Post by PattiA on Dec 28, 2019 14:40:26 GMT -5
I don't do much baking, only for special occasions. I did a lot of baking for Christmas. Here's what I did and how it turned out
Curry Cashew Brittle
This was a gift for one of my clients. They are gluten-free, dairy-free, and egg-free. I used Earth Balance Buttery Spread for the butter in this recipe. I made the first batch with the amount of curry powder specified and found it undetectable, perfect for their two kids. My original plan was to make one batch for the curry-loving parents and then a curry powder free second batch for the kids. I made the second batch with 2.5 teaspoons of curry powder. A mix of Penzey's sweet and hot curry powder. They loved it. I've never made brittle before. This is a microwave brittle recipe. It did require working very fast. I love the idea of a savory spice in brittle and would do it again, but I might try it on the stovetop with a thermometer instead. The microwave method is good if you want a quick no fuss brittle method.
Lemon Shortbread
This was a birthday gift for one of my sisters whose birthday is the week before Christmas. Earlier in December, she was making a pasta dish that needed lemon zest and she used a box grater to zest the lemon. It was pretty clumsy. So I got her a microplane and made a batch of these cookies for her bday. The recipe calls for a heart cookie cutter, but I used a family heirloom bell cutter. These cookies were delicious and very easy to make. I also like that it is a small batch of cookies.
Hungarian Rolled Cookies (also called kiffles, but we call them Aunt Jo Cookies)
This is a recipe from my husband's Great Aunt Jo. His mom taught me how to make them many years ago. These cookies were part of every one of his family celebrations. I met his Great Aunt Jo about 30 years ago when she was still baking them. She's been gone for about 15 years. I made a batch to send to his mom. She lives in an assisted living community and there are a lot of people there who remember these cookies but haven't had them for a long time, so it was wonderful to hear how much everyone enjoyed them. Now that I know how to pack and ship them, they will be having them more often.
Pine Nut Cookies
We always had these for holidays when I was a kid. But they were from an Italian bakery. I made almond paste, which is super easy. The cookie dough just didn't cooperate for me this time. It was super loose. I did not add the egg whites one at a time. If I had done that, maybe I wouldn't have used all three egg whites? I added more almond paste and more sugar hoping to stiffen the dough, but it was still not stiff enough to easily form the balls. I managed to scooped up the dough and made blobs. Then I proceeded to overbake the first two trays fo cookies. Burnt nuts. Not good. I baked the last dozen for a shorter time and they were delicious. Lots of burnt cookies got thrown out. I looked at other recipes for these cookies and will try something different next year. Some recipes add flour. This recipe is gluten-free and I need the new recipe to also be gluten-free for a family member. Does anyone have a tried and true pine nut cookie/almond macaroon recipe?
Rebecca Katz' Gingerbread
From her book One Bite at a Time. A few days before Christmas, we visited with friends for an afternoon of game playing and dinner. I made this for our dessert. Easy and delicious. I added some chopped crystallized ginger in addition to the ground ginger and grated fresh ginger. Gingerbread sure is a great cold weather dessert.
Mincemeat Tarts
One of my friends makes mincemeat every fall. She always shares some with me. My mom and sister love mincemeat so I make them a batch of mincemeat tarts every Christmas. This year I came across these adorable mincemeat tarts with a star top crust, so I got a set of the mini tart pans and made similar tarts. My star cutter was a little bit too small but I made it work. I baked off 8 of the tarts and frozen the rest unbaked so that my mom and sister can have them freshly baked whenever they want. I kept two for myself, I wish I had kept a few more.
French Twist
This is a family recipe that we make for Christmas morning breakfast. I made two this year; one for my husband and I and one for my mom and sister. My mom had back surgery at the beginning of December and her post surgery restrictions didn't allow her to make this. (She's doing great and most of her restrictions were removed on Friday at her followup.) They didn't get it until Christmas Day, but they were happy to have their once a year French Twist for Christmas week. This year, I added some chopped apple to mine. I didn't want to mess with tradition for theirs.
That was a lot of baking. Now on to savory. Christmas lunch is appetizers, Christmas dinner is at 6pm when everyone can be there.
Spinach Balls
The beloved spinach balls from the Cooking Light boards. I think they are from LindRusso. My family loves these. I made them a few days before Christmas and froze them unbaked. They always delight.
Deviled Eggs
No recipe. My deviled eggs have chopped capers, minced onion, and dijon mustard.
Thai-style Mini Sausage Rolls
First time making these. They were a hit. Will definitely make again. For the dipping sauce, I did not add the minced cuke or shallots. Just did straight up Thai Sweet Chili Sauce. I made them on Christmas eve and reheated them on Christmas day. Worked really well.
