Taking a pause on the pumpkin and visiting a not-so-secret stash of Hyline Orchard Farm Market cherries tucked away in the freezer. Hanukkah wants me to lean into the doughnuts and Christmas has made its cookie intentions abundantly clear. (All in good time, Christmas.) Granted, fresh cherry season is a wish and a dream away, but frozen cherries are available right now. Based on their color palate alone, cherries deserve a spot amidst your holiday bakes. (Avoid frozen cherries packed in sugar and steer clear of the neon sugar-drenched varieties emblazoning subpar commercial fruitcakes; the ones with a shelf life of forever.) 

For those who feel baking and cocktail fixings should align, (and shouldn't they?) after you purchase some frozen cherries, pick up a jar of The Original Luxardo Maraschino Cherries, another holiday kitchen essential. Sure, you can try to use up the last of the cranberries purchased in a panic last week. But the bog berries are so Thanksgiving while cherries are so out-of-season appropriate right now. Yes, I'll be dabbling in cookie doughs soon enough but for now, I'm stealing my moment in the cherry sunshine and I've invited Pie to tag along. Because seldom, if ever, does anyone say, "No, thank you" to cherry pie; even in December.