Christmas Baking/Treats

[Winchester]

I mentioned in another thread that Rick is complaining about the lack of cookies in the house. So I thought I'd do a thread where we can talk about what we're making this year for Christmas and include some pictures. I love seeing pictures.

Our Cookie list (thus far):
Chocolate chip cookies
White chip and macadamia nut cookies
Cream cheese spritz cookies
Hershey's kiss peanut cookies (Rick is really hungry for these)
Rolled and cut sugar cookies
Sand tarts (Geez, but I do love sand tarts. I found a good recipe for them on Pinterest and it's a keeper)
Peanut butter cookies (Again, for Dear Richard)
And whatever else we decide on making (Rick said he really doesn't want Snicks because I make them often throughout the year)

I've been thinking about making Stollen. Rick's mom used to make Stollen at Christmas and he reminded me about it yesterday while we were working on the tree. When we were kids, our grandmother made sugared popcorn. It was just popped popcorn that she poured melted sugar over and mixed in. She made red and green, using food coloring. I think I'm feeling a bit nostalgic this year as I'm thinking about making some.

Almond brittle is on my list. I'm also thinking about making marshmallows to go with our hot cocoa.

We always roast peanuts and cashews. We get the nuts at a local distributor. I love sugared pecans.

What about you? What's on your holiday treat list?

 

[catapault]

I don't know about this year. A) I've already baked fruitcake, 18 small loaves. B) December will be occupied with multiple doctor / hospital visits for Himself as his stenting has - YAY! - been scheduled for Devember 17.

Typically I would bake

lebkuchen
rugelach
banketstaaf
springerle
mint chocolate chip

and one or two new introductions. Last year it was a chocolate espresso pfeffernusse.

I've very fond of the first four, which I only make at this time of year. The mint chocolate chip could be made at any time of year, really - though this year I'm down to whatever Andes bits I have in the freezer. Just have not seen any for sale, anywhere.

And Himself only wants chocolate chip.

 

[catapault]

Do you ever find that liking something at a grocery store is a kiss of death? My mother used to say she'd ask for something and be told "Oh we haven't had THAT . . ." and felt she was asking for a whalebone corset.

So it is with Andes baking bits. Wal-mart, Target, etc have out-of-stock notices on their on-line listings. Amazon supposedly has it. So I bought a six pack of 10 ounce packages. They freeze well (if I can find room to wedge them in) and I should be set for several years worth of holiday baking.

Why a six pack rather than one package or a duo? Because I saw that Andes has been bought by the Tootsie Roll company and something else that said "discontinued."

Whalebone corsets, anyone?

 

[Winchester]

Been there. In my case, it was the Hershey's Cinnamon chips. A few years back, our Giant had them on sale for 99 cents a bag. And, since I could see what was coming, I bought all of them. I use cinnamon chips in apple-cinnamon scones. Used my last bag last year. And nope, can't find those things anywhere. (Actually, I just went to Amazon and found twelve 10-oz bags for $32. And while I was there, I just found Hershey's Sea Salt Caramel Chips, too. Nestle's has Winter Holiday Peppermint-Filled Baking Truffle Chips. Well, dang.)

And for all you pumpkin-spice lovers, Nestle's has pumpkin-spice baking chips.

 

[di and bob]

I am making all my husband's favorites this year to share with family too ---

Haystacks (or bird's nests) with marshmallows added (with butterscotch chips, not chocolate)
Chocolate chip cookies with Christmas M&Ms
Cherry Mash bars (a Christmas favorite of everyone) Can hardly find cherry chips anymore, sometimes have to make my own with white chocolate chips, vanilla, and cherry flavoring.
Rice Krispie marshmallow treats

 

[catapault]

This afternoon I made the dough for springerle. Let sit, well wrapped in plastic wrap for an hour or so. Rolled out, embossed, cut, put on cookie sheets buttered and sprinkled with anise seeds, and carried up to guest bathroom (no guests and it is cool in there) to sit overnight to set the designs before baking tomorrow.

Prepared dough for cardamom almond cookies. Shaped two logs, rolled in chopped almonds, wrapped in wax paper then tin foil and refrigerated, to be baked tomorrow.

The Andes baking bits were delivered today! Hooray! But I put all six 10-ounce bags in the downstairs freezer. Have a half bag left from last year, and will make a batch of cookies that only needs one cup of the minty chocolate-y bits. Will prepare the dough for mint chocolate chip cookies tomorrow, then bake on Monday.

