What are y’all cooking this year? I think I’m probably not going to do another Christmas cake, with only my family to eat it, so I’m casting about for other novel goodies.
Now let's not be stingy at this time of year. Still do the cake and freeze as can and it is the gift that keeps giving. Of course I am not the baker but chairman of the quality control committee.
I usually do a lot of fancy cookies and give them away, but with gatherings smaller or nonexistent this year, I wonder if giving cookies to people would be as welcome. If there's nobody around to eat them would they just get tossed?
I think I’m doing a sticky toffee pudding as a nod to our years in England. Don’t much like Christmas cake or plum pudding; could joyfully drink the toffee sauce. But I made browned butter-pecan shortbread cookies this weekend.
Our favorite is a mint twist on a Yule log. Chocolate jelly roll with creme de menthe custard filling plus chocolate ganache. Not as big or heavy as Christmas cake so better suited to smaller audience.
Creme caramel is my family’s traditional Christmas Eve dessert. Our tradition was that whoever found the almond in their dessert would get to open the first present on Christmas Day. It’s easy to scale up or down depending on number of people. The America’s Test Kitchen recipe is really solid.
Our annual major baking treat is Christina Tosi's Compost Cookies. All the fun is in the choice of mix-ins. Our standard mix is medium-dark chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, crushed peanut-butter pretzels, and coffee grounds. Here's a representative recipe:
Single, and no AA meetings, so baking is out. Working my way through the Cooks Illustrated cooking for one cookbook.
There’s a good curried kabocha squash recipe in the WaPo. The sauce freezes well, so it’s easy to scale it down for one. Got a half squash in the oven now. Probably do a buttermilk marinated roast chicken, or maybe just game hen, for Christmas dinner. Along with some cornbread stuffing as that can be cut down and keeps in the fridge for a few days. And homemade cranberry sauce, which also keeps in the fridge for several days.
I'm working my way through our Christmas baking. I've got home-made mincemeat aging in the fridge, miniature buttertarts, a couple of Mennonite cookie recipes (wife's family - spitzbuben and mendelherzchen), and still need to do my usual cardamom shortbread and ginger cookies. The fun thing I've added to the Christmas rotation is feuerzangenbowle, a German flaming rum punch. I had the chance to try it at the Nuremberg Christmas market a year ago and loved it. Also, as a former combustion major and a product safety engineer, I kind of have a thing for anything I get to set on fire...
I am pretty sure I'll buy some jars of mincemeat imported from the UK and never actually get around to making mince pies, because I do that every year. I'll probably then buy some pre-made mince pies to make me feel better about not making them, before putting the jar in the cupboard to gaze balefully at me every time I open the door.
I am away from my own kitchen, so my ambitions will have to be limited. I don't think I can get through Christmas without British-style crunchy roast potatoes whatever meat I cook, but sweet-wise probably just something (trivially) simple like Victoria Sponge (just with some jam and buttercream filling)
Now let's not be stingy at this time of year. Still do the cake and freeze as can and it is the gift that keeps giving. Of course I am not the baker but chairman of the quality control committee.
I usually do a lot of fancy cookies and give them away, but with gatherings smaller or nonexistent this year, I wonder if giving cookies to people would be as welcome. If there's nobody around to eat them would they just get tossed?
Going to smoke a pork loin. Got an amazing deal. Will probably also make traditional King Arthur rum cake.
I think I’m doing a sticky toffee pudding as a nod to our years in England. Don’t much like Christmas cake or plum pudding; could joyfully drink the toffee sauce. But I made browned butter-pecan shortbread cookies this weekend.
Our favorite is a mint twist on a Yule log. Chocolate jelly roll with creme de menthe custard filling plus chocolate ganache. Not as big or heavy as Christmas cake so better suited to smaller audience.
Currently baking Finger Klatchen. Tomorrow will be pound cake.
Creme caramel is my family’s traditional Christmas Eve dessert. Our tradition was that whoever found the almond in their dessert would get to open the first present on Christmas Day. It’s easy to scale up or down depending on number of people. The America’s Test Kitchen recipe is really solid.
I did thaw out my fruitcake from last year, and it is amazingly resilient. Well, requires more bourbon.
The one thing I will definitely be making is my family's cranberry bread/fruitcake hybrid.
Our annual major baking treat is Christina Tosi's Compost Cookies. All the fun is in the choice of mix-ins. Our standard mix is medium-dark chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, crushed peanut-butter pretzels, and coffee grounds. Here's a representative recipe:
https://milkbarstore.com/blogs/recipes/compost-cookie-new
Single, and no AA meetings, so baking is out. Working my way through the Cooks Illustrated cooking for one cookbook.
There’s a good curried kabocha squash recipe in the WaPo. The sauce freezes well, so it’s easy to scale it down for one. Got a half squash in the oven now. Probably do a buttermilk marinated roast chicken, or maybe just game hen, for Christmas dinner. Along with some cornbread stuffing as that can be cut down and keeps in the fridge for a few days. And homemade cranberry sauce, which also keeps in the fridge for several days.
I'm working my way through our Christmas baking. I've got home-made mincemeat aging in the fridge, miniature buttertarts, a couple of Mennonite cookie recipes (wife's family - spitzbuben and mendelherzchen), and still need to do my usual cardamom shortbread and ginger cookies. The fun thing I've added to the Christmas rotation is feuerzangenbowle, a German flaming rum punch. I had the chance to try it at the Nuremberg Christmas market a year ago and loved it. Also, as a former combustion major and a product safety engineer, I kind of have a thing for anything I get to set on fire...
We're thinking about trying our hands at a panettone. We love them, but have never attempted to make one before...
I am pretty sure I'll buy some jars of mincemeat imported from the UK and never actually get around to making mince pies, because I do that every year. I'll probably then buy some pre-made mince pies to make me feel better about not making them, before putting the jar in the cupboard to gaze balefully at me every time I open the door.
I am away from my own kitchen, so my ambitions will have to be limited. I don't think I can get through Christmas without British-style crunchy roast potatoes whatever meat I cook, but sweet-wise probably just something (trivially) simple like Victoria Sponge (just with some jam and buttercream filling)