Christmas Baking: Decorating version
5 years ago
OK, so I'm a day or two behind, LOL
I. We did actually decorate those sugar cookies, and my two daughters, the supposed adults of the group, had a frosting fight. I think Ashley lost....
Time out was taken to wash up, and then we decorated.
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Christmas baking
Comments (9)Woody...I love the idea of your pudding, but my kids are really looking forward to the Chocolate Trifle this year. So I will have to try your recipe next year. :-) It's been a long time since we've made Chocolate Trifle. This is what we are making for Thanksgiving but possibly will make it again at Christmas. It is a great recipe for a Christmas dessert. It's not really a 'written down' recipe. The ingredients are all just layered in the Trifle Bowl in whatever amounts fit. It is simply chocolate cake, unfrosted, chocolate pudding [not instant], whipped cream, crushed Heath Bars. That's it! It is really delicious and very rich. We like to make our own pudding and cake and whipped cream, but if you were in a hurry, you could always buy the cake and whipped cream. It also is a very pretty dessert if you have it in a large straight sided glass bowl. Great to bring to a gathering too. Not sure what other baking we will do this year for Christmas. Sometimes we make cookies for gifts. I'll have to come back as Christmas starts to get closer to see what we are doing. Looking forward to lots of recipes here. :-) pm2...See MoreChristmas baking..........
Comments (20)The starter recipe I used is very simple: 1 cup flour 1 cup sugar 1 cup milk 2 1/4 t. dry instant yeast or 1 package of regular active yeast In a glass or crockery container (never use a metal bowl!) stir all together with a wooden or plastic spoon. Beat well until smooth and to incorporate air into the starter. Cover with a clean cloth or kitchen tea towel and let sit out on the kitchen counter. This is Day 1. Day 2-5 Stir the starter once a day and recover with cloth. Day 6 Feed the starter with equal parts of flour, sugar, and milk. If you want to share the starter, use 1 1/2 cups of each, flour, sugar, and milk. If you want to keep less starter on hand and do not plan to share it, feed the starter with 1/4 to 1/2 cup each flour, sugar and milk. (I used the lesser amount.) Day 7-9 Stir the starter once each day. Day 10 Make a recipe using the starter; then give a cup full in a glass jar to some friends along with the instructions and a recipe for bread or cake. If you plan not to give away any of the starter, you can take out a cup to make the bread or cake, then feed the starter with equal amounts of the flour, sugar, and milk. Just be sure to feed the starter every 5 days and stir it each day between feedings, that's basically what you do to maintain the starter. I have read that you can freeze the starter in 1 cup amounts if you wish. Don't refrigerate the starter though. Remember, there is sweetness in the starter, that is why I use less sugar in the bread recipe. As with any sourdough starter, I do not overwhelm a small amount of starter with large amounts of the feed. Here is the recipe for the Apple Cranberry Pecan/Walnut bread: oven set to 325 degrees F one large 9x5 loaf pan or 4-5 mini loaf pans sprayed with cooking spray and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar Apple Cranberry Pecan Friendship Bread 1 cup of the Friendship Bread starter 1/2 cup applesauce 1/2 cup vegetable oil 3 eggs, beaten 1/2 t salt 1 t vanilla 1 t cinnamon (use 1 1/2 t for a stronger cinnamon flavor) 2/3 to 3/4 cup sugar (recipe calls for 1 cup sugar) 2 cup regular all-purpose flour 1 1/4 t baking powder 1/2 t baking soda 1/2 cup chopped or halved fresh cranberries 1/2 to 3/4 cup finely diced fresh apple 1/2 to 3/4 cup finely chopped pecans (or walnuts) I mixed all in order in my mixer, stirring in the cranberries, apples, and pecans lastly just briefly to mix in well. Put in the pan(s) you are using. I used 4 non-stick mini loaf pans to make a nice size for gift giving. Bake the large loaf at 325 for 1 hour. Bake the mini loaves at 325 for about 35 minutes, checking them at 30 minutes. When the loaves look dry-ish on the top and a toothpick inserted comes out with no wet batter on it, the loaves are done. Cool in pan about 5-10 minutes, then turn out on a rack to cool completely. I really like the tartness of the fresh cranberries mixed into the sweet (but not too sweet) bread batter. When completely cooled and wrapped in plastic wrap, I will put a label on each mini loaf, freeze them, then put several loaves in a heavy zip bag. The mini loaf is a good size for just about anyone, or you could give a trio of mini loaves of different breads to a larger family. These breads would be great to have in the morning with breakfast, as a snack with a cup of tea or coffee, or put out on a holiday open house or brunch buffet. There are lots of recipes on the web using this type of Friendship Starter. I will include a link with lots of variations. I plan to try a variation using the instant pudding that is part of so many recipes, but IMO it is just added expense and sweetness which may not be necessary. I think the use of less oil and added applesauce makes the bread nicely moist - with less fat. Here is a link that might be useful: Friendship Bread Kitchen...See MoreHow is Your Christmas Cooking or Baking Coming Along?
Comments (23)Black raspberries? YUM! ! ! Haven't seen those in many a year! Grew them on the farm when I was growing up. Red raspberries were added during my early teens. No raspberries at all down here in South Texas, until a few years ago, when the reds started showing up in the store. Ridiculously expensive, but once in awhile I splurge on a half pint, just to indulge myself. It's funny, when we first got them on the farm, I thought they were really good, better than the black, But now I would much rather have the black, if I could ever find any! ! ! I did no cooking or baking this year, a first time ever. But we had our Christmas yesterday at Grandson's house, 165 mi. drive from here. I went up early yesterday morning, and came back last night. He decided that getting myself and his Dad there was enough of a task for me, but I still felt bad about arriving with no food to contribute to the dinner. But there was more than enough there, and every bit was delicious! Rusty...See MoreSHOW YOUR CHRISTMAS TREE/DECOR HERE
Comments (549)Ooh Valentine’s Day! I didn’t even think about that. Hmmm maybe I should store them somewhere else and not with the Xmas decor. Thanks Nicci! I even had a covid test yesterday even though I didn’t think I had it. But with DH and the girls going back to work and school next week we figured it’s best to know for sure. Mostly I had drainage causing me to cough all night causing time to be tired all day. But it was rainy and gross so I picked a good few days to lay around and do nothing....See More- 5 years ago
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