Christmas Bread in February

In December, I buy bags of fresh cranberries.  They are beautiful, those red, shiny berries, looking like Christmas decorations in the produce department.  I can't pass by without putting a bag or two in my cart.  What doesn't get used right away, gets tossed in the freezer.  They last a long time. 

I make my own cranberry sauce (it's so easy) and use the others in a  variety of baked goods.  I adore the fresh, tart taste of cranberries.  Just in case, like me, you find yourself with some extra cranberries to use, today I'm going to share a recipe for one of my favorite holiday breads (you know, one of those breads that should really be called cake), using fresh cranberries and other dried fruits of your choice.  This is the closest thing to fruit cake that I make, that doesn't taste like fruit cake.  There's no candied fruit in this, just lots of cranberries, dried fruit and nuts.  Toasted with butter, it makes a fine breakfast, or a little slice with a glass of milk, hot chocolate or hot tea serves as a great afternoon pick me up. 

Dry ingredients go in a big bowl, along with fresh orange zest.

Four beautiful fresh eggs go in a second bowl, along with milk and melted butter.

I made a well in the dry ingredients and poured the wet into the dry.  All of this comes together with hand mixing.

The fun part is deciding what goodies I want to use in the bread.  I use pistachios if I can, because hello, green nuts and red berries just scream Christmas.  Sometimes I use a mix of pistachios and walnuts or pecans.

I especially love dried apricots, so I always use those.  You can also use dried cherries, pineapple, figs or currants.  Really, any dried fruit works.

Naturally, the star of the show is the fresh cranberries, chopped in the food processor, to make easy work of it.

Gently fold in the fruit and nuts and stir.  Pour into greased loaf pans.  I usually make two large loaves, but this would make great mini loaves too.

What do you think?  Is that not lovely?  And it tastes good too!

Cranberry Orange Loaf

4 cups unbleached plain flour

2 cups sugar

4 t. baking powder

1 t. salt

2 t. fresh orange zest

4 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup melted butter

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups chopped fresh cranberries

1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts or pistachios (or both!)

1 cup chopped, dried fruit - choose your favorites

apricots, dates, figs, currants,etc.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease pans with baking spray.  

In large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Stir in

orange zest.  Make a well in center of flour mixture.  Set aside.

In medium bowl, beat eggs with a fork; stir in milk and butter.

Add egg mixture to flour mixture.  Stir until moistened.  Fold in

fruits and nuts.  Spoon into 2 large loaf pans.  Bake 65-70 minutes,

covering with foil for last 15 minutes.  Cool on wire rack for 10

minutes.  Remove from pan.  Cool completely.

Clementine Sugar Cookies

I've discovered that cookie lovers usually lean one way or the other in their preference for soft and chewy or crunchy cookies.  I like  soft and chewy cookies the best, as evidenced by my recipe file, but am willing to taste test all kinds of cookies, in the event that I might change my mind.  It's a sacrifice, I know, but I'm willing to make it.  

I have a favorite sugar cookie recipe that I blogged about here, and I use it whenever I want to make cut out shapes, like Christmas or Valentine's Day.  Those cookies can go either way, crunchy or chewy, depending on how long you bake them.  I usually under bake them a bit, because, you know, I like them chewy. 

Sometimes you want a sugar cookie that's fast and easy.  No rolling or cutting, just dropping on a sheet and being done with it.  This is that cookie.   But don't let the ease by which these are made fool you into thinking they're just a plain old sugar cookie, because they're definitely not.  These are made with clementines and that makes all the difference.  I've been buying these little gems by the bagfuls and they're tasty all by themselves for sure, but baking with them, I've found out is a good idea too!  These cookies are soft and chewy, coated in sugar, with an aftertaste of fresh citrus.  Doesn't that sound good?   Try them.  I think you'll like them. 

The first thing I do is zest my clementines, 

then I juice them.  

In a bowl, I mixed up the dry ingredients.

The softened butter and sugar go into the stand mixer.

After creaming the sugar and butter, I added an egg, the zest, a little orange extract and the clementine juice.  When that was blended well, I slowly added the dry ingredients.  

