Lard, the fat that is rendered from pigs, is regaining popularity as people begin to learn that using lard is no worse than using shortening or butter for baking. In fact, many of us believe that lard makes baked goods taste better than regular shortening does. Colonial Sally Lunn bread is a traditional round bread that was, in colonial American times, made with lard. This recipe, however can be made with shortening or lard, and the result is a beautiful bread that will please everyone at the dinner table.

_{Colonial Sally Lunn bread image ©2009 Elizabeth Yetter, licensed to About.com, Inc.}

There's nothing like the smell of apples and cinnamon baking in the oven. These cinnamon apple mini loaves smell incredible and taste just as delicious! Made with brown sugar, an apple, and cinnamon, the mini loaves are perfect for serving and gift giving.

_{Cinnamon apple mini loaves image ©2009 Elizabeth Yetter, licensed to About.com, Inc.}

The cranberries that I bought at the store last week have been so much fun to use in baking that I already need to head out and purchase another bagful of the red gems. My latest recipe using fresh cranberries is called Christmas cranberry bread. The loaf came out golden with hints of the red cranberries inside. It's a beautiful loaf for serving and gift giving this Christmas season.

_{Christmas cranberry bread image ©2009 Elizabeth Yetter, licensed to About.com, Inc.}

In my circle of friends and family, we're always bringing breads, cookies, and fudge to whomever's home we're visiting. My sister gives out a lot of cookies and her delicious peanut butter chocolate fudge during the Christmas holidays. I'm the bread lady who gets up at 4 am on Christmas morning to bake around 15 loaves of bread for gift-giving. This year, I plan on concentrating more on quick breads to give away because they are so easy to make and they take less time from start to finish than yeast breads.

My latest bread recipe is for carrot walnut bread. This is a great bread to bake for Christmas gifts and it is so easy and inexpensive to make.

_{Carrot walnut bread image ©2009 Elizabeth Yetter, licensed to About.com, Inc.}