What's left . . . rugelach, if I decide to make them.

 

[Lari]

I made these hideous cookies today.

They're called sour cream cookies and they have sour cream in them. My MIL sent me the recipe. I don't know how they taste yet!

 

[di and bob]

Looks good to me! Homemade overlooks perfection!

 

[Winchester]

Lari Awww, they're cute! I bet they taste fantastic. I don't have the courage or the patience to frost cookies. Kudos!

 

[Winchester]

Awww.....Nuts! Peanuts, that is. With a pound of cashews. The top two bowls are full of roasted peanuts. The left bottom bowl is honey-roasted peanuts and the bottom right bowl is roasted cashews. All lightly salted. And they're really good! Dear Richard has been happily munching away.

 

[Lari]

Winchester - I don't either! The white ones with the frosting slathered on by spatula are mine. The colored ones that look slightly better my husband did with a knife.

 

[Winchester]

Some cookies from last week.....

The inevitable Hershey kiss cookies, with dark chocolate kisses and some sugar cookies. There were quite a bit more of the sugar cookies as I always double (triple) the batch, but these were the ones I didn't get put away right away.

Butter cookies, some dipped in chocolate fudge. I didn't have the larger tip I needed to pipe the cookies, so mine are quite a bit flatter. They still taste great....I'll get the larger piping tip for next time (and there will be a next time as they're really good). Sand tarts in the back. Peanut butter cookie cups, filled with chocolate fudge.

I also made batches of chocolate chip, peanut butter, and white chip and macadamia nut cookies. I got my snowflake cookie stamps and made sugar/shortbread cookies with them. They turned out cute, but didn't get pictures. I like stamping cookies; it was fun and the dough didn't stick to the stamps like I thought it might.

Still want to do almond brittle, but still waiting for a good day.

 

[Lari]

I want to visit your house and eat cookies.

 

[Lari]

Batch 2. We got some more cookie cutters and I tried a little bit harder.

Yes, there are Michigan shaped cookies that are yellow and blue. My husband's idea.

 

[BellaGooch]

Lari so cute!!! They look delicious... All of these cookie posts are making me want to make and decorate Christmas cookies!

 

[BellaGooch]

Some cookies from last week.....

The inevitable Hershey kiss cookies, with dark chocolate kisses and some sugar cookies. There were quite a bit more of the sugar cookies as I always double (triple) the batch, but these were the ones I didn't get put away right away.

View attachment 362450

Butter cookies, some dipped in chocolate fudge. I didn't have the larger tip I needed to pipe the cookies, so mine are quite a bit flatter. They still taste great....I'll get the larger piping tip for next time (and there will be a next time as they're really good). Sand tarts in the back. Peanut butter cookie cups, filled with chocolate fudge.
View attachment 362451

I also made batches of chocolate chip, peanut butter, and white chip and macadamia nut cookies. I got my snowflake cookie stamps and made sugar/shortbread cookies with them. They turned out cute, but didn't get pictures. I like stamping cookies; it was fun and the dough didn't stick to the stamps like I thought it might.

Still want to do almond brittle, but still waiting for a good day.

Those look SO good! I'm with Lari... I want to visit you and eat those!

 

[Winchester]

BellaGooch C'mon in! You're more than welcome! Then we'll visit Lari and eat her cookies!
Lari , they're adorable! You go!

Here are the stamped sugar cookies from yesterday. They're not perfect by any stretch, but they're cute and they taste good. I love stamping cookies. They're just finished with sprinkling of sparkling white sugar. There were more, but well, Rick......

And here's the almond brittle. Usually I cook it on the stove, using a candy thermometer. And it takes forever, or seems to. This time? I did it in the microwave! Oh my gosh, a game-changer! And no candy thermometer! That is now how I'm going to make almond brittle. It worked beautifully. I always have trouble spreading the cooked brittle on the greased cookie sheet and can never seem to get it thin enough. It's still good. And I always finish with a quick sprinkle of sea salt. That way, you get the sweet and salty. I only make it at Christmas. And it never seems to last long.

 

[Winchester]

Just took the sticky buns out of the oven. And poof! just like that, four of them were put on a plate with a huge mug of milk. Rick is on Cloud Nine. He loves sticky buns. He gave me one and kept the other three for himself.

 

[neely]

I baked one of my husband's favorites - cinnamon chocolate fudge brownies. They may not be very Christmasy but it''s what he likes.

 

[BellaGooch]

I can see why it's one of his favorites! They looks absolutely delicious!!!