Friday, December 5, 2014

Getting Prepared For The Holidays–My Favourite Christmas Baking

 

Happy Friday everyone! As usual, Sam’s monthly update just isn’t ready to post yet! That kind of post takes time! Not to mention I have to keep pinching myself over the fact that he is 8 months old now! I see him maturing and becoming more of a “little boy” each day.

One thinf is for sure, Christmas has hit our household! We are officially in Holiday mode! A big part of that is because next Sunday my family is doing our Christmas get together. Turkey, gifts and the whole bit. The 14th seems SO early to me but there is literally no other day that suits everyone until after the New Year! That means that presents need to be bought and wrapped and baking has to be completed! I feel like I am breaking my Christmas’ down into two parts. First one on the 14th of December and everything else at the normal time.

Either way, my big project for this week was finishing my Christmas baking! It is one of my favourite parts! I make only a select few favourites of the family. Here is what I’ll be serving up this year!

1. The traditional short bread cookie with a cherry in the middle!

You can’t go wrong with this favourite! To me, it’s better eaten when frozen! This recipe is pretty ancient and was originally the hand written one my Mom used for years! It’s still going strong and is used in my own home every year!

christmas 1

2. Another must have one our Christmas cookie plates every year were little peanut butter cups with chocolate centres! My brother preferred his frozen, where I liked mine microwaved for a  few seconds! Again, a recipe passed down from my Mom that was written on a Kraft peanut butter jar!

peanut butter cup

3. The newest addition to our holiday treats is maple brown sugar fudge! Fudge was never something that I was a big fan of but when I met Ryan I realized it was a favourite of his! I tried a few recipes until I found the one that he liked the best! I wrote a whole post about it here!

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4. Sugar cookies with royal icing is a treat that I first tried when Ryan and I hosted a Superbowl party! I gave these cookies a try and ended up loving the artistry that goes into making them!

With practice, my decorating skills has greatly improved! My favourite recipe comes from good ol’ Martha Stewart!

5. Last but not least, cookie bark! One of my favourites and usually a crowd pleaser as well. The best part? It is SO easy to make! You can find the recipe over at the Kraft website here!

Christmas baking and sweets is usually part of every persons holiday experience! I have so many memories from helping to bake and then consuming the delicious treats! What are some that you make every year?

Happy Friday!

xo

4 comments:

  1. I am doing some more baking this weekend, I want to do up trays for teachers and daycare and stuff...because I like doing it! I always pick the cherries off the shortbread but I made some plain ones the other day and its just not the same without the cherry!

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  2. I'm sorry, where is the mention of Christmas worms? And how come I never heard of this Hamilton Family Christmas worm tradition until this week? LOL
    Baking is one of my favourite parts too. Each year I try a few new recipes, trying to create my "own" specialties (not repeats of what Mom makes). I feel like I'm getting there with my own collection! lol

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  3. I just baked 7-layer squares and chocolate crinkle cookies. I'm totally snagging that shortbread recipe though ;)

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  4. I make miniature ambrosia fruitcake muffins. They are more like a cherry filled, coconut and walnut muffin. I won a baking contest with them once. I don't have time to bake, and am grateful that the UCW is making cookies, and Elizabeth gives me some as a gift.

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