How to bake yummy things for the holidays

Saucy, I burnt your mums sandtarts the other day. I forgot I had them baking. OOpsie. Will be trying again tomorrow I hope!

That's funny. She always burned at least one tray herself so don't feel bad.

I'm out of eggs, so I'm grounded until tomorrow.
 
I babysat last night, and as my reward I got 12 fresh eggs from their chickens! I'll send you some over.

Please do! Whenever I get eggs that fresh, I can't help it, I have to make creme brûlée or something custardy. YUM
 
Thanks everyone for your contributions - there are several from this thread that we have added to our holiday baking / entertaining. Yum-dilly-icious!

Threads such as this keep the manufacturers and sellers of elastic waist-banded pants in business. :D

Everyone have a lovely holiday & Happy Christmas!




Now where did I set down that eggnog....
 
Good Morning all and Happy New Year!
Now that I don't have the flu and Christmas is a delightful memory, I'm going to do some baking and sharing!

I want bread pudding and custard, think I'll bake some bread pudding and serve custard sauce on the side.

I found the greatest "make your own vanilla" kit, you are able to choose which country of origin for your bean, they were out of Tahitian but I'm going to follow up with them!

http://www.beanilla.com/blog/homemade-vanilla-extract

Has anyone ever made their own vanilla? The instructions say you can add vodka, rum, Bourbon or whatever you choose. Because it's a 6-8 week process, I don't want to be disappointed in two months. Ideas?

And lastly, since this thread was so very successful, I'm considering a "comfort food/slow cooker" thread. Which I will focus on when the bugs are removed from the laptop. That will teach me to share.
 
Very simple peach dessert

Ingredients: 1 peach per person, honey, cinnamon, slivered almonds.

Preheat oven to 180C (360F).

Halve peaches and remove the stone. Place cut-side up in a baking dish.

Sprinkle the peach flesh with cinnamon, then drizzle honey over it, then sprinkle almonds over that. Bake for half an hour. Eat alone or with ice cream/yoghurt as preferred.
 
Banana Pastry Swirls

I'm being lazy instead of retyping it out but yum oh yum. The caramel was guilding the lily a bit, but my kids didn't agree. Then again, they would just eat an entire bag of sugar if they had permission. . . .
 
All of you wonderful cooks! I don't envy your skill but I do appreciate the time and thought which are required by proper cooking. I will bring some of your recipes to a restaurant chef for discussion if you don't mind.
 
So Snickerdoodles are your kryptonite, huh? Then you're gonna LOVE Snickerdoodle Poppers. A cross between a creme puff and a snickerdoodle. *swoon*

Holy shit. . .those look fabulous. And it would give me an excuse to use the deep fryer I just had to have, and have used 3 times. Will also give my son an excuse to run through the target with a gallon of oil in each hand, yelling, "Let's deep fry some shit!"
 
Holy shit. . .those look fabulous. And it would give me an excuse to use the deep fryer I just had to have, and have used 3 times. Will also give my son an excuse to run through the target with a gallon of oil in each hand, yelling, "Let's deep fry some shit!"

Hahahha - I love that! What other deep fried delectables have you had? I had deep fried butter once. I do not recommend it. :(

I have been on a quest to find a great bread recipe (well great for me) and thought I would share this recipe for breadsticks that I found. It's a knock off of Olive Garden's recipe.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon warm
water (105 to 115 degrees F)
16 ounces bread flour (3 cups)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened
On top:
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

Directions
Dissolve the sugar and yeast in the warm water in a small bowl or measuring cup and let the mixture sit for 5 minutes, or until it becomes foamy on top.

Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Use the paddle attachment on a stand mixer to mix the softened butter into the flour. If you don't have a stand mixer, use a mixing spoon to combine the butter with the flour. When the yeast mixture is foamy, pour it into the flour mixture and use a dough hook on your mixture to combine the ingredients and knead the dough for approximately 10 minutes. If you don't have a stand mixer, combine the ingredients and then knead the dough by hand on a countertop for 10 minutes.

Place the dough in a covered container and let it sit for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until it doubles in size. When the dough has doubled, measure out 2-ounce portions and roll the dough between your hands or on a countertop to form sticks that are 7 inches long. Place the dough on parchment paper-lined baking sheets, cover and set aside for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size once again.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Bake the breadsticks for 12 minutes, or until golden brown.

When the breadsticks come out of the oven, immediately brush each one with melted butter and sprinkle with a little garlic salt.

Makes about a dozen.


I normally substitute chopped garlic for the garlic salt on top. These have been my all time favorites for bread.
 
I have been on a quest to find a great bread recipe (well great for me) and thought I would share this recipe for breadsticks that I found. It's a knock off of Olive Garden's recipe.

My wife found this recipe on some food blog. It is great for a few reasons.

Reason 1 - My wife makes this with my three year old daughter, with my daughter doing all but the heavy lifting and the oven bit. The little one loves mixing it all up in a big bowl, marvels at how it rises by itself, and declares (with every loaf) around mouthfuls that this is the best bread she has ever eaten. They have experimented with sticking in garlic cloves, olives, and sundried tomatoes in the top of the loaf before baking. The wee one beams when dinner guests compliment her on her fine bread making skills.

