Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/603345
234 Aside from opening presents on Christmas Day, baking holiday cook- ies may just be one of the most joy- ous—and tastiest—of seasonal tasks. The sweet aroma of sugar cookies baking in the oven mingles with the scent of a twinkling evergreen standing sentinel in your family room. The snow falls silently outside your kitchen window—all is right with the world. Darlene Vella, owner of Bellavel- la Cookies in Topsfield and winner of this year's Best of the North Shore cookie award, grew up on the North Shore in a big Italian family and learned how to cook and bake from her mother and aunts. Later, as a stay-at-home mom, she wanted to start a business that she could run from home. She turned to her sweet tooth and passion for baking. During the Christmas season, she bakes thousands of cookies for her customers in 10 different varieties— oatmeal with brown butter icing, anise, chocolate chip, and raspberry thumbprints to name a few. She and her four children—all under 10 years old—leave a selection of cookies out for Santa, and, of course, a carrot for the reindeer. We asked Vella to create holiday sugar and gingerbread cookies for the pages of the magazine—the results are spectacular (and delicious)!