Christmas Cookies 2011

I absolutely love the Christmas season! It is basically over now so I'm a little sad. The Christmas music has for the most part stopped, and I saw three trees on the side of the road last night ready for the garbage pickup. Posting these pictures is therefore making me happy, remembering the fun and excitement I felt last week when I was preparing for the parties ahead.

Christmas cookies have become a fun tradition in my house, every year my sister and I try something different. Each year the cookies get a little better as we learn more about how best to decorate them. This year is the second year we've tried royal icing for our Christmas cookies. It isn't the most flavorful icing, but it produces the best looking cookies in my opinion. I love the smooth shiny finish the cookies get, and I love how the icing hardens up completely so you don't have to worry about wrecking your labor intensive decorations.

Lara and I made two batches of cookies this year. For one of the batches we invited our cousin Bailey over to help decorate. We had a lot of fun trying all sorts of different designs. Some turned out really cool, and some not so much, but that's part of the fun. The second batch was all Lara. She spent a long time looking at different cookie designs all over the web and finally decided on two she wanted to try. I had nothing to do with this batch, it was all her. I just took the pictures. I love how they turned out, I think she did a fantastic job! It was a lot of fun, I can't wait until next year to do it all over again!

The dough, ready for rolling

New trick this year, roll the dough out between

two sheets of plastic wrap, it worked beautifully, 

no sticking and no need to use extra flour, making the 

cookie dense and tough

All rolled out and ready to cut

Circles and diamonds for this batch

Put the cut out dough on cookie sheets and refrigerate 

for 5-10 minutes to firm them up 

(so they don't spread as much during baking)

Cookies and icing all ready to go

Some of the creations

Swirls!

We did them all!

Lara's batch, first the trees

Then the bells

Piping a border

Aren't they cute?

Now for the trees

Ready for filling

Adding the dots while the green is still wet

Time to dry

The finished bells!

Add a gold garland and the trees are finished too

I liked the trees the best!

All done for another year :( 

Check out  Christmas Cookies 2012 for more great ideas

Vanilla Almond Sugar Cookies
From: Bake at 350
Ingredients

• 3 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 sticks salted butter, cold
• 1 egg
• 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract

Directions
Combine the flour and baking powder, set aside. Cream the sugar and butter. Add the egg and extracts and mix. Gradually add the flour mixture and beat just until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl. The dough will be crumbly, so knead it together with your hands as you scoop it out of the bowl for rolling

Roll out between two pieces of plastic wrap and cut into shapes. Place on parchment lined baking sheets. Put the unbaked cookies in the fridge or freezer for 5-10 minutes. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees. Let sit a few minutes on the sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Royal Icing
From sweetopia
Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 kilogram (2.25 lbs.) powdered icing sugar 

*** Note; if your meringue powder has no vanilla flavour (vanillin powder) in it, add a teaspoon of clear vanilla to this recipe

Directions
In mixer bowl, pour in the warm water and the meringue powder. Mix it with a whisk by hand until it is frothy and thickened…about 30 seconds. Add the cream of tartar and mix for 30 seconds more.

Pour in all the icing sugar at once and place the bowl on the mixer. Using the paddle attachment on the lowest speed, mix slowly for a full 10 minutes. Icing will get thick and creamy.

Cover the bowl with a dampened tea-towel to prevent crusting and drying.

Tint with food colourings or thin the icing with small amounts of warm water to reach the desired consistency.

Banket

My family and I are Dutch through and through, and proud of it. Growing up in West Michigan I didn't think anything of it, most of my classmates and friends growing up were Dutch, that's just how things are here. However, since moving to Detroit for school I realized that there really aren't that many Dutch people around. There are a few cities spread throughout the country with a substantial Dutch population, but other than that, there really aren't that many of us around.

I love having this background, learning about my heritage, playing Dutch bingo whenever you hear a Dutch name. There is one thing about being Dutch that I don't love though; I'm not a big fan of the cuisine. Now there may be some fabulous Dutch recipes out there, maybe I just haven't been exposed to the delicacies of the Netherlands, but as far as I know, Dutch food isn't all that exciting. There are a couple of dishes however that I absolutely love. Since it's Christmas I had to share this one. Banket is the quintessential Dutch Christmas treat (at least in West Michigan, I have absolutely no idea how much of it they actually eat in the Netherlands).

Banket is basically a flaky, buttery pastry wrapped around a filling of almond paste, eggs and sugar. I love the crackly, golden brown crust, the way the pastry almost shatters when you cut it, spreading pieces of crust everywhere. The almond paste filling is sweet and delicious. Almond at Christmas is the best. 

