I had a lot of fun yesterday helping one of my friends bake. Between not having a working full size oven and a husband who went Keto as well as being low carb myself, I don't bake much any more but I used to do a lot...
We did both bakes on a batch of biscotti dough she had made the night before. While they were in the first bake, we mixed up a batch of Lebkuchen (honey cookies) dough and let it sit in the fridge for a couple of hours. We also made a batch of Pfeffernusse dough, but it needed to sit longer than I was there.
When the biscotti were done and before I left we formed and decorated and baked the Lebkuchen -- they looked so festive. My friend blanched almonds herself (boil and rub in a towel to take off the skins), there was a half candied cherry in the middle and almonds like petals around the cherry.
In-between batches we did some general cleaning and organizing and picked out the tablecloths and what dishes and serving things she would need. Just before I left with things cleaned up and multiple dozens of cookies, the son of a friend of ours (who now lives cross-country in assisted care near her daughter) came by with a poinsettia for his auntie/my friend. It looked so nice on the tablecloth.
She thinks with everything we did yesterday today she can bake some "holiday breads". More power to her! I'm going to take it easy and do some sewing at home.