Christmas Baking: A Smorgasbord of Goodies!

Sometimes when I'm up baking really late at night, and I start talking to myself about what I'm doing (I'm not crazy, I promise), I worry that if someone else was around, this is what they would see:

Oh Swedish Chef. You make me giggle.

Moving on! So for the third year in a row, I completed my crazy Christmas baking extravaganza to send treats to my friends across the country for the holidays. I'm incredibly grateful for the wonderful friends I have in my life, so it's a little way I can show them how much I love and appreciate them. Plus, it's a great excuse to try new recipes. The first year I did it, I did tons of cookies, last year it was bread, and this year it is a variety of treats! I also decided to get very crafty with the presentation of everything.

My apartment basically looked like a baking factory for a couple weeks with my supplies strewn everywhere. I had cards spread out over my couch as I wrote ones for everyone to include in the packages. And then I had to tape up the boxes and set them up for easy packing. This year, I had what I feel is more than normal, but I can't remember. It ended up being 34 people in 21 households (and that's with me forcing myself to limit my list a little this year). The boxes made it a little difficult to walk around for a few days, but all in the name of organization!

Unfortunately, I did a terrible job of taking pictures as I baked this time around, mostly because I was too distracted with trying to finish everything!

So to start, here's the final product! Pumpkin bread in a jar, chocolate fudge in a cookie cutter, and eggnog cookies!

So the Pumpkin bread was by far the funniest baking adventure I've had in awhile. I had never baked anything in a jar before, but I thought it was a clever and cute idea. I ended up buying 12 oz jars, and then I bought fabric and ribbon to dress up the jar a little. I doubled the recipe and then did two batches of that, which made 23 jars of bread. Baking them in the oven was hilarious because it's all a balancing act. You don't want to bake the bread on a baking sheet because it doesn't cook through like it's supposed to, so you need to put them directly on the rack.

When it got close to be doing, I wanted to test a jar to see if it was done or not. Bad idea. I kept knocking jars over in the oven and then struggled to get them balanced on the rack again. I ended up having my head practically in the oven for at least 10 minutes trying to fix it all. But they eventually turned out great! As soon as I took the jars out of the oven, I immediately put the lids on the jars, and as the breads cooled, it sealed the jars. The first time a seal popped, I jumped a little because I forgot it was going to do that. The only problem I ended up having was the shape of the jars made it difficult to really grease them, so everyone will have to make sure they eat the bread from the jar...unless they like big crumb messes.

The rest of my baking was done between 11pm and 3:30am on the Friday night before I mailed everything out. On four hours of sleep. After working a 15 hour day (including 8.5 hours of driving to and from Charleston). But you know what is totally ridiculous? As soon as I started baking, I was just in the zone, very relaxed, and felt like i was moving pretty fluidly. That's why, even when I bake really late like that sometimes, I don't care because it's not stressing me out. Until I see the dirty dishes and then I save them until after I've slept. Ha. 

When I made the cookies, I doubled the recipe, and with making them a small size (about a tablespoon scoop per cookie), I made almost 100 cookies! SO MANY COOKIES. But it meant each person got three cookies each, so it was perfect. I didn't do the glaze on them though because most of them were getting mailed and it was just easier. The thing I loved about the cookies was the eggnog flavor did not hit instantly, and when it did, it was the perfect amount. I then put each person's cookies in little ziplock baggies with snowmen on them! Very festive.

The chocolate fudge was last and I molded each person's fudge in a holiday cookie cutter! I used a random fudge recipe with semi-sweet chocolate chips and marshmallows, and it was soooo rich and delicious. I wrapped each cookie cutter bottom in foil and greased them so as I poured the fudge in, it wouldn't seep out and it would stay in the cookie cutter. After making each batch, I poured the fudge in to the cookie cutters, and used a spoon to spread them to the edges. I had snowflakes, snowmen, christmas trees, sleighs, elves, wreaths, and many other shapes! I then stuck them in the fridge so they could set. It was very labor intensive, but really fun to make. 

I'm glad I finished up all my baking in time to mail everything out, and I hope my friends really enjoy their treats!

Pumpkin Spice Latte Bundt Cake with Espresso Whipped Cream

I love fall. I love the colors the leaves turn. I love the crisp air as I watch football. I love mums. I love apples and warm spices. I love the NC State fair. I love boots and sweater dresses. But most importantly, I love PUMPKIN. Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Lattes, International Delight Pumpkin Spice creamer, Krispy Kreme pumpkin donuts, pumpkin pie, pumpkin muffins (not pumpkin cream pasta sauce though...attempted to make that once and it was a disaster, so never again!), pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin bread, pumpkin butter bars, etc. You kind of get where I'm going with this.

So, while trolling Pinterest I found a recipe for a Pumpkin Spice Latte Bundt Cake recipe, that included a recipe for homemade espresso whipped cream. My mouth instantly started watering. I love a simple bundt cake...way easier than a regular cake, plus it has a fun shape to it. And this one, my friends, was a winner. Most importantly, hours later, my apartment still smells of delicious pumpkin and spice.

You start by combining 2 cups flour, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt, and 2 tsps pumpkin pie spice in a medium mixing bowl.

In your mixer, combine a softened stick of butter (1/2 cup) and 1 cup sugar for 2 minutes until light and fluffy.

After adding in two eggs, you'll add in 1 cup of pure pumpkin puree.

Then add in half the flour mixture, 1 cup milk, and then the rest of the flour mixture, mixing until incorporated after each addition.

