Holiday Baking

Nothing gets me in the holiday spirit like baking! I'm sure that I've mentioned before that my cooking skills are pretty mediocre (except for chili), but I happen to be really good at baking. This I find to be kind of funny because I absolutely hate desserts. I love to make them, but I wouldn't dare eat them. There are some baked goods that I like in small quantities, so that is what I usually make. I guess I'm pretty lucky because I can bake all day long and never be tempted to eat any of it. My in-laws are coming on Friday morning and since tomorrow is house cleaning day, today got to be baking day!

On Christmas Eve, we will be going to the English's Christmas party. Rather than bringing a dish, I'm bringing something much more essential, cocktails. So part of my mission today was to get my brandy slush made and in the freezer so that it will be ready for Christmas Eve. I also wanted to make gingerbread cookies, mostly so that my house would smell like gingerbread, but it is also one of the only cookies that I like. Every year, I make these sugar pecans which are seriously addicting. It is my own recipe and it is kind of an involved process, but they are so delicious. I usually make about 2 pounds of sugar pecans at a time because it is such a process and plus I like to give away bags of them as gifts.

The first item on the agenda is to make the gingerbread cookie dough because it has to be refrigerated for at least 4 hours before you can do anything with it. So I made the gingerbread cookie dough, put it in the fridge and worked on my other recipes in the mean time. Once you take the gingerbread dough out of the fridge you can either roll it out and cut out gingerbread men with a cookie cutter, or shape it into balls and make ginger snaps. I will be making regular gingerbread cookies, not gingerbread men. Cutting shapes out of the dough is a more difficult process, plus gingerbread drys out really easily especially when it is in cutout shapes and I need mine to stay good until this weekend.

"Gingerbread Cookies"

Ingredients:

3 cups flour

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup molasses

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Mix flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg and salt in large bowl.
2. Beat butter and brown sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.
3. Add molasses, egg and vanilla; beat well.
4. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until well mixed.
5. Press dough into a thick flat disk. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.
6. Shape into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
7. Bake in preheated 350 degrees F oven 8 to 10 minutes or until edges of cookies just begin to brown.

After putting my gingerbread dough in the fridge, its time to make my brandy slush! I have posted this recipe before, but I will post it again here in case anyone wants to make it. Remember that it needs to freeze for 48 hours before you drink it. So if you are interested in having it ready for Christmas Eve, then you need to make it tonight.

"Brandy Slush"

Ingredients:

1.5 cups sugar
4 teabags
12 oz. can frozen OJ
12 oz. can frozen lemonade
2 cups brandy
2 liter Sprite
2 Ziploc freezer bags (gallon sized)

Directions:

1. Heat 5 cups of water and 1.5 cups of sugar until sugar dissolves

2. Boil 2 cups of water with 4 teabags

3. Let tea cool and then add tea to the sugar water

4. Add 12 oz. can of frozen OJ and 12 oz. can of frozen lemonade

5. Add 2 cups of brandy

6. Pour mixture into 2 gallon sized Ziploc freezer bags

7. Freeze for 48 hours

8. Scoop out a cup of slush mixture, pour Sprite over it and serve

After the brandy slush is bagged and in the freezer, it is time to make the sugar pecans. I usually double the recipe so that I can make 2 pounds of pecans, instead of just one. Unlike other recipes, you can't just double this recipe and make it all together. You pretty much just have to do the process twice. So take one pound of pecans and make them according to the steps, and when those are done take another pound of pecans and do the process all over. Yes, this will create a lot of dirty dishes and take a lot of time, but it is the only way to double the recipe.

"Sugar Pecans"

Ingredients:

2 egg whites

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 lb. pecan halves

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Grease one baking sheet.
2. In mixing bowl, whip together egg whites and vanilla until frothy. In a separate bowl, mix together sugars, salt, and cinnamon
3. Pour egg white mixture into one gallon sized ziploc bag, then add pecans. Shake bag until pecans are coated.
4. Pour sugar mixture into another gallon sized ziploc bag, then add the pecans to that bag and shake.
5. Spread the nuts out on the greased baking sheet.
6. Bake at 250 degrees for 1 hour. Remove from oven every 15 minutes and stir pecans.

Now that all the baking is done, its time for me to clean the kitchen...eww, the worst part. Hope you enjoy my holiday recipes and try some of them out!

Eat, Drink and Be Merry :) Happy Holidays!