Holiday baking

[aliantha]

I saw another thread, waaaay back there, that had to do with Christmas cookies. But then it sort of degenerated into a discussion about putting roadkill on a Christmas tree, or something. Anyhow, I think we need a new thread.

Anybody else here go into a cookie-baking frenzy in December? For some reason I'm in overdrive this year. I'm blaming my neighbor here at work, who has been forwarding me e-mails of recipes from the Food Network's 12 Days of Christmas Cookies. I'm not making any of those recipes, but they did give me ideas for cookies I have either never made or haven't made in years.

Here's this year's lineup at Chez Aliantha:
Toll House oatmeal bars
Chocolate chip meringues
Gluten-free peanut butter cookie stamp cookies
Almond crescents
Sugar cookies
Gingerbread cookies
Raspberry-oatmeal bars
...and spiced pecans and peppermint bark.

I *always* make the Toll House oatmeal bars (basically it's the cookie recipe, the whole batch smushed down on a cookie sheet and cut into bars when cool) and the meringue cookies, as well as the spiced nuts and peppermint bark. I've taken a hiatus of a few years for the gingerbread cookies but am doing them again this year.

The peanut butter cookie recipe is new-to-me this year. I made them on Saturday; my oven is running hot, so the cookies spread out so much that you can't really see the design from the cookie stamps. However, those fared better than the first run at almond crescents Saturday; those practically fried themselves on the cookie sheets and were virtually inedible. I had to throw the whole batch out. Tried again last night with a slightly different recipe, added in more flour, lowered the oven temp and baked them for a shorter period of time, and they're fabulous.

I've been making sugar cookies for the past few years, but this year I'm doing them a little differently. Instead of just dousing them with sprinkles, I made them all in snowflake shapes and I'm going to try frosting them with what the Food Network folks call "edible paint icing" and what I gather is known generally as "royal icing". The recipe calls for meringue powder, which I had to buy in the Wilton's section of the craft store. I'm going to do the icing tonight; I'll let you know how it turns out....

Anybody else doing any baking this month?

(edited 'cause English is hard...)

[Brother Charn]

Cookie Day was just yesterday - where the M-i-L and her mother get together with my wife to make a set of cookies. This is oft traumatic, as these ladies don't always get along.
[Mind you, I always escape most of the ordeal - this year it was to watch Quantum of Solace]

Upon my return, I saw that everyone was getting along rather well, and they had more or less completed:
Peppermint Candy Cookies
White Chocolate Peppermint Bark
Butterscotch Haystacks
Lemon Spritz Cookies
Snickerdoodles

Currently unmade but still planned are:
Hesheys Kiss Peanut Butter Cookies
Iced Gingerbread Cookies

If my Mom relents to our demands to repeat last year:
Dbl Chocolate No-Bake Cookies
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Magic Cookie Bars
the Paula Deen Gingerbread Trifle


My aunt is famous for:
Christmas Spicy Oatmeal cookies
Decorated Sugar Cookies
Squash Pie Bar


Well thanks... now I'm jonesing for cookies.

dw

[SoulBiter]

We have made

Snickerdoodles
Pixies
peanut butter balls
White chocolate chip cookies

we are planning a gingerbread house for Christmas

[aliantha]

SB, I've done a gingerbread house before, but only assembling it from a kit. I've never been brave enough to try to bake the pieces myself from scratch.

BC: Family unity over a hot oven! *And* you get cookies out of the deal too! What's not to like?

Okay, so the update: I did make the special fancy-dancy icing the other night. It really does set up hard, just like the stuff they use on cookies at the bakery. The white iced cookies look terrific. Unfortunately, I used a little too much blue in the blue icing, so instead of being a lovely pale ice-blue, they're pretty darned bright. Ah well, if the recipients don't like it, they can make their own damn cookies next year.

