteofhome.com with WEEKNIGHTS in the subject line.

And we’re still looking for recipes that were inspired by moms. Do you have a great story about your mom and a recipe or two you love that was inspired by something she made? Please share: fieldeditors@tasteofhome.com with MOM’S BEST in the subject line.

If you’re looking for an amazing cookie that scents your kitchen with wonderful aromas, here’s my new favorite: Giant Molasses Cookies. You can leave out the nuts if you like. There's a delicious story behind the cookie too. It's in the November issue. Check it out.

Or feel free to drop me a note directly if you have any ideas to share: Jeanne_Ambrose@rd.com.

Cookies Across America: Helping the less fortunate this December

Taste of Home has an exciting opportunity for you to put your baking talents to use for a very good cause this December. But first, a little background information...

In December 2010, our sister site Allrecipes.com launched “Cookies Across America” with the focus to involve and engage their community. During December, their members were asked to brighten the holidays by giving back to those less fortunate by sharing/making cookies for them. For 2011 “Cookies Across America,” Alrecipes.com is partnering with Taste of Home and Nestle to again bring joy to those in need.

Please read our More About Cookies Across America page on our site to learn how you can participate in your local community on December 10th (Cookies Across America day) and throughout December.

More details will follow as we get closer to the date, but for now, take a look at the page above as well as our Cookies Across America page and start thinking about how you can make a positive impact in your community!

And to discuss this worthwhile program with other Field Editors and share ideas, please visit this thread in our Field Editor Forum.

Please note: If you click the link to the private Field Editor Forum above and get an error message on our site, make sure you’re logged-in to our site (you need to be logged in for the site to recognize you). If you’re logged-in and you still get an error, e-mail Erik your screen name and he’ll make sure your TasteofHome.com account has been granted access to the private Field Editor Forum. Erik’s e-mail is: erik_bergstrom@rd.com

Hope you have a peaceful holiday season.

Jeanne Ambrose, Editor, Taste of Home

Erik Bergstrom, Web Community Manager