Christmas baking is under way!!!!!

Whoa...is it really time for me to fire up the oven again?!?!?

I am gearing up for my holiday baking marathon by starting with my Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies. The oven is on and the ingredients prepared....just have to wait for the butter to soften. Why is it that I always get the urge to bake but am then stopped in my tracks by having to wait for butter to soften?????

Once Shooter gets back from his errands, he'll have the ingredients for me to make some Angel Whispers, which are lightly lemon sandwich cookies with a lemon curd filling. I'm making two batches, one in lemon and one in lime. I'll definitely post pictures and the recipe!

I'm also going to bake my favorite spritz cookie and make all kinds of great shapes using my cookie press. Once they're cool I use royal icing to decorate them. I will share this recipe as well for you.

Candies will be made too, so don't despair!! I have chocolate peppermint truffles on the menu and also peppermint bark. Also hanging out in the freezer are several pounds of pecans just waiting to be made into cinnamon spiced nuts!

I promise to keep you guys updated on my adventures and make sure you get the recipes and pictures so that you can add them to your holiday baking menu if you desire! Or...make them all year round!

Yesterday's recipe

I wrote down the "tweaks" I made to the Everything Cookies and thought I'd post it for you.

Everything Cookies
adapted from PioneerWoman Cooks!

1 1/2 cups butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups brown sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 1/4 cups unbleached, all purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/3 cups quick oats
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups Cascadian Farms Organic Oats and Honey Granola
3/4 cup chopped macadamia nuts
3/4 cup white chocolate chips
3/4 cup Cran-raisins
3/4 cup Golden Raisins
1 1/2 cups apricots

Cream butter and sugars. Add egg and vanilla. Next whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt and then add by the spoonful to the mixer. At this point you'll want to transfer the batter to a larger bowl. Add in oatmeal and granola. Fold in pecans and other ingredients. (I used my hands as the batter is so stiff I couldn't work it with a spoon or anything) With cookie scoop or two spoons, drop onto cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 10 minutes. I made several that were "breakfast cookie" size and I baked those for about 13 minutes. This makes about 3-4 dozen cookies, so you can certainly halve the recipe.

MMMmmm....Heartwearming Banana Bread

I try to make daily visits to a wonderful food porn website called Tastespotting. There I can find pictures of delicious goodies and savory delights and wonder how I'm going to explain my weight gain to my doctor. Needless to say I saw the most appealing picture of a delicious banana bread, and thought hmmmm...that sounds just like it would hit the spot. So, I clicked on the picture and was greeted by Rasa Malaysia's website and found her receipe for a wonderful banana bread loaded with bananas.

We always have bananas left over at the end of the week at work, and I'm going to try to rescue as many of them as I can each week and create some wonderful banana recipes with them. I'm going to have fun developing new ideas.

Also, I must say that I absolutely hate my measuring cups. I got them at one of my wedding showers....almost 9 years ago. They're hateful things and I vow to get new ones. Perhaps some wonderful All-clad ones? Nah...too pricey. Anyone have any recommendations?

Oh, I decided to put these in three smaller tins thinking that it will help me with portion control. Heh...yea, I'm sure that'll keep me from eating all of it. Really, I'm a sucker for the crispy top, and this way I get three times the amount of crispy top.

I do hope you wander over to Rasa Malaysian and check out the blog. There are wonderful recipes there. Also, check out Tastespotting - you'll love it even if you just check out the pics. The great thing about it is that you can find some really great blogs out there.

Peanut Butter Cookies - Round 2

On Sunday morning, after Shooter and I decided to sleep in and be backsliding heathens and not go to church....and after my parents had headed back to Tennessee....I decided to try the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies again. Not sure why, other than I had peanut butter and chocolate chips leftover from making them before Christmas - and I was convinced I could make them better than I did the first time. Boy howdy was I right. They turned out great....which is probably a really bad thing since I've decided I'm going to try to eat right and workout more this year. Oh well....what can you do....

This time I didn't beat the stuffin' out of everything. I also only had dark brown sugar...so I used that. They were delicious....unbelievably good, delicious, soft, chewy and heavenly. Here are some new pictures that I'm definitely proud of.

Hmmm...look at that gorgeous texture, would ya?

Trust me, kids, you NEED a glass of milk with these cookies. They also make a mean ice cream sandwich.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Courtesy of Smitten Kitchen and adapted from the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook

The brilliance of these cookies is that they have include two different formats for peanuts–three if you use chunky peanut butter. They’re crisp on the outside, and almost cakey on the inside. Bake a batch and then hide the results in the furthest and most forgettable reaches of your kitchen. You’ll thank me later.

1¼ cups all-purpose flour

¾ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup peanut butter at room temperature (smooth is what we used, but I am pretty sure they use chunky at the bakery)

¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon (for sprinkling) sugar

½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup peanut butter chips

½ cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, the baking soda, the baking powder, and the salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the butter and the peanut butter together until fluffy. Add the sugars and beat until smooth. Add the egg and mix well. Add the milk and the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat thoroughly. Stir in the peanut butter chips. Place sprinkling sugar on a plate. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls into the sugar, then onto ungreased cookie sheets, leaving several inches between for expansion. Using a fork, lightly indent with a crissscross pattern but do not overly flatten cookies. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Do not overbake. Cookies may appear to be underdone, but they are not.
Cool the cookies on the sheets for 1 minute, then remove to a rack to cool completely.