Guest Post: Happy Holidays from S.T. Bende and Ull Myhr!

Happy Holidays from the Bendes… and the Myhrs! In case we haven't met, I'm S.T. ,and I write the Norse-myth-inspired paranormal romances of The Elsker Saga. My main character, Ull Myhr, is the Norse God of Winter, which means he's in his element this time of year. Literally. And while the God of Winter and his girl Kristia are off creating all things wintry, celebrating St. Lucia's Day on December 13th, and cuddling in front of the fireplace at their cottage in The Cotswolds, I'm channeling my inner domestic goddess and whipping up a Scandinavian inspired tradition of my own: gingerbread men.

Once upon a Christmastime, I was in a bakery in Malmö, Sweden, where the buildings are absolutely gorgeous and the people are absolutely gorgeous-er. (Picture a city full of Alexander Skarsgards. Picture it. Yup. Now close your mouth. And book your flight. You can thank me later.) While trying not to drool over every single guy I passed, I stumbled into an adorable little bakery. A reindeer shaped gingerbread cookie totally called to me with its siren song of yumminess, and since I'd never had gingerbread before, and I needed nourishment after all the totally excusable gorgeous-guy-oogling, I helped myself to two cookies. Like everything else in Malmö, they were to-die-for amazing, and I wondered how I'd lived two decades without ever having had what's apparently a really common Christmas cookie. Intent on making sure nobody I knew ever went without what is clearly one of the best things about the holiday season (gingerbread EVERYTHING!), I perfected my own recipe, and now I treasure making gingerbread men every December. This year I even found a reindeer shaped cookie cutter -- and I can't wait to recreate the cookie that started it all, back in Malmö!

Ull and Kristia eat their fair share of gingerbread -- they are Scandinavian, after all! But their favorite treat, Christmas or otherwise, is the Norsk waffle. Ull eats his with the traditional tart jam. (Lingonberry is delightful!) But every once in a while Kristia goes rogue and adds some Nutella to her vafler. And if I know them, they're curled up in front of their fireplace, watching the snow fall on the English countryside, sharing a plate of their favorite treats right this minute.

What about you? What's your favorite holiday treat?