This is actually the third year I've made banket. The past two years I tried using my Grandma's recipe, but the instructions were so vague I didn't really know what I was doing and the proportions of ingredients seemed just a little off. It still turned out quite tasty, it just never really looked like banket. This year it turned out beautifully, I was pleased, but it wasn't quite how I like it. The crust was perfect, but I like the filling to be a little looser. I may try adding more egg and cutting back on the cornstarch, I don't think my grandma had that in her recipe. My dad also told me that the crust needs to be darker (that's how his mom did it). I may use a whole egg or just an egg yolk for the egg wash and try baking it a little longer. 

In my opinion, it isn't Christmas without banket. Now that I have a success under my belt I will have to attempt to perfect the recipe for the coming years. Even though this recipe isn't perfect in my option, it makes a wonderful pastry that I would be pleased to serve at my table, and I will this weekend!

The dough, ready to go

Split it in half and roll each half out between

two sheets of plastic wrap

Cut each half in half lengthwise

Look at the chunks of butter!

Chunks of cold butter = flaky dough

Put a quarter of the filling on each piece of dough

The best part!

Roll each piece up, sealing the edges tightly

All filled and rolled, excited to eat!

Take each stick...

...and polk some holes down the top

Then brush with the egg wash

And bake!

Golden brown and delicious

The inside, I like the dough and filling to be more distinct

Cut it up into little bites

Enjoy!

Check out another great banket recipe  HERE!!

Banket
From Eet Smakelijk
Ingredients

• 1 cup almond paste (NOT almond pie filling and NOT marzipan) 
• 1 cup sugar 
• 1 egg 
• 1 egg, separated 
• 1/4 cup cornstarch 
• 2 cups flour 
• 1 cup butter 
• 1/4 cup water 

Directions
Let paste, sugar, egg, egg yolk and cornstarch stand in bowl for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Blend flour, butter and water in bowl like a pie crust. Add more water if necessary. Dough may be refrigerated overnight if desired.

When ready to prepare, divide dough into 2 equal parts. Roll each part of floured board to 8x13-inch rectangle. Cut lengthwise into 2 equal strips (4 strips, each 4x13-inches in all).

Prepare the filling by mixing the almond paste, sugar, eggs and cornstarch. Divide the filling into four equal portions and place one portion along the length of each piece of dough. Fold over the ends and then the long sides, moistening one side with water to seal before pressing together.

Place with seam side down on cookie sheet. Prick holes on top for air. Beat egg white and brush the top of the rolls. Bake for 14 minutes. Reduce head to 325 degrees and bake for an additional 20 minutes or until light brown.

Simple Vanilla Pudding

I love sugar, any kind will do, as long as it is sweet, I am happy. I try to keep this love of sweets in check most of the time because it is true, the more sugar you eat, the more sugar you crave, I've found this out the hard way. My strategy for not eating too much sugar throughout the day is to treat myself to a little sweet every night. By sweet I'm not talking a massive dessert, but instead just a little something to satisfy my sweet tooth after dinner and before I go to bed. This can be anything from a chocolate chip cookie, to a piece of dark chocolate, half a banana drizzled with chocolate or a handful of toffee peanuts, really just about anything that makes my mouth happy for the night. The other day while looking in the fridge I noticed a leftover egg yolk staring at me and I decided that it was time to make some pudding.

I've been wanting to make pudding for a while now, but haven't gotten around to doing it. When I saw that forlorn egg yolk in my fridge I quickly googled 'simple pudding recipe' and this one popped up. It was perfect, calling for one egg yolk and just over a cup of milk. Add a little sugar, vanilla and cornstarch and I had the perfect evening snack.

Since I have very little experience with puddings, I really have no idea how this compares with any other pudding out there. It was not very rich since I just used 2% milk and there wasn't much sugar either, but that was perfect for me this time. I wanted something light and simple and that's just what I got. It was a cinch to whip together, and the perfect thing to satisfy my sweet tooth this time.

All you need to start: milk, eggs, sugar, 

salt and cornstarch

Whisk a little milk with the egg yolk

Whisking it all together

Covered and ready to chill for a while in the fridge

Grab a spoon and dig in

Simple Vanilla Pudding
From Heart of Light
Ingredients

• 1 1/3 cup milk, divided 
• 1 egg yolk
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions
Heat 1 cup of milk in a small saucepan.

Meanwhile, whisk together the extra 1/3 cup milk and the egg yolk.

