Have you started baking for the holidays?

[Jennifer W]

My mission is to bake gingerbread cookies that are soft.

Here's my recipe - you can have softer cookies if you roll them out a little bit thicker than usual and bake until just set. Probably about 10 -15 mins, depending on your oven. If you want to make crunchier cookies, add just a little more flour and roll out thinner, then bake for an extra 5 mins.

150g butter
70g soft brown sugar
160ml molasses /treacle
2 eggs
pinch of salt
pinch of baking powder
2 heaped teaspoons each of ground ginger, allspice, cinnamon
1 level teaspoon each of ground cloves and nutmeg
500g all purpose flour

Cream the butter and sugar, work in the eggs and molasses. Mix the flour, salt, powder and spices together and work into the butter mixture a little at a time until you have a soft, thick dough.

Roll out fairly thickly and bake at 160 degrees Centigrade until it just starts to turn paler.

 

[Jennifer W]

I should add, never allow an architect to watch you build a gingerbread house. It will not end well.

 

[Loves2Laugh]

Just started baking today! Biscotti, 3-layer chocolate bars, hershey kiss cookies and some cut-outs! Yummmm....

 

[pennquaker09]

Thanks JenniferW!

 

[Dandi]

I've made about ten gazillion mini cuppies this year, I box them up and wrap them in cellophane as little gifts. The Red Velvet ones end up with sugar 'holly' leaves, and the choc mudcake I ice like teeny little Christmas trees, they come out cute. This year I've addd white chocolate and coconut to the mix, topped with a rafaello (they look sort of snowy, even though it's hot summer here ), I'll post pics of them when they're iced. This is fun!!

 

[Jennifer W]

Thanks JenniferW!

You're very welcome!

Dandi Andi, you always bake such beautiful things! These are no exception. You should open a bakery.

 

[soocool]

Dandi Andi all I can say is WOW! Those cupcakes are calling me. They are so beautiful to look at. I envy people with this type of talent.


Well, I am officially done baking as of 15 minutes ago. DH cleaned the kitchen for me and I have a chicken roasting in the oven now. I am sipping some wine and will enjoy a couple of cookies for dessert tonight as that is probably all I will eat (I pretty much have given up sweets) and will settle down to watch the finale of Survivor tonight. Now I can relax for a few days.

 

[elrohwen]

Just pulled some sugar cookies out of the oven, so I can now join the holiday baking club! I secretly dislike sugar cookies, but I really wanted to make some to decorate and bring to work. I don't think I'll bother decorating tonight though - I'll just pack them up and do it tomorrow.

I have to say I was a bit disappointed with the recipe. I found it on All Recipes (I rarely make them, so I don't have a go-to recipe) and it wasn't the best. The 400 degree temp was a bit high and the first batch got pretty dark on the outside before the centers were done. Oh well! I'm sure nobody at work will complain I bought a cheap-o cookie cutter set and have a snowman, gingerman, tree, and bell that I can decorate tomorrow.

For stuff to keep at home, I was going to make this brookie recipe from Bakerella: http://www.bakerella.com/i-hope-you-have-chocolate-chips-handy/
It's basically a brownie in form, but a chocolate chip cookie in taste. Now that's a cookie I can eat a whole pan of! I'll make these on Wednesday night so I have treats when my family and in-laws arrive on Thursday.

I also need to bake houska, a Polish braided bread that my mom and I make every year for Christmas. I might wait til my mom gets here though and do it with her on Christmas Eve for some mother-daughter bonding time.

Love checking out what everybody else is baking!

 

[Dandi]

Aww soocool and Jennifer, thanks ladies, you're so sweet! Just for fun, here's a stack of normal sized cuppies I just iced to take to work tomorrow... RV, mudcake and white chocolate coconut. I reckon the green ones look heaps better as minis, they emulate the shape of a tree a bit better... ah well. They'll all look the same in the end

 

[pinkstars]

DandiAndi those cupcakes look SOO good! Mmm!

Not sure anybody is still looking for recipes, but BF's mom started making these http://www.landolakes.com/recipe/2720/peppermint-meltaways last year and I LOVE them. They're soo good! The cookie itself isn't too sweet, but with the icing and the peppermint it's amazing! At least I think so. But BF's mom doesn't do an actual glaze, she seems to do a light frosting and just does a tiny dab on each cookie and then crushed up peppermint on top of that.
I'll try to take a picture tonight if any are left!

 

[qtiekiki]

DandiAndi - Beautiful, and I bet they are delicious, cuppies.

I started baking yesterday, will continue tonight. Hope to finish tonight, but might need to extend to tomorrow night. I am making 5 or 6 different cookies, about 4 doz of each. So far, 2 types are done, and doughs had been made for another 2.

 

[LtlFirecracker]

I have been into mine for a week now.

I made an Apple Crisp for a work fundraiser. Of curse my husband wanted one, so I ended up making 2.

Just finished my Christmas presents for my co-workers. I made brownies from scratch for the first time . I added peppermint extract, as well as bits of peppermint and white chocolate to make it kind of a "peppermint bark brownie." I also made a batch of chocolate chip cookies for them as well.

