Monday, December 13, 2010

OK, that's a little better...

...I have two days of baking under my belt. Finishing my Christmas baking doesn't seem quite as impossible a task as it did on Friday.

So what did I make?
  • Almond fruitcakes
  • Pumpkin bread
  • Gingerbread loaves(more on that in a minute)
  • Spumoni cookies
  • Chocolate-Coffee Ribbon cookies
  • Mexican Wedding Cookies
  • Cherry Kisses cookies
  • Chocolate Crinkles
  • Spritz cookies
  • Coconut-Cranberry coookie
  • 12 cups of Grand Marnier pecans
I have a double batch of sugar cookie dough chilling in the refrigerator. I need to bake these next.

About the gingerbread: While I liked the recipe I made last year, I'm still looking for the ultimate gingerbread recipe. I found two candidates online: one from Food Network and one from Better Homes and Gardens. The  Food Network recipe really appealed to me and I made that one first. I doubled the recipe when I saw that it only took 1 cup of flour...I should have tripled it. It did not make very much gingerbread, only 8 mini-loaves.That's not enough.

Then I tried the BH&G recipe. I did not double this recipe as it seems like it would make a good amount. It was a little lighter colored than the Food Network recipe, but it still looks pretty good:

Gingerbread


The flavor is good, but it's just a little dry...a nice lemon frosting would set it off perfectly.

I didn't get as much baked as I wanted, but it's still really good progress.  I need to do an all-day biscotti session next weekend to really be in control of baking for the season.

We did manage to get our Christmas tree in its second stand and it is no longer wobbly. We now have the lights on it and I'm slowly starting to decorate it. Every time I walk by, I hang another ornament! The Husband hung the outside lights and put a very non-traditional Patio-Umbrella tree in the back yard. (Read: 1 patio umbrella without the cover + white icicle lights = tree.) I love it, but I kind of miss the tomato cage tree he put up last year!. LOL!

It's going to be a busy week at work, so I hope I have enough energy to decorate the house during the week.
   

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