After an arduous night of eating, we took our traditional Christmas Day drive. This year found us trekking southwest along the Massachusetts South Coast, through Newport and Jamestown RI and all the way down to Point Judith, before turning northward to Milford, Massachusetts for desserts with family. (They had a proper Christmas Day Feast as well, but we were just not up to continued dining on that scale).

By the time we arrived in Milford the sweets were out and awaiting us. There was a Christmas Pudding, and the Buche de Noel, a cheesecake and some canollis made by one niece and cupcakes by another, and plenty of strong coffee.

Everything was excellent, but I have to give Best of Show to the Buche for its iconic status as a Christmas treat in our family. My mother taught us to make the Buche when I was very young and some of my siblings were not yet born. It has been a Christmas tradtion in our clan for nearly half a century. Wherever the Buche goes, it is a crowd-pleaser and it looks great as well. The best thing about it is that it is not so hard to make (I was making it with my mother when I was 7 years old - it's a great way to get your kids into the kitchen for the holidays). The Buche de Noel recipe on this site is my mother's recipe with a few minor tweaks that crept in over the years. This recipe is as published in The Festive Season cookbook from Pilgrim Hall in Plymouth, MA.