In a heatproof bowl, whisk together the cornstarch, sugar and salt and then add the milk/egg mixture in a slow stream, whisking so clumps don't form.

Slowly pour the hot milk into the mixture, whisking the entire time.

Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook for a few minutes, until thick and bubbling.

Stir in the vanilla and eat warm or let it cool and set up in the fridge. 

Spiced Pumpkin Granola

Christmas is probably my favorite time to be in the kitchen. Sitting inside my warm house while the cold wind blows outside, breathing in the intoxicating aromas of whatever is in the oven, blaring the Christmas music and sipping a warm cup of hot chocolate, it all just makes me happy. Reaching into the oven and pulling out a piping hot loaf of bread or a sheet of golden brown sugar cookies makes me smile. I especially love being able to share my love of food with my friends and family. Every year I try to  make something special to give away, spreading the good cheer! Most years I've made an assortment of Christmas cookies, they are my favorite. However this year, with exams and other commitments, I didn't have quite as much time as usual, so I decided to try something different, homemade granola.

Granola is so easy and delicious, you can make a huge batch of it at one time, and it lasts forever. Since it is Christmas, I wanted to make it festive so when I saw this recipe for spiced pumpkin granola I knew it would be perfect. A can of pumpkin and a bunch of warm, festive spices, along with dried cranberries for some Christmas color made this the perfect granola for Christmas.

This may end up being one of my favorite granola recipes. I thought it was absolutely delicious. A slight hint of pumpkin accompanied by cinnamon, ginger, cardamon and nutmeg and a note of sweet from the cranberries, yummy! Because of all the liquid from the pumpkin, this granola did not end up being as crunchy as some of the granolas I've made in the past, but that didn't detract from it one bit, in fact I kind of enjoyed the slightly chewy texture. This one is a winner folks. A fun and festive treat for Christmas.

The dry ingredients ready to go

Heating up the pumpkin mixture

Boxed up and ready to give as the perfect gift

Spiced Pumpkin Granola
Adapted from Healthy Green Kitchen
Ingredients

• 8 cups old fashion oats 
• 1 1/2 cup slivered almonds 
• 3/4 cup wheat germ 
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt 
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar 
• 1/4 cup brown sugar 
• 1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree 
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil 
• 1/4 cup butter, melted 
• 1/2 cup maple syrup or honey 
• 1 cup dried cranberries 

Directions
Preheat oven to 300°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, mix together oats, almonds, wheat germ, salt, all of the spices, and the sugars.

In a small saucepan heat together the pumpkin puree, oil, butter and maple syrup or honey until combined.

Pour the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients and mix together with your hands until all of the dry ingredients are evenly coated.

Spread the granola evenly over the two prepared pans and bake for 60-75 minutes, stirring every 10 to 15 minutes until golden brown and dried to your liking. Remove from the oven and stir in the dried cranberries.

Cinnamon Carrot Muffins

I eat a lot of muffins, they are one of my favorite breakfast treats. Muffins are simple and easy to prepare, they don't take long to bake, and they are the perfect package to unwrap and enjoy at breakfast. One thing you do have to be careful about though when making muffins is realizing that some muffins are just cupcakes in disguise. They can be extremely rich and sweet, and if you put some frosting on top no one would know the difference. Personally, I don't have any problem with this and have made many cupcake-like muffins to eat for breakfast. Sometimes however (such as during the holiday season) I feel like making something a little healthier, and that's where these cinnamon carrot muffins come in.

I found this recipe while paging through a Whole Living magazine and decided that I had to try it. Nothing groundbreaking here, it just looked so tasty. I love cinnamon muffins and I also always have carrots in the fridge and knew I could throw this together very quickly . To make these I just pulled out my food processor, grated up the carrots and threw the rest of it together. Twenty minutes later I pulled a dozen golden muffins out of the oven, all the while inhaling the tantalizing aroma of cinnamon which was floating around the kitchen.

Sitting down at the table with a glass of cold milk and a freshly made muffin, my mouth was very happy. These muffins were extremely moist, the carrots definitely did their job well. I was a little worried about the carrots being kind of stringy in the muffins (I've had that with zucchini muffins in the past), so I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the carrot was not at all stingy, it just leant a nice orange color to the muffins. I was happy with these muffins, I like that they are both tasty and healthy, two great reasons to make them again.

