we bake.
Christmas baking is also my number one, best of all, most favorite Christmas tradition. (along with Christmas Breakfast. and stockings. and tacos and caroling. and everything else.) this week is the most bakingest week of the year, so i am devoting the remaining 5 days of Christmas to it. that's right! all Christmas baking, all week long. some of my old favorites and maybe some new ones too.
tradition: when i was growing up, Christmas baking began every year where it always did: The Green Cookbook. Mom's worn-out, falling-apart green binder of looseleaf paper, magazine pages, and newspaper scraps which held all of our beloved recipes. my grandma's pretty cursive penmanship lined so many of those pages. as us girls got older, we got more involved in the baking. i can remember siting in the kitchen making a plan of attack, carefully selecting which cookies and candies would be gracing our table. (of course we had a card table temporarily stationed in the dining room to stash all of our finished products. didn't you?)
here's what could be found within the pages of the Green book.
haystacks
covered pretzels
pfeffernussen
pfeffernussen
chocolate marshmallow fudgies
rice krispie wreaths
spritz
toffee
scotcheroos
toffee
scotcheroos
sugar cookies with sprinkles
peanut clusters
fudge, of course
fudge, of course
bavarian mints
peanut butter balls
mom, feel free to chime in and remind me of the other 30 i am forgetting.
mom, feel free to chime in and remind me of the other 30 i am forgetting.
what did you grow up baking?
this year, since i am eating a little untraditionally (gaps diet), i have an untraditional baking plan! i will still make a few of the Christmas classics, but it has actually been really fun figuring out how to swing new Christmas treats grain free. it's easier than you think. i even took requests from grant and now i feel like i have too many good ideas! here's my plan so far: lime cheesecake (for grant), dark chocolate and date brownies (for me), classic peanut butter cookies (for both of us), lemon blueberry muffins (for Christmas morning), and peanut butter coconut balls (for old times sake). mmm. i can't wait!
7 comments:
I'm so with you. Baking is a must this week. I made so many cookies last night...
I am trying to make a lot of grain free stuff too and incidentally (as I'm sure you've found) lots of candy is grain free. Peppermint bark, fudge, peanut brittle, homemade marshmallows. I am such a glutton! Enjoy your baking adventures. Can't wait to see what you post throughout the week!
Hi Summer, I think this is my first comment but I've been reading (and loving) your blog for a while now.
I grew up baking tons of cookies: cookie boxes to send to family and friends, cookie decorating party and cook exchanges.
Here's what mom and I baked: spritz, springerle (German cookie), rich roll cookies (similar to white sugar cookies but better), ginger cut outs, candy cane twists...
Our favorites around here every year are peanut butter blossoms (our recipe is seriously the best i've had), chocolate chip coconut cookies/bars, russian tea cookies. Just to name a few.
Pfferneusse. (I've never seen it spelled with an N on the end before :-) ) Always, every year, no matter what other cookies or lack of cookies, there are pfferneusse. So glad to see someone else knows what they are!
yes!! Christmas baking is the BEST!!
Can you imagine the trouble we'd be in if we were neighbors?? It would be so much fun:)
Christmas COOKIE baking is one of my FAV traditions...Our must have's are: spritz, candy cane cookies, snow on the mountains, russian tea cakes, peanut butter kiss cookies, and sugar cookies with frosting. This year I had each of the kiddos select one recipe to make with me. It was some special fun one on one time baking together with each of them! Hoping to make that a new tradition.
Oh gosh, I LOVE Christmas baking! I always make cut-out sugar cookies, peanut butter with peanut butter cups/hershey kisses in the middle, peppermint chocolate crinkles, monster cookies and peanut butter fudge. I have added and deleted from this list over the years too!