Curry Cashew Brittle
This was a gift for one of my clients. They are gluten-free, dairy-free, and egg-free. I used Earth Balance Buttery Spread for the butter in this recipe. I made the first batch with the amount of curry powder specified and found it undetectable, perfect for their two kids. My original plan was to make one batch for the curry-loving parents and then a curry powder free second batch for the kids. I made the second batch with 2.5 teaspoons of curry powder. A mix of Penzey's sweet and hot curry powder. They loved it. I've never made brittle before. This is a microwave brittle recipe. It did require working very fast. I love the idea of a savory spice in brittle and would do it again, but I might try it on the stovetop with a thermometer instead. The microwave method is good if you want a quick no fuss brittle method.
Lemon Shortbread
This was a birthday gift for one of my sisters whose birthday is the week before Christmas. Earlier in December, she was making a pasta dish that needed lemon zest and she used a box grater to zest the lemon. It was pretty clumsy. So I got her a microplane and made a batch of these cookies for her bday. The recipe calls for a heart cookie cutter, but I used a family heirloom bell cutter. These cookies were delicious and very easy to make. I also like that it is a small batch of cookies.
Hungarian Rolled Cookies (also called kiffles, but we call them Aunt Jo Cookies)
This is a recipe from my husband's Great Aunt Jo. His mom taught me how to make them many years ago. These cookies were part of every one of his family celebrations. I met his Great Aunt Jo about 30 years ago when she was still baking them. She's been gone for about 15 years. I made a batch to send to his mom. She lives in an assisted living community and there are a lot of people there who remember these cookies but haven't had them for a long time, so it was wonderful to hear how much everyone enjoyed them. Now that I know how to pack and ship them, they will be having them more often.
Pine Nut Cookies
We always had these for holidays when I was a kid. But they were from an Italian bakery. I made almond paste, which is super easy. The cookie dough just didn't cooperate for me this time. It was super loose. I did not add the egg whites one at a time. If I had done that, maybe I wouldn't have used all three egg whites? I added more almond paste and more sugar hoping to stiffen the dough, but it was still not stiff enough to easily form the balls. I managed to scooped up the dough and made blobs. Then I proceeded to overbake the first two trays fo cookies. Burnt nuts. Not good. I baked the last dozen for a shorter time and they were delicious. Lots of burnt cookies got thrown out. I looked at other recipes for these cookies and will try something different next year. Some recipes add flour. This recipe is gluten-free and I need the new recipe to also be gluten-free for a family member. Does anyone have a tried and true pine nut cookie/almond macaroon recipe?
Rebecca Katz' Gingerbread
From her book One Bite at a Time. A few days before Christmas, we visited with friends for an afternoon of game playing and dinner. I made this for our dessert. Easy and delicious. I added some chopped crystallized ginger in addition to the ground ginger and grated fresh ginger. Gingerbread sure is a great cold weather dessert.
Mincemeat Tarts
One of my friends makes mincemeat every fall. She always shares some with me. My mom and sister love mincemeat so I make them a batch of mincemeat tarts every Christmas. This year I came across these adorable mincemeat tarts with a star top crust, so I got a set of the mini tart pans and made similar tarts. My star cutter was a little bit too small but I made it work. I baked off 8 of the tarts and frozen the rest unbaked so that my mom and sister can have them freshly baked whenever they want. I kept two for myself, I wish I had kept a few more.
French Twist
This is a family recipe that we make for Christmas morning breakfast. I made two this year; one for my husband and I and one for my mom and sister. My mom had back surgery at the beginning of December and her post surgery restrictions didn't allow her to make this. (She's doing great and most of her restrictions were removed on Friday at her followup.) They didn't get it until Christmas Day, but they were happy to have their once a year French Twist for Christmas week. This year, I added some chopped apple to mine. I didn't want to mess with tradition for theirs.
That was a lot of baking. Now on to savory. Christmas lunch is appetizers, Christmas dinner is at 6pm when everyone can be there.
Spinach Balls
The beloved spinach balls from the Cooking Light boards. I think they are from LindRusso. My family loves these. I made them a few days before Christmas and froze them unbaked. They always delight.
Deviled Eggs
No recipe. My deviled eggs have chopped capers, minced onion, and dijon mustard.
Thai-style Mini Sausage Rolls
First time making these. They were a hit. Will definitely make again. For the dipping sauce, I did not add the minced cuke or shallots. Just did straight up Thai Sweet Chili Sauce. I made them on Christmas eve and reheated them on Christmas day. Worked really well.
