With only a few days left until Christmas, there’s not a lot of time to bake and decorate more cookies – but that doesn’t mean it isn’t possible! Go ahead and whip up a quick batch of sugar cookies, and grab a squeeze bottle. No royal icing involved — it’s so much easier than you think.
Since going gluten-free, doughnuts are one of the things I miss most during the holidays. Each year, on December 26, my grandfather would wake up before everyone else and make his way to the local doughnut store. He’d bring back a bakers’ dozen of every kind of sugary treat. As each of us awoke, sleepy-eyed, stepping over boxes and leftover ribbon, we would reach into the box for something sweet and find our way to a cup of coffee or tea. We’d sit and laugh and dunk our doughnuts, savoring the moments before we knew it was time to clean up the festive disaster left over in our living room.
For the last seven Christmas Eves, I have made the gingerbread cake Claudia Fleming made famous during her time at Gramercy Tavern. The first year, I was so excited about it that I made it twice, first, for the holiday and then so I could tell you all about it because I think we all know that a Deb-fitted torture chamber would be me making some awesome cooking discovery and not being able to run to the internet to tell you about it immediately.
But every year after that, it’s given me a hard time. At first, I shrugged it off — a chunk stayed behind in the pan, I pasted it back on and showered the cake with an extra blizard of sugar “snow.” Two chunks stayed behind, we teased it for its lopsidedness while eating it with no-less-diminished vigor. But it didn’t get better from there. I assumed it was my greasing technique; maybe this cake was no match for my beloved Baker’s Joy? I doubled-down on the buttering and the flouring and was rewarded with the cake equivalent of a gap-toothed 6 year-old. I did the same but gave it 20 minutes to set in the freezer; it mocked my efforts. I switched to the Crisco my mom swears by for pan release; the hungry hungry bundt still ate a third of the cake. I questioned the half-life of factory-applied nonstick coating, but it was hard to ignore that the same coating was mighty effective at releasing other cakes. Finally, I pulled in the big guns, this mix of shortening, oil, and flour many more talented bakers than myself swear by; the situation was so bad that year, I had to make this cake at the last minute instead.
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While it’s great to buy specialty products from the maker in person, sometimes that’s just not possible. (We don’t all live near a farmers market.) So to appreciate the full scale and variety of today’s artisanal offerings, you have to go online. These seven marketplaces have you covered.
Many people tend to get excited about smoothies in the summer, when fresh berries and stone fruits are at their best. Not me. My blender usually gathers dust in the summer months (I never let those fresh berries sit long enough to make it into a smoothie), but in the winter, my body craves cool, creamy, fruit-laden drinks. And this smoothie in my current go-to.
From decorated sugar cookies to gingerbread men, Christmas cookies are this season’s sweetest addition. They have a place at cookie swaps and weekend fêtes, but there’s no time that a plate of cookies are more welcome than when you’re trimming the tree.
As you get ready to put the finishing touches on your Christmas tree, here are 10 holiday cookies to make the task even sweeter.
Let’s face it — hosting a holiday meal is a lot of work, usually relegated to one or two people spending hours in the kitchen. But if the point of the holidays is to spend more time with friends and family, why not make Christmas dinner an all-hands-on-deck affair instead? Making tamales is a Christmas tradition in many Mexican households, and a tamale party is the perfect way to have everyone pitch in to make a special meal together.
Cinnamon is one of those aromas that just makes us think of the holidays. Whether it’s gingersnaps baking or mulled cider simmering on the stove, we just want our homes to smell of the warming spice. That’s why I’m so in love with cinnamon dough ornaments. They are easy to make — a great project for kids — and when hung on your tree, they make the house smell of cinnamon.
Today I’m showing you how to make these easy ornaments for yourself. It’s an afternoon craft project that will fill your house with holiday cheer.
