Christmas Goodies - whadda you make?

[greyhair biker]

I finally got around to this goodie making thing. I can't find where the thread was with goodies so I made a new one,

My wife makes 'stained glass candy' - basic hard candy recipe with lorann oils as flavorings. great stuff! and, no I don't have the recipe. She also makes rye and pumpernikel bread. this time it was a guarded recipe of Heidelberg rye bread.

My goodie comes from my Oma - Marzipan, although there are probably countless recipies worldwide. Here's mine:

main ingredient - raw almonds. Blanch almonds, remove skins, and let dry for several days. Then grind almonds to a semi fine grain. I use a Cuisinart foodprocessor - works perfectly. Once you have that ready and the following ingredients you can build your goodie.

1 part almonds
1 part powdered sugar
rosewater
almond extract

I use essence of rose oil - the real thing. dilute in 1C.water 1tsp rose oil essence.

then, in the foodprocessor, mix 1C. almonds, 1C. powdered sugar, about 2tbls. rosewater, 1tsp. almond extract. mix will vary slightly depending on how dry your almonds were. A variation I use is substituting the almond extract for rum flavoring or a mix of coconut and rum flavoring.....absolutely delicious! I then melt my favorite chcolate and dip as many as I want in the chocolate. DECADENT!
Some recipies say you should lightly brown the marzipan in the oven - I don't. I like the marzipan to be a little dough-like. adds to the 'decadence'

[accadacca]

Very nice. I'll be getting some cookies going soon. Jeez, my treadmill is already calling...

[Don]

Brownies and Pie, they're both pretty easy so I'll make them. I also have plans to make a stew on Christmas eve. I figure if I make enough I won't have to cook on Christmas. :haha:

[Deuce]

Luckily I was able to catch the drool before it hit the keyboard.........

[KapitanSparrow]

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Delicious herring :haha: :2thumbs:

[greyhair biker]

Is it pickled herring?! very good stuff!! (I definitely have european roots)

I just made a butter pecan coconut rum bundt cake...cooking right now...gonna have to make some rum sauce to pour over the top. (too bad I don't have any captain morgans)

[KapitanSparrow]

Yep, a raw herring pickled for 24h in a mixture of vinegar (1/4) and oil (3/4) with chopped onion, a dash of black pepper and mustard seeds. Will take some to work tomorrow for my co-workers. :2thumbs:

[canyonphile]

Yeah! Another baker here :mrgreen: ! Baked goods are what everyone except my boyfriend is getting for the holidays.

Wade, it's funny that you mention marzipan - I'm one who loves almonds in any way, shape or form, and I love things with almond paste or marzipan in them. I actually just baked two sweet yeast bread flat braids last night that had an almond filling - it utilized pulverized almonds (were supposed to be blanched, but I was too lazy to do that :haha: ), sugar, egg, almond extract, Amaretto. I wish I'd taken pics before I'd wrapped the loaf up to send off with my boyfriend on the plane today - it had an egg white wash that gave it the most lovely brown and shiny crust, and braided breads are always pretty stunning to look at! I added some cardamon to it after having made some Finnish bread of the same name, called "pulla", from a different recipe.

Anyway, I've been a baking fool lately, and this is what I've done so far:

-candied orange peel *
-cheesecake brownies
-toffee and butterscotch shortbread *
-my modification of a recipe called "Two Elk Bar" from Vail Ski Resort; it's similar to 7-layer bars except that it utilizes rolled oats and to make things simple, Walmart's "Indulgent" trail mix with some additional toasted pecans and walnuts added, and no shredded coconut, 'cos I hate coconut. Holy cow, it is GOOD! It made a 1/2 sheet pan and therefore, lots of small bars! I'll be happy to post the recipe if anyone wants it.

-sweet yeast bread flat braid with almond filling mentioned above *
-cranberry-pecan-orange breads using the candied orange peel
-pumpkin/sweet potato breads with walnuts and whole wheat flour (modification of Joy of Cooking recipe)

I want to also make some cut-out pecan sandwich cookies with a carmel filling and some regular shortbreads, but we'll see how that goes.

Thank goodness for my trusty food processor and KitchenAid stand mixer! Don't know what I'd do without them.

* recipes for these from In The Sweet Kitchen: The Definitive Baker's Companion, by Regan Daley. I have it checked out from the library now, but it's on my "to buy" list.

Have fun baking and post more pics!

-SJ

[greyhair biker]

that 'indulgence mix' from wallyworld works pretty good for 7 layer bars! and PULLED bread is to DIE for!! AHHHH, nice to talk to a fellow baker.
Ach du LIEBE!! I seriously need to watch what I eat this time of year, between the goodies, the breads, the cheezes & sausages & ham.....YUM!

[abirken]

Everything sounds and looks DELICIOUS!!! I've been a baking fool as well. I've made: Gingerbread men, Spritzer cookies, Russian tea cakes, Andes mint brownies, banana nut bread and a chocolate cake for my son's 5th birthday. I gave up on the gym this week and only made it there twice. As a result- I AM FEELING IT. This next week is also a wash b/c of the holiday. Hopefully we will get out on the mountain end of this week. My oldest doesn't know it yet, but Santa is bringing him a new snowboard so mom and son can go play!! :2thumbs:

[savanna3313]

I remember the stained glass candy from last year Wade. It's so pretty! :nod: My neighbor gifts are goodie bags. The Christmas treats we always make are pralines and homemade fudge with lots of nuts. My sister and I spent the weekend getting everything ready. The house smells like Willy Wonka's factory! :haha:

My sister has an easy recipe for a really good cookie that looks good too. You take ready made sugar cookie dough that you buy in the grocery store, cut the dough into 1/2" slices that you then cut into 4 pieces. Place each piece in a miniature paper cupcake holder (place inside a miniature cupcake tin) and bake for 10 minutes @ 350. As soon as they come out of the oven, you place a Reese's miniature peanut butter cup inside of each warm cookie. So easy and people love them!

[Jaxx]

my wife and daughters made a bucket full of gingerbread men. I hate gingerbread so I got the shaft on that one.

I made that stained glass candy last year. It is good stuff.

[accadacca]

Ok I snapped a few shots of the cookies that we made for the neighbors and us. :naughty:

Now I gotta go jump on my treadmill...

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[Mooseman70]

Dang, Acca! Wish I was your neighbor.... those look delicious! :slobber:

[cachehiker]

Let's see, this year it has been:

Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake
My Grandmother's Fudge
Sweetly Spiced Walnuts
and Peanut Butter Cookies

I wish I had more time to cook this time of year. Entertaining friends is the best part about Christmas. Maybe next year I'll throw a leaf raking party the weekend before Thanksgiving and get a jump on things.

[shlingdawg]

Nice spread Scott. :five:

We dipped pretzels and tiny candy canes in melted Symphony bars, baked some caramel brownies and chocolate & peanut butter chip oatmeal cookies.

[greyhair biker]

:slobber: yummy yummy yummy!