Holiday baking season starts with festive loaves of bread
Thanksgiving seems to be the official start of the holiday
season, and for many it is the official start of holiday cooking.
After hours and hours of cooking last Wednesday and Thursday for
Thanksgiving, I decided to spend parts of Friday and Saturday to
keep the momentum going.
Holiday baking season starts with festive loaves of bread
Thanksgiving seems to be the official start of the holiday season, and for many it is the official start of holiday cooking. After hours and hours of cooking last Wednesday and Thursday for Thanksgiving, I decided to spend parts of Friday and Saturday to keep the momentum going.
When I was a kid, we would bake sugar cookies cut out in holiday shapes that we would decorate with a glaze of powdered sugar and food coloring. The Christmas trees, Santa Clauses and reindeer shapes would be set out for visiting family members on Christmas Eve, with a few set aside for Santa himself. When I was in college and then working at San Jose State University, I always had a couple weeks off at the holidays so some of the annual baking fell to me.
The last few years, though, with everyone working right up until Dec. 24 we let our baking tradition fall to the wayside. But this year, my mom said several weeks ago she has had an urge to bake. So we stocked up on flour, sugar, and other essentials in preparation.
We started out our last Friday when my mom, sister and I made rum balls. We got the recipe from a colleague of my mom’s many years ago and we’ve made it most holidays since. This year we decided to experiment with the recipe, which requires no cooking, but a little bit of patience. We swapped out the traditional walnuts for macadamia nuts. Now the rum balls are stored so they will be ready to serve just in time for Christmas.
We also baked a few loaves of sweet bread that we will share with friends and relatives throughout the holiday season. The apricot pecan white chocolate bread includes dried apricots from local B&R Farms. The double-decker pumpkin bread used up an extra can of pumpkin we had left over from Thanksgiving.
Here are a few recipes to get started and more will follow in the coming weeks, including some for tamales next week, and cookies the following week.
Rum balls
1 1/2 c. macadamia nuts (other nuts can be used such as walnuts, hazelnuts or pecans)
1 1/4 c. finely crushed vanilla wafer cookies
2 c. confectioners sugar (1 1/2 c. reserved)
2 tbsp. cocoa powder
2 tbsp. light corn syrup
1/4 c. light rum
Over low heat toast the macadamia nuts lightly. Set aside.
In a food processor, finely crush the vanilla wafer cookies and the macadamia nuts. Mix with ½ c. confectioner’s sugar, cocoa powder, corn syrup and rum. The mixture should be just moist enough so that the dough can be rolled into balls that hold their shape.
Roll each ball in the reserved confectioner’s sugar until it has a light coating. Store the rum balls with the leftover powdered sugar in an aluminum tin or in ziplock bags. Store for three to four weeks in a cool, dry place before serving. They will be ready just in time for Christmas or New Year’s Eve.
Makes about 3 dozen small rum balls
Apricot pecan white chocolate bread
Recipe courtesy of Better Homes and Gardens
1/2 c. snipped dried apricots
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 c. milk
1/4 c. cooking oil
1/2 c. chopped toasted pecans
1/2 c. white baking pieces
In a small bowl, combine dried apricots and enough boiling water to cover. Let stand for 15 minutes; drain.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan with foil, extending foil over edges of pan. Grease foil; set aside. In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in center of flour mixture; set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine egg, milk, and oil. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy). Fold in pecans, baking pieces, and drained apricots. Spoon batter into the prepared pan.
Bake for 60 to 65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
Use the foil to lift bread out of pan; remove foil. Cool bread completely on wire rack. Wrap and store overnight before slicing. Makes 16 servings.
Double decker pumpkin bread
Recipe courtesy of Better Homes and Gardens
1/2 of an 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. sugar
1 8-ounce carton dairy sour cream
1 egg
2 tbsp. finely chopped crystallized ginger
3 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. sugar
4 eggs
1 15-ounce can pumpkin
1 c. cooking oil
1/3 c. water
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease the bottoms and 1/2 inch up the sides of two 9x5x3-inch loaf pans; set aside. In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese and the 1/4 cup sugar. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until combined. Add sour cream and the 1 egg; beat until combined. Stir in the crystallized ginger; set aside.
In another medium bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, the ground ginger, the nutmeg, and salt; set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the 2 cups sugar, the 4 eggs, the pumpkin, oil, and water. Beat on low speed until combined, scraping side of bowl occasionally. Gradually add flour mixture, beating until combined.
Spoon 1-1/2 cups of the pumpkin batter into each of the prepared pans. Divide the cream cheese mixture between pans, spreading evenly. Spoon the remaining pumpkin batter onto cream cheese mixture, spreading evenly.
Bake for 60 to 70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove bread from pans. Cool completely on wire racks.
Wrap and store in the refrigerator overnight before slicing. Store any leftover bread in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Makes 32 servings.
