December 2025 Entries

For the final month of this year, my Cookalong entry is something very close to my heart. This time it’s not the Cookalong Club, but a Christmas tradition inspired by Nigella herself. Years ago, when Reese’s were still hard to find in Europe, my best friend and I started making Nigella’s peanut butter cups for Christmas. We began small — about 30 cups — carefully saving one or two for our closest friends. Over the years, friends and family slowly joined in, and what started as a quiet ritual turned into long, late-night sessions, a messy kitchen, and a lot of laughter. Some years we’ve made more than a hundred. This year we added bon-bon versions, experimented with Dubai-style chocolates, and even made proper chocolate bars, but no matter how much we try new things, we always, always make the originals. It’s sweet, it’s chaotic, and it’s ours. That’s how Christmas traditions are made. (And by the way, I almost made it this year. I think 11 out of 12. :))