Once your batter is prepared, pour it into a greased bundt pan, and pop it in the oven at 350 for 50-55 minutes! Easy peasy!

The espresso whipped cream was the easiest thing to make too. You just combine 2 cups cold heavy whipping cream, 3 tablespoons sugar, 2 tablespoons ice cold coffee (I used some Starbucks...it's not technically espresso, but it's what I have ha), and 2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder.

Just mix with your whisk attachment on your mixer on high speed for 4-5 minutes (tip: start on a low speed and as it stiffens, increase the speed).

And then you slice yourself a piece and top it with some whipped cream and OH.EM.GEE.

Seriously amazing. It really does taste almost like a PSL (with a hint of cocoa from the whipped cream). The cake is dense, yet moist, the absolute perfect texture. I kind of wish I hadn't told one of my coworkers I was bringing it in to the office tomorrow morning because I would totally have kept it and eaten all of it myself all week!

Thanksgiving Baking

Yesterday was one of the biggest eating holidays there is. With all the turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, macaroni and cheese, rolls, and deviled eggs, you end the day pretty stuffed. BUT you can't forget about dessert!

The classic Thanksgiving dessert is pumpkin pie. This year, I decided to do a different take on it, and made apple butter pumpkin pie! Everyone knows how much I love apple butter, and that plus pumpkin? How can you go wrong? You can't! I've made this recipe in the past, so I was looking forward to making it again.

Now, I suck at making pie crusts, and until I get a food processor, I refuse to try again. So instead, I did cheat and used pre-made pie crusts. I used a 9inch pie pan, and laid the crust into the pan, and attempted to crimp the edges. It didn't work too well, but it's good enough.

Then, in a bowl, I combined one can of pumpkin, half a cup of apple butter, half a cup of brown sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves.

I then slightly beat 2 eggs and another egg yolk to add into the bowl of ingredients.

After the eggs are combined into the other ingredients, I stirred in half a cup of whipping cream.

Once the cream was completely combined, I poured the filling into the crust. I then used strips of aluminum foil to cover the crust for the first half of baking so that it wouldn't burn.

I baked the pie for 20 minutes at 375 degrees, and then took the aluminum foil off, and baked for another 35 minutes.

The apple butter gave the pie a deeper color, which I loved. And it also mutes the pumpkin so it's not overly pumpkin and makes it a tad sweeter, and adds in an extra spice flavor. I loved it!

I also made my usual sugar cookies! These cookies are great because they're not overly sugary.

First you combine four cups of flour with two teaspoons of baking powder and set aside.

Then in your mixer, cream 3/4 cup butter that's been softened to room temperature with 1.5 cups of sugar.

You want to have it mix for a couple minutes until it's light and fluffy. Then add 2 eggs and 2 teaspoons vanilla.

Once that's all mixed together, you add in the flour mixture in thirds to create the dough!

Now, once again, I had dry dough on my hands. There was no way in it's current state I'd be able to form the dough, roll it out, and cut it into shapes. So I used my handy water trick and added in about half a cup of water. This helped bring it to the perfect consistency! Once the dough was formed, I rolled it out in sections (making sure to flour the counter and my rolling pin so that it wouldn't stick), and cut out some cookies! I decided to go with the leaf cookie cutter seeing as how it is the fall.

You don't have to spread the cookies very far from each other on the cookie sheet, because they don't spread out or get much bigger in the oven.

I baked each batch for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees until they were a perfect light golden on the bottom. It's been pretty exact baking every time I make them, so I don't even really have to check them.

The frosting is super simple, I just use confectioner's sugar and water. I don't have any exact measurements for this, I just add more confectioner's sugar to make it thicker, or more water to thin it out. I just used a spoon to frost the cookies, and I did leave some without frosting in case that's what people preferred.

It was some long baking but definitely worth it. There was something very calming about rolling out cookie dough (totally strange, but I think it's a good sign that I picked the right hobby if it makes me feel that way). And the leftover pie in my fridge is totally worth it!

Pecan Pumpkin Butter Bars

So I was finally able to bake for the first time in a couple of months. It definitely felt good to be back in the swing of things with my favorite hobby. And since it's fall, and one of the best things about fall is pumpkins, I decided to make some Pecan Pumpkin Butter Bars. I wait every year for Williams-Sonoma to sell their Pecan Pumpkin Butter because it makes a perfect bar! 

Since the jars are small, I usually make half the size of what I normally make for apple butter bars, so I just use an 8x8 pan. I make the same crust that I do for the apple butter bars because, let's face it, it's pretty awesome and perfect and really delicious. 

You start with flour, baking soda, and salt.

And then you add in the quick cooking oats

And then sugar, and my special addition of cinnamon!

And once you melt the butter...

You stir it in to the oat mixture to create the crust!

I packed half of the mixture onto the bottom of pan. You want to make sure it's thick enough for you to be able to pick it up and eat the bar without using a fork.

And then you take one jar of the deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelicious Pecan Pumpkin Butter and spread it across the bottom crust.

And top it with the rest of the oat mixture. You want to make sure the lightly press it into the butter because it helps to create a more solid top crust which is also better for handling.

And then after baking for an hour, it's time to eat!!

The amazing thing about these bars is the pumpkin taste is ever so slight. It's not overpowering or intense, it is just the right amount of fall in your mouth. I'm definitely a huge fan of these. And I bought two jars so that means there's another batch in my future. The ones I made this time around I'll be taking to work, so hopefully they will enjoy them!