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I've seen it start on many cooking blogs: the beginning of the holidays baking season. Please tell me what cookies and cakes you bake for your friends and family and do not forget to share your recipes. We've had many great recipe exchanges in the past and some new favorite cookies and cakes, but they have been lost in the original recipe thread. So let's dust them out and put them to good use again.
Great idea. however all my cookbooks are packed, so it may be a couple weeks before I can share and I have some great cookie recipes. We do a Christmas cookie exchange every year and I have yet to make the same cookie twice. This will be the 10th year.
I make peppermint bark and wrap it up and give it to the teachers/bus drivers, etc. with some homemade bread and cookies.
My favorite chocolate cookie recipe that I make at Christmas are these:
Chocolate Bit Nut Cookies
3 egg whites, beaten stiff
½ cup crushed graham crackers
1 teaspoon vanilla
6 oz. melted chocolate chips, cooled
1 cup confectioner's sugar
½ cup chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts)
Preheat oven to 325
To stiff egg whites, fold in confectioner's sugar one tablespoon at a time.
Fold in graham crackers.
Add nuts and vanilla
Fold in melted chocolate chips
Drop on buttered (or parchment paper) cookie sheet by teaspoon (not too big)
Bake for 12 minutes
Make approximately 24-30 cookies.
I do find they don't freeze well, so I make these close to when I want to give them or eat them. The key is definitely FOLD and don't mix the sugar.
and I just googled Peppermint Bark a few years ago (thanks to my friend Amy) and use this recipe:
Peppermint Bark
Alright, I know that no one is going to give these a go, but I make them nearly every year so I'm posting anyway:
Chrismas Fruitcake
6 cups ea. candied peel & dark raisins
4 cups currents
½ cups ea. candied citron & candied cherries
2 cups ea. slivered almonds & chopped pecans
1 cup dark rum
3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 cups butter
2 ½ cups lightly packed brown sugar
7 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
In a very large bowl, combine fruit and nuts. Add rum, mix thoroughly. Let stand covered overnight, stirring occasionally. Butter four 9x5 loaf pans, and line with buttered parchment paper. Drain any liquid from fruit and reserve. Dredge fruit with ½ cup flour. Beat butter until creamy. Add brown sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and any reserved liquid from fruit. Sift together remaining flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and cloves. Gradually add to butter mixture until blended. Stir in floured fruit. Turn into prepared pans. Bake 3 to 3½ hours in preheated 250º oven or until skewer comes out clean.
Rattus you are a rebel!
Actually I kind of like fruitcake. Except there is one ingredient that has a strong taste I don't care for and I think it's the citron. What is a citron anyway?
anyway, great thread idea dr and I'll be contributing.
Citron is candied lemon peel. Actually, I fiddle around with the quantities and types of fruit/nut ingredients somewhat, keeping the overall bulk pretty much the same. I tend to use a LOT more raisins, currents and candied cherries than the recipe calls for, and much less candied peel. I also don't tend to use the slivered almonds because they're freakin' expensive and I don't looooove them. And one year, because I didn't have any rum at home, I made my own rum by mixing vodka and brown sugar - it worked. For a cake, anyway. Probably wouldn't have worked quite so well in a Cuba Libre.
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