 Getting everything together, ready to go

 Grated carrots, easy as pie in a food processor

 The carrots and wet ingredients, 

very appetizing, I know

 Mix in the flour mixture until just incorporated

 Fill your muffin cups

 Ready for the oven

Fresh and warm

 Perfect for breakfast

Grab and go

Cinnamon Carrot Muffins
From Whole Living
Ingredients

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 
• 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour 
• 2 tablespoons wheat germ 
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder 
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt 
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil 
• 1/3 cup buttermilk 
• 2 large eggs 
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar 
• 2 cups finely grated carrots (4-5 carrots) 

Directions
Whisk together flours, wheat germ, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Whisk remaining ingredients in a separate bowl. Fold dry ingredients into wet and mix until just combined.

Spoon batter into cups. Bake at 350 degrees until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 22 minutes. Cool in pan for 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly before serving.

Cupcakes Galore

A few weeks ago, some friends from church held a fundraiser to help them cover the costs of adoption. They put on a soup supper with delicious homemade soups, salad, fresh bread and other yummy goodies. A couple of us decided that we wanted to get in on the action, and so we decided to bake cupcakes to give away at the dinner for a donation. Both Lara and I were very excited about the prospect of baking a bunch of cupcakes, one of my favorite things to do! We decided on 4 different types of cupcakes and one batch of muffins, for something a little different.

I wasn't quite sure how much work it would be to make 120 cupcakes/muffins, but it turned out to be not that bad at all. We baked 4 dozen cupcakes a week before and froze them until we needed them. The rest we made the day before and the day of the fundraiser. Although I absolutely love frosting ( it's my favorite part of eating cake) I admit that I don't enjoy making it. It's messy and sticky and can take a while if I want a really nice buttercream. In order to make things easier on, I called up a local bakery and asked them if they sold frosting; thankfully they did. I ended up buying 2 pounds of white buttercream from the bakery, which almost perfectly covered 4 dozen cupcakes. For the other 4 dozen, I made a couple batches of cream cheese frosting.

Buying some of the frosting was a real lifesaver, it meant I didn't have to take the time to make it, and I couldn't have made a batch of buttercream any better than the bakery, it was absolutely delicious, light and fluffy and full of sweet buttery flavor. I highly recommend doing the same thing if you just don't have the time to do it yourself.

I had such a fun time baking and decorating these cupcakes. I would definitely do something like this again. It was a nice practice round in case I ever get asked to do it again. Now I have some experience.

A table full of ingredients, before I began

Trying to stay organized

The first batch, classic yellow cupcakes

Turned out great!

On to the chocolate

Separating Oreos for the bottom of the Oreo cupcakes

Oreos make everything better!

#4: Red Velvet

Last but not least, chocolate chip muffins

The fun part, frosting!

All finished, a kitchen full of cupcakes

For the fundraiser, I can't take credit for this awesome sign, it all goes to Angie

We had tons of cupcakes

Pretty and edible

Mmmmm....

A few more shots

One thing I learned, if making cupcakes for kids, put sprinkles on them, they love them!

All of the cupcakes turned out deliciously and were a  big hit. I'll make them again and hopefully be able to do an individual post on each. Until then, here's where I got the cupcake recipes (I've had the muffin recipe for a while and don't remember where it came from, I'll post it soon!).  

• Oreo Cupcakes
• Red Velvet Cupcakes
• Chocolate Cupcakes
• Yellow Cupcakes

Chocolate Granola

If you open up my cupboards you are always going to find some granola. I go through tons of yogurt every week (homemade, it's all I eat anymore) and I love to have crunchy and sweet baked oats around to top it off.  I admit that I love Nature Valley granola bars and very often that is what I have, I think they are absolutely delicious. If anyone out there has a copycat recipe I would be thrilled to try it. I would love to make something that even slightly resembles those granola bars. However, I also really enjoy making my own granola. There are about a gazillion recipes out there. I really love my current go to granola recipe, but this new recipe caught my eye for one reason - chocolate!

It's a pretty basic granola recipe: oats, honey, nuts, flavorings and some type of fat. This recipe also has the lovely addition of some cocoa powder. It was a cinch to make, although the cocoa powder makes it a little difficult to tell how done the granola is. I really enjoyed the finished product, however it wasn't quite as chocolaty as I would have liked it. I realize that it doesn't have any real chocolate in it, just cocoa, but I was hoping for a little more chocolate flavor. But despite that slight disappointment this was still a tasty granola, perfect for topping my yogurt for breakfast. 

Grab your ingredients

Chop up some nuts

Mix together the nuts, oats, and wheat germ

Put everything else in a saucepan on the stove

Mix together the wet and dry ingredients and 

bake it off

Ready to go!

