The holidays have come and gone, and here it's almost February 2009! What desserts have happened in that time? Christmas, of course, inspired plenty of baked goods and candies.
- Sugar cookies - we made these traditional cookies in several festive shapes (angels, bells, reindeer, large and small stars, snowflakes, trees), and used lemon juice to flavor them. This was a departure from years past, in which we gave the cookies a hint of vanilla. I plan on returning to vanilla in future years, as the lemon was an unexpected bit of tartness in a season of cozy, warm, spiced flavors. We tempered the tartness by coating the cookies in red and green sugar. The cookies were rolled slightly thicker than in years past, which meant there was more cheery deliciousness per bite!
- Peanut candy - these candies are so simple, yet so addicting! I can sum up the recipe in four sentences. (1) Put equal parts semi-sweet chocolate and butterscotch chips in a casserole dish; microwave them until they melt. (2) Mix the melted chips into a smooth mixture. (3) Pour a jar of peanuts into the casserole; mix them around until they are coated by the chocolate-butterscotch mixture. (4) Spoon dollops of candy-coated peanuts ono wax paper, and let them cool. Voila! I'll admit, I hoard these...and still have a handful or so pieces left.
- Cranberry coffee cake - this holiday breakfast classic is a typical sour cream coffee cake flavored with almond extract, with whole-berry cranberry sauce swirled throughout the better. The baked cake is then topped with an almond-flavored glaze. Put a sprig of holly in the center, and it looks like one of those classic Christmas puddings - but fortunately, it tastes much better! Yum.
- Dancing Deer Baking Company cookies - yes, commercial baked goods were consumed in addition to the homemade treats. We tried several different cookies. The best were the Molasses Clove cookies, which are moist, sugary, and spicy; these will become a fixture of Christmases future! The Holiday Shortbread comes in three flavors and multiple shapes (vanilla, chocolate, and snickerdoodle; stars, snowflakes, and drop); they were okay, but a bit dry. I liked them best dipped in hot cocoa! The Gingerbread Folk were rather lackluster. As you can see, there was a variety in the quality of the baked goods, but all of them were beautifully packed. I am a sucker for stylish tins and boxes; Dancing Deer wins on both fronts. I'd be interested in trying their other products, particularly their brownies and blondies. Also, their Valentine's cookies are so cute!
Since Christmas, I have baked a few items - Funfetti cupcakes and my classic Epic Brownie recipe for work events, and a cherry brownie recipe as a test to see if it was party-worthy. The best parts of baking and frosting with Funfetti are the colorful sprinkles that are embedded in the cake mix and sprinkled on top of the light pink frosting. The cheerful colors and bright vanilla flavor make Funfetti an easy crowd-pleaser. The Epic Brownies will receive an entry of their own in the future - yes, they are that good! :-P The cherry brownie recipe is similar to the chocolate-raspberry fudge cake baked in December, but slightly better. Better does not mean there will be a repeat baking, however. The sour cherry flavor, imparted by yet another Stonewall Kitchen jam, is really good, but the chocolate flavor isn't as strong as I would have expected from 8 ounces of baking chocolate. Also, the brownies are cakey rather than fudgy. I have had enough of baking with jams!
Here's hoping 2009 will have plenty of good dessert stories to share with you. :-)