I have two more batches of cookies to make tonight -- the raspberry-oatmeal bars and the meringue cookies -- and then I am DONE. I will be so relieved -- I am pretty darn cookie'd out. There's no effin' way I'm going to make so many different kinds of cookies next year!

[Menolly]

I will be so relieved -- I am pretty darn cookie'd out. There's no effin' way I'm going to make so many different kinds of cookies next year!

Shall I quote you on this next December?

[JazFusion]

Chocolate chip cookies and Snickerdoodles have been made. Sugar cookies with frosting and Peanut Butter Blossoms (or Kisses, as they're normally called) will be made as well.

I'm hoping I can make my Pear-Raspberry-Mint crisp again for Christmas, but we'll see what my mother-in-law wants me to bring (if anything).

[aliantha]

Mmmm, if your m-i-l doesn't want that pear-raspberry-mint crisp, you could send it *my* way...

I will be so relieved -- I am pretty darn cookie'd out. There's no effin' way I'm going to make so many different kinds of cookies next year!

Shall I quote you on this next December?

Feel free!

[Brother Charn]

I just re-read this thread - and of course I want a cookie now.

dw

[aliantha]

I don't need to re-read this thread to crave cookies. My workplace is awash in them today....

[Wyldewode]

Tomorrow is my baking day, though the oven will hardly be used. I make goodie trays for presents, so I've got a lot to do.

I'm making:
peanut butter fudge
dark chocolate fudge
peppermint bark
butterscotch haystacks
pretzels dipped in almond bark
truffle brownie cups

And for Christmas I'm making a Bailey's Irish Creme cheesecake.

Several of the things you guys are making sound great to me, but I think I'll have my fill of baking (and sugar from sampling!) in the next few days.

[Prebe]

Cinamon wine rolls
Danish butter cookies. The varieties:
Vanilla/almond rings
And the politically incorrect Jew-cakes.

[Wyldewode]

Yum. . . I think we need to add recipes for all these goodies.

[Prebe]

Danish butter cookies are ridiculously easy:

five parts plain wheat flour
four parts butter
three parts castor sugar
(add finely chopped vanilla pod and almonds for vanilla rings)

Crumble butter into mix of sugar and flour.
Knead into a ball.
Refrigerate for an hour.

Now, the generic danish meat grinder has an adapter (see photo), that when mounted, extrudes the dough into a grooved ribon 1/4 inch thick. This is twisted into a torus shape. Alternatively, roll potions of the dough into thin saussage shapes and form torus like structures about 1 1/2 inch across. Bake for 10 minutes at 200C or until lightly golden.

Jew cakes is the same basic recipe without the almonds and vanilla. In stead add a small amout of amonium bicabonate (hartshorn) 1/2 tsp for each 300 g of butter in the recipe. Roll out the dough into a thin sheet. Prick out circles with a small glass. Brush with egg white and sprinkle with cinnamon/sugar mixture. Baking is the same as above.

Cinnamon wine rolls is your basic breakfast roll, where you replace the milk with a scandinavian red-wine punch known as Glögg.

[Wyldewode]

Yum. . . I think my mom has a cookie press that would do the same thing.

Thanks for the recipe. . . it sounds much like the scottish shortbread cookies I make.

[Prebe]

It is very close to shortbread indeed. Although perhaps not quite as buttery.

[rdhopeca]

I always do cream cheese frosted pumpkin bars. My grandmother used to make them but I could never get the recipe, so I found one online that is very very good:

www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/52/Frost ... 6003.shtml

[aliantha]

As an update: The girls and I tucked into the overabundance of sweets with a vengeance. By Christmas Day, almost nothing was left. (And I'd gained about five pounds. )

[Wyldewode]

Isn't that always the way, Ali?:(

[aliantha]

It is indeed, Lyr. Weigh-in on Friday is gonna suck hard.

[Wyldewode]

I think I am going to rejoin WW after the next paycheck, so soon I will feel you pain, Ali.