holiday baking — Cooking During Stolen Moments

November 16, 2010 By Kate 3 Comments

Tomorrow marks one of my favorite days of the holiday season – the start of Christmas baking season. I’m getting a head start this year because our holiday celebrations are happening in two waves. We’ll be visiting my family in Chicago for Thanksgiving (and the exchange of Christmas presents) and then we’ll celebrate Christmas with my husband’s family here in Michigan.

My grandma requests a package of homemade cookies as her gift each year. She freezes the cookies and then enjoys one or two a day until they are gone. It’s always one of my favorite gifts to give because I know how much she enjoys them. To me, it’s an honor to pour lots of love into my baking and then share with my family. I bet everyone that bakes for the holidays feels the same way too. Am I right?

But I’ll admit that as much as it’s an honor for me, I sometimes get a little stressed out by the process. Granted, that stress is entirely my fault since I choose to make so many cookies and so many different kinds. I guess that’s just part of the enjoyment for me though. It wouldn’t feel like Christmas baking without at least a little stress.

Instead of worrying about reducing the stress completely, I focus on minimizing the stress I don’t enjoy. For me, that means making sure I always have all the needed ingredients on hand and that I don’t spend a fortune stocking up on them. Fortunately, this is definitely the time of year I can bake to my heart’s content without breaking the bank.

The best way I’ve found to stay organized and on budget with my baking ingredients is a little labor-intensive, but it works year after year.

A few weeks before I start the actual baking, I write out a list of all the cookies and other goodies that I want to make. Then I go through all the recipes and write out an ingredient list that reflects how much of each ingredient I’ll need to make all of those things. That means I can start watching the ads and coupons and stock up on everything when I find it at the lowest price. I save money this way and guarantee that I don’t run out ingredients before I run out of recipes. It works every time!

How are your holiday baking plans shaping up? What is your best tip for making it as smooth a process as possible?

Candied Pecans

November 23, 2009 By Kate 6 Comments

I love candied pecans! They are great right out of the oven – hot, crispy and fragrant. Then they taste reminiscent of those nuts you can buy at from a vendor at the mall. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about.

But the nice thing about this method for making candied pecans is that they don’t have a crispy outer layer of candied goodness. While I love that, I think it keeps the nuts from being versatile and means they’re only good for snacking.

So instead, I like to use the following. It provides all the great flavor without that candied coating. These are still great for snacking. They’re also great as a salad topper, ice cream or yogurt topping or mixed in with a cereal. Although my favorite use for these pecans is in baked goods. The toasted, sweet flavor of the pecans just adds a special little oomph to everything.

You can easily make up a big batch of these and use them throughout the whole holiday season. Serve them as an appetizer or with dessert on Thanksgiving. Then store them in a tightly sealed glass jar and use for all your Christmas baking and candy making. Trust me on this – that little extra flavor will make all your baked goodies exceptionally memorable!

Candied Pecans

1 c. pecans, halves, slices or chopped
5 T. butter or margarine
1 c. sugar
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. vanilla

1. In a small skillet, add pecans and toast over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes, until fragrant. Remove pecans from skillet and set aside.

2. Add butter or margarine to skillet and melt. Stir in sugar and cinnamon. Cook until syrupy and lightly golden brown in color. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Then stir in pecans until well coated.