Using a small scoop, I made little balls of dough,

and dropped them into a small bowl of sugar, where I rolled them around until they were coated.

On to the cookie sheet they went and were baked for eight minutes.

Soft, chewy, awesomesomeness.  I've made way too many of these lately, but no one seems to mind when I send them off with a bag of cookies.  They freeze well too, and it's nice to have a little treat tucked away for that moment when you need a baked good to take some where or just want a cookie for yourself.  What's your favorite cookie?  Crunchy or chewy?    

Clementine Sugar Cookies

2 3/4 cups unbleached plain flour

1 t. baking soda

1 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

1 1/2 cup sugar

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 large egg

1/2 t. orange extract

1 t. clementine zest

2 T. clementine juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt

in a bowl.  In stand mixer beat butter and sugar until smooth and creamy.  Mix in egg,

orange extract, zest and juice.  Stir in flour mixture.  Roll dough into 1 inch balls.  Roll

balls in sugar.  Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned around edges.  Let cool on

baking sheet one to two minutes.  Cool completely on wire rack.

My Valentines Kitchen

Last weekend, I opened my kitchen to these little bakers and they turned out some pretty sweet treats.  This has become a bit of a tradition for us, and each year I do less and less as they are now very comfortable with rolling pins and cookie cutters.  Working along side kids in the kitchen, helping them learn skills, while making lovely memories, this makes me happier than you can imagine!  I don't even mind that I'm still sweeping sprinkles off my floors.

My Valentine and I made plans to celebrate at home this year.  It was a cold night and we didn't want to fight the restaurant crowds.  I made a dinner that I knew my "meat and potatoes" guy would enjoy.  He said it was better than any restaurant meal, which I'm not sure I completely agree with, but it made him happy and that's what I was going for.   Afterwards, we settled in by the fire, and watched a classic romantic movie, while doing a little chocolate dipping.   Yeah, that's what I'm talking about.  Perfect date night at home.

* You can find the cookie recipe that we used here.

Sunday Rolls

I have fond memories of Sunday meals when I was a little girl.  Stepping into the front door and deeply inhaling the scent of the roast that had been cooking while we were at church, man, that was the best. Because I don't know what it is about being at church that makes a person so hungry, but it does.  And the quicker you can get the food from the oven to the table the better!   

Sunday dinners.  I've always tried to make them a little different from the rest of the meals during the week, set apart as special in some way.  We eat in the dining room.  I set the table with pretty dishes and cloth napkins.  Sometimes we even light the candelabra.  When my kids were growing up, it was the one day we almost always had dessert.  Something sweet just seems right for the sabbath.  And homemade rolls, well, that feels pretty special too. 

I used to think that homemade rolls were just too much trouble, but like most things, the more you do it, the easier it becomes.  This used to be my Thanksgiving only recipe, but now I make them quite often and they freeze beautifully, so I can pull them out and reheat in no time.  These rolls are infinitely better than anything you can buy in the bread aisle of the grocery store.  I promise.

I use a Bosch mixer to make my bread, but of course you can do all of this by hand or in another mixer with a dough hook.  I start with warm water and add fast acting yeast, letting that sit for about five minutes to become frothy.  If this doesn't happen then your yeast may be too old, or your water too hot.  Start over.

Add sugar, shortening ( or softened butter), dry milk, salt and an egg.

I like herbed rolls, so I often add a handful of italian spices before I begin adding the flour. 

I slowly add about six cups of flour, or as much as needed until the dough starts to come clean from the side of the bowl.  Then I machine knead for about five minutes or until the surface is smooth and has a glossy finish.  Sometimes when I turn the dough onto my counter, it's a little too soft and I will knead a bit more flour into it by hand.  These are the things you discover by making a recipe over and over.  You begin to learn how it should feel, as well as how it should look. 

I cover the dough and let it rest for about five or ten minutes.

At this point, you can roll out your dough and cut it into any shape you would like.  I like knots, so this is how I do them.  I roll out the dough into a rectangularish ( I made that word up) shape and use my pizza cutter to cut down the middle and then into strips.

Take each strip and tie it into a knot.  Don't worry too much if they don't look perfect.  Even the ugly ones turn into pretty rolls.  If the strips are too long, I just cut off the ends and then use those to make more.