I have plenty more cooking ahead of me, but I think this is the end of the baking. I am just having a glass of wine, waiting for the cookies to cool, than I will pack them all up before I go to bed.

DandiAndi- those cupcakes look so cute, and I am sure they taste wonderful

 

[Skippy123]

beautiful cupcakes!!!

 

[Jessie702]

Does anyone have any good Red Velvet Cake recipes? Im not cooking, well not quite, i will be pressed for time, so the SO and i will be picking up a already made meal, and warming it up, so i have to go something special for desert. He LOVE red Velvet cake, so i was thinking of making Red Velvet Cupcakes, Along with a Chocolate Mouse Cupcake, and Cookies( Chocolate Chip, and Coconut Macoorns), so does anyone have a red velvet recipe?

 

[Imdanny]

Still no! And I haven't started cleaning either! (But I am going to start cleaning tomorrow.) Not going to be doing much baking this year. SO is flying in Christmas Eve and we're going to shop for food for Christmas that evening, then he leaves the morning of the 26th.

I'm not really much of a cook or baker. I've lost 25 lbs in the last six months because I only shop for the bare minimum diet I planned for myself. I told SO that I only have pepper in the house. I don't even have salt. I told him to try to remember that because I know him. He's freak out if he's trying to cook and finds out we have no salt in the house. LOL!

 

[Jessie702]

Still no! And I haven't started cleaning either! (But I am going to start cleaning tomorrow.) Not going to be doing much baking this year. SO is flying in Christmas Eve and we're going to shop for food for Christmas that evening, then he leaves the morning of the 26th.

I'm not really much of a cook or baker. I've lost 25 lbs in the last six months because I only shop for the bare minimum diet I planned for myself. I told SO that I only have pepper in the house. I don't even have salt. I told him to try to remember that because I know him. He's freak out if he's trying to cook and finds out we have no salt in the house. LOL!

LoL.....we had just started cleaning today, and it was the bare minimum......good thing, house is clean anyways, just no motivation. Congrats on your 25 lbs.

 

[Imdanny]

Thanks! To be honest I'm glad we're not eating a lot of stuff for Christmas. Last year we stuffed ourselves from Thanksgiving through New Years! It was an endless feast! I needed to lose the 25 lbs (and I need to lose 14 more).

 

[Jessie702]

I stuffed myself for Thanksgiving, food was so good, but im not planning on it for Christmas. Ill probabaly just eat a little, unless, my friend makes my favorite, Fried Pork, witht he skins on it....O.....ill be sick. I love those things. ...i always forget the name of it, but its so good.

 

[Dandi]

Aww thanks guys, you're all gorgeous! Cuppies are so fun to make!

Jessie, here is my go-to RV recipe, I've tried a few and this one is consistently really good, with that great, rich ruby colour:

RED VELVET CUPCAKES
CAKE
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 tablespoons red food colouring
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1-2 teaspoon vanilla extract (I love vanilla so I use 2!)
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
1 pound cream cheese, softened
2 sticks butter (1 cup), softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I throw in a good tablespoon!)
4 cups sifted confectioner's sugar
METHOD
Pre-heat the oven to 350 deg F, line muffin tin with liners (makes between 12-18, depending on size of liner).
In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder. In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food colouring, vinegar and vanilla using an electric beater. Place the beater on low speed and gradually add the sifted dry ingredients until the mixture is smooth and well combined.
Fill each liner to about 2/3 full. Bake in oven for 20-22 minutes, turning the pans once, halfway through. Use a skewer to check for doneness. Once removed from the oven, ensure the cupcakes are cooled completely before icing.
Then gobble them up!

 

[decodelighted]

I haven't read all the way through the thread ... but does anyone have some great holiday dessert that doesn't involve COOKIES or FRUIT. I need to make something to bring to the in-laws on Xmas day ... besides Mac & Cheese. THANKS!

 

[Ninna]

Those cupcakes look so good Thanks for posting the recipe Dandi

 

[Porridge]

Aw Dandi, YUM! Those are, as always, gorgeous! Thanks for the recipe!

 

[Imdanny]

Still not yet. Still haven't started cleaning either. Can you tell I'm procrastinating?

 

[soocool]

Still not yet. Still haven't started cleaning either. Can you tell I'm procrastinating?

Well. get hopping!

I am done baking, shopping, wrapping, cleaning, ironing, just cooking is left for Christmas Eve (easy one fish!) and roast in the slow cooker for Christmas Day. We get a lot of people who come over (family) at various times throughout the day so I like to have the thinly sliced roast with freshly baked bread and rolls and hearty mushroom barley soup (already made). Then I am watching a slew of Christmas movies.

 

[Jessie702]

Okay, so ill post some pictures, i just made a test run of my red velvet cake. Ill actually be making cupcakes, but i wanted to do a test run before this weekend. The frosting i made came out so good.....i could just eat the frosting....il post pictures later tonight.

 

[Jessie702]

Okay, so ill post some pictures, i just made a test run of my red velvet cake. Ill actually be making cupcakes, but i wanted to do a test run before this weekend. The frosting i made came out so good.....i could just eat the frosting....il post pictures later tonight.