Reason 2 - My wife likes that is a simple, basic bread recipe and she knows what goes in it (no presevatives, refined sugar, etc).

Reason 3 - It's pretty damn good. Especially still warm from the oven. You end up with this beautiful round, rustic loaf with a crusty crust and a moist, airy, nicely textured (and delish!) core. Does not disappoint.

No Knead Bread Recipe

Ingredients:
3 cups good quality bread flour
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1 teaspoon fine table salt (or 3/4 tablespoon of kosher salt)
1 1/2 cups warm water
Covered pot (five-quart or larger cast iron / dutch oven - something that can go into a 450F oven).

Directions:
1. Mix dough: The night before, combine all ingredients in a big bowl with a wooden spoon until the dough just comes together. It will be a shaggy, doughy mess. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit 12-20 hours on countertop.

2. Shape & preheat: The dough will now be wet, sticky and bubbly. With a wet spatula, dump the dough on a floured surface. Fold ends of dough over a few times with the spatula and nudge it into a ball shape. You can use your hands if you like, just keep your hands wet so that the dough does not stick. Place a large sheet of parchment paper on counter. Plop your dough onto parchment paper. Lift parchment paper up with dough and place into a large bowl. Cover bowl with a towel. Let it nap for 2 hours. When you've got about a half hour left, slip your covered pot into the oven and preheat to 450F.

3. Bake: Your dough should have doubled in size. Remove pot from oven. Grab the ends of the parchment paper and lift entire wobbly dough blob out of bowl into pot. Doesn't matter which way it lands. Shake to even dough out. Cover. Bake 30 minutes. Uncover, bake another 15-20 minutes or until the crust is beautifully golden and middle of loaf is 210F. Remove and let cool on wired rack. If not eating right away, you can re-crisp crust in 350F oven for 10 minutes. Best way to eat it? Smear a warm slice with some good butter.
 
I'm reviving my old thread because it's that time again!

Thieved from cooking.com but oh my, so freakin good!

Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cluster Cookies
8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup (1/8 lb.) butter
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups unsalted roasted macadamia nuts
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup sweetened flaked dried coconut (4 oz.)
Preparation

1. In a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water (bottom of bowl should not touch water), stir chopped chocolate and butter often until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from over water and let cool to room temperature, about 15 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on high speed, beat sugar, eggs, and vanilla until smooth. Add chocolate mixture and beat until well blended. Stir in flour and baking powder, then beat just until moistened. Stir in macadamia nuts, chocolate chips, and coconut.
3. Drop dough in 1-tablespoon portions, about 2 inches apart, onto buttered or cooking parchment-lined 12- by 15-inch baking sheets.
4. Bake cookies in a 350° oven just until firm on the edges but still soft when pressed in the middle, 8 to 10 minutes (see notes); if baking more than one pan at a time, switch pan positions halfway through baking. Let cookies cool on sheets for 5 minutes, then use a wide spatula to transfer to racks to cool completely.
 
More chocolate because. . . reasons, that's why.

Thieved from MyRecipes.com.

Chocolate Cappuccino Brownies
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons instant coffee granules *
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup brewed coffee, cooled
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups unbleached white flour, sifted
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1 ounce semi-sweet chocolate chips
Garnish: powdered sugar
Preparation
In a bowl, combine butter, brown sugar and coffee granules; blend well. Add eggs, vanilla and cooled coffee; stir.
In a separate bowl, combine baking powder, salt, flour and cocoa; add to butter mixture. Stir in walnuts and chocolate chips.
Pour batter into a greased 13"x9" pan and bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes. Allow to cool and cut into squares. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.
Classic Christmas Recipes , Gooseberry Patch
DECEMBER 2010

*Note: I don't use instant coffee, I use finely ground espresso, but that is just me.
 
And for breakfast Chez Minxy tomorrow. ..

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup greek yogurt, or sour cream
1/2 cup milk, or buttermilk
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp lemon extract
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softenend
1 Tblsp lemon zest
2 eggs

glaze:
6 Tblsp confection sugar
4 tsp lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and either grease muffin pans or line with paper liners. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together and set aside. Whisk together the sour cream, milk, lemon extract,and 2 tsp lemon juice. Set aside. Beat together, sugar, butter, and lemon zest. Add eggs one at a time, and beat until combined and fluffy. Add the dry mixture alternately with the sour cream mixture, beginning and ending with the dry. Don't overbeat, mix just until combined. Stir in the poppy seeds and spoon into prepared pans. Bake 16 - 20 minutes or until middle tests done with a toothpick.

For glaze, stir together the confectionary sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Drizzle over slightly warm muffins and serve.
 
Oh my...they sound yummy. How about you bake and I eat? Deal?

;)

Cf
 
Baked Oatmeal (the root recipe is from Penzeys Spices)

2 3/4 cups old fashioned oats
3/4 cup dried fruit
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt

(that all goes in one bowl)

in another bowl:

4 egg whites, lightly beaten
3 1/3 almond milk
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla

spray a glass dish with cooking spray (about 8-9 inch casserole works great)

add the wet to the dry, pour into the casserole dish, bake at 400 for an hour

This will have the texture of bread pudding. It can be served plain, with cream, yogurt, milk, ice cream..

store leftover in the fridge

(my friend kicks this up by using dark chocolate chips and frozen banana slices)
 
Back
Top