what to bake?

So, this Sunday my dear friend Kristen and I are getting together for Holiday Baking Extravaganza 2009. I can't wait... tomorrow, we're both picking up packaging materials: me, boxes and bags; Kristen, ribbons and baubles. Sunday, it's on! We'll be baking, drinking tea... there have even been rumors of watching P&P while we bake... Did I say Baking Extravaganza 2009? I meant Girly Dorkfest 2009 :)

But, what to bake? How to narrow it down? Such dilemmas, people! Toby will be "manning" the little guy, but we only have a certain amount of time. The list can't be endless. What I'm currently considering for this season (no, I won't get to all of these):

• Madeleines: this is a must in my book as well as Kristen's: for her, she's always made them and she makes them so very well. For me, my mom always made them (she'd send me all-Madeleine care packages in college... awww), so it's kind of a Proustian thing. I'm still trying to re-connect with my mom's original recipe, but in the meantime, this one from Heidi @ 101 Cookbooks looks great.
• Lemon Rosemary Shortbread Cookies: doesn't that just sound great? Rich and refreshing. The master shortbread recipe can also be applied to Raspberry Window cookies and others.
• Minty Chocolate Christmas Cookies, from 101 Cookbooks. These crazy-cute little Oreo-meets-an-oyster jobbers (click link for photo) contain whole wheat pastry flour, which makes them just slightly healthy-ish. But, I do love the idea of more wholesome treats, which makes me kind of Heidi's groupie.
• Glittering Lemon Sandwich Cookies: Hmm, I'm noticing a trend. I like lemon stuff and I like sandwich-style cookies. I'm going with it. This one is from Gourmet magazine (thank goodness the recipes archive is still accessible).
• Linzer Torte cookies: I made a full Linzer Torte for Toby's December birthday a couple of years ago... an almond and hazelnut lattice crust with raspberry preserves, topped with crunchy Demerara sugar. It was super tasty and delightfully labor-intensive, so I'd like to transform that exact recipe (I think it was from The Joy of Cooking) into cookie form.
• Espresso Caramels: another one from 101 Cookbooks. I've been meaning to make these for two years. This is the year! Hopefully.

So, are you baking this holiday season? What's on your must-bake list??

Photo via Sunset.