The options are endless...

Chocolate Granola
From Sugarhero
Ingredients

• 1/3 cup vegetable oil 
• 1 cup honey 
• 1-1/2 tbsp vanilla extract 
• 1 tbps cinnamon 
• 1/2 tsp salt 
• 1/2 cup best-quality cocoa powder 
• 4-1/2 cups oats 
• 1 cup wheat germ 
• 1 cup chopped, toasted nuts of your choice 
• 1 cup dried cranberries or sour cherries (optional) 

Directions
Preheat your oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit, and cover two baking sheets with foil. Spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine the oats, wheat germ and chopped, toasted nuts. Toss briefly to combine.

In a medium saucepan, combine the vegetable oil, honey, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, and cocoa powder. Heat this mixture, stirring, over medium heat, until you have a smooth, flowing liquid without any cocoa lumps.

Carefully pour the hot cocoa syrup over the oats in the bowl. Stir until the oats are completely coated with the chocolate. Divide the granola evenly between the two baking sheets, and spread it out into a thin, even layer on each sheet.

Bake the granola in the 300 degree oven for about 45 minutes. Gently stir every 10-15 minutes, and rotate the trays between racks and front to back to make sure the granola doesn’t burn in spots. Once it's out of the oven, let it cool undisturbed. Once it's cool add the dry fruit if using. Enjoy on top of your favorite yogurt!

Banana Chocolate Chip Breakfast Cake

Banana bread is an amazing invention. Whoever discovered that over ripe bananas could be mashed up and added to a quick bread batter is my hero. I am a huge banana fan, and go through at least half a dozen bananas a week. They are cheap, healthy and delicious. However, it can be a guessing game at the grocery store when confronted with a mountain of bananas at varying stages of ripeness; how quickly will the green bananas ripen, will I want a banana tomorrow, or in two days or tonight? I've become quite good at picking out the right number of bananas at the correct ripeness in order to have a good supply for at least a couple days. But there are still the times when I don't quite calculate correctly. The wonderful thing about bananas is that this is okay. In fact, sometimes it is preferable.

Banana bread is one of the most wonderful things to bake. It's quick, easy and delicious, and it can also be healthy at times. My personal favorite banana bread recipe is for Banana Oat Bread. However, a few months ago I was looking for something a little different. I wanted to bake something that reminded me of going out for breakfast at a coffee shop (one of my favorite things to do). They always seem to have some type of breakfast cake or bread that is easy to pick up and eat out of hand, something not too heavy and not overly sweet. I wanted to make something like that. So when I found this recipe online I knew I had to try it. I'm glad I did because it fit the bill perfectly.

This cake is super moist and light. It has that kind of spongy texture that always seems to accompany bread that is made with yogurt. The bananas add their characteristic subtle flavor and moisture which is enhanced by the addition of mini chocolate chips. The whole thing just works together so well. Now I can just brew up some coffee, close my eyes and take a bite, fooling myself into thinking that I'm at the coffee shop when I haven't even left my own kitchen.

My banana puree, an immersion blender does

a wonderful job

You need an egg and an egg white, save the

beautiful yolk for some scrambled eggs 

All the wet ingredients ready 

to be mixed

The wet, the dry and the chocolate

Mmmm, the best part

Stir it all together until just combined, 

be sure to not over mix

Pour into your greased pan

Baked

Chocolate and banana goodness!

Cut it up and enjoy for breakfast with a cup 

of coffee or hot chocolate

Banana Breakfast Cake
From David Lebovitz
Ingredients

• 1½ cups (210 g) flour 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder 
• ½ teaspoon baking soda 
• ½ teaspoon salt 
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
• 1 teaspoon espresso powder (optional)
• ¾ cup (150 g) sugar 
• 2 tablespoons (55 g) melted butter 
• 1 large egg white 
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup banana puree, made from about 2 very ripe medium-sized bananas 
• ½ cup sour cream (I used Greek yogurt, 130 g)
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 1/3 cup (60 g) mini chocolate chips 

Directions
Sift together in a medium bowl the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and espresso powder, if using. Mix in the sugar.

In a large bowl, mix together the butter, egg white, egg, banana puree, sour cream, and vanilla.

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and stir in the wet ingredients with a spatula until almost mixed. Add in the chocolate chips or cocoa nibs and stir until just combined, but don’t overstir: stop when any traces of flour disappear.

Scrape the mixture into a prepared 9-inch square pan and bake for 35-38 minutes at 350 degrees, or until the center feels lightly-springy and just done. Cool on a baking rack.