Brush melted butter on the rolls and place them in a draft free area to rise.  I turn my double ovens on the lowest setting while I'm mixing up the rolls and then turn them off before putting the pans in to rise.  It takes about thirty minutes for them to double in size.  It's a good idea to set a timer if your rolls are out of sight (like in the oven).  I forget to do this and when I go back to check, well, they've grown into big rolls!

I've never had anyone complain about having an extra large roll though.

Sunday Rolls

2 T. dry yeast (I like SAF instant)

2 cups warm water

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup shortening or softened butter

2 1/2 t. salt

2/3 cup nonfat dry milk powder

5-6 cups plain flour

1 egg

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, combine yeast and water.  Let stand for five minutes.  Add sugar, shortening, salt and dry milk, an egg and 2 cups flour.  Add spices if using them.  Beat together until very smooth.  Add 2 cups more flour, 1/2 cup at a time until it is well mixed in.  Knead until smooth and satiny.  Gather dough into a ball.  Use the last of the flour as needed  for rolling and shaping the rolls.  Let dough rest for ten minutes.  Cut or mold into desired shapes.  Place on greased baking sheets.  Brush tops with melted butter.  Let rise until double in size, about thirty minutes.  Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until browned on top.

The Cookie Everyone Loves

It matters little what else I bake at Christmas, as long as we have these cookies.  Each year I ask my family, if they could only pick a couple of favorites, what would they be?  Sugar cookies and poppy seed bread always top the list.  Now there are other things we enjoy too.  Like chocolate chip peanut butter cup cookies, lemon, molasses, and spritz.  Kenzie and I like fudge with nuts.  I'm usually tempted by a new recipe or two.  Last year, the Cranberry Bliss Bars were a big hit and now I want to add them to the list.  This can become a problem, adding new recipes, while still trying to hold onto the tried and true favorites.  

Each year I say I won't bake as much as I did the last year, and then I do.  It's a hard habit to break.   

I hope I will get to every yummy thing on the list, but if not, I have sugar cookies in the freezer waiting for Christmas Eve.  This family favorite came from an old Betty Crocker cookbook, and the recipe is so good, I've never felt the need to search for another one.  

Once the dough is mixed, it needs to be refrigerated for a couple of hours. Forming the dough into a disc and covering with plastic wrap, makes it easier to roll out later.  I usually mix it up in the evening and then make the cookies the next day.   

I let the dough soften for about fifteen minutes before rolling.  Unpacking the cookie cutters and reminiscing about where they came from is part of the fun.  I have some that belonged to my grandmother, as well as a few brand new ones I picked up on vacation this year.  

Roll, cut and repeat.

I bake them for five to six minutes, watching really closely not to let them brown.  If you see brown edges, you've let them go too far.  They'll continue to set up as they cool.   After a couple of minutes, move them to a wire rack.  I do all the baking before I start decorating.  If I'm going to freeze them for later use, I do it now, before the glazing process.

To make a glaze, I sift confectioners sugar and mix it with water to a consistency for dipping.  I don't want it to be so thin it runs off, nor so thick it sits stubbornly on top.  It has to be just right...

  I dip the top of the cookie in the glaze,

and scrape the excess off on the side of the bowl.

You have to work fast to get the sprinkles on before the glaze begins to harden.  This is the messy part and of course the part that kids like the best.  In our family, we have those who like the flat sprinkles, some who like the colored sugar, and others who want them naked, with no frosting or sprinkles at all!  

 Once the frosting is dry, they're ready to plate and enjoy.  Or, give  away to lucky people!

Christmas Sugar Cookies

1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 cup butter, softened

1 egg

1 t. vanilla

1/2 t. almond extract

2 1/2 cups unbleached plain flour

1 t. baking soda

1 t. cream of tartar

Mix powdered sugar, butter, egg, vanilla and almond extract.  Mix in 

flour, baking soda and cream of tartar.  Wrap dough in plastic wrap and

refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.  Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Let

dough soften a little and roll out onto floured surface.  Cut into shapes.

Bake 5- 8 minutes.