holiday baking – In Good Taste

Pumpkin Cranberry Bread

Maris Callahan — Sat, 19 Nov 2016 02:00:09 +0000

When I was in first grade, my class had a Thanksgiving party in which I was responsible for bringing cranberry bread. My mom made it with a boxed mix and I suppose it went over well with the six year old crowd, because every year thereafter, I would make cranberry bread — or pumpkin cranberry bread — for our family’s Thanksgiving dinner. At some point in my early twenties I graduated from baking cranberry bread from the boxed mix to baking cranberry bread from scratch. Over the years, I’ve come to believe that the ingredients you use in your cooking will play a huge role in the quality of the final product. That means fresh citrus juices instead of bottled, high quality herbs and spices and Bob’s Red Mill organic unbleached white flour (grab your own with this coupon from the brand). Organic Unbleached White Flour is freshly milled from Organic hard red wheat. Both the bran and the germ have been removed leaving the endosperm that is made into white flour. It is not enriched with any additives. This is the same high protein flour used by professional bakers and produces high, well-textured loaves of bread equally as well as […]

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Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Maris Callahan — Tue, 22 Dec 2015 16:58:35 +0000

These classic chocolate crinkle cookies have a crisp, crackled exterior rolled in powdered sugar and are dense and chewy inside. I find the saying, “the best things in life are free” to be extremely misleading. In my opinion, especially if you ask me this time of year, the best things in life are chocolate. These chocolate crinkle cookies are perfect for a holiday cookie tray, cookie swap, office party or any occasion that could potentially warrant two dozen cookies between now and the end of the year. I realize that these are called “crinkle” cookies because as they bake, they puff up and crinkle, but I can’t say “crinkle” without thinking of the Santa Claus moniker Kris Kringle. So now, these will forever be known to me as Santa Claus cookies but don’t let that stop you from making them long after Christmas. These chocolate crinkle cookies are definitely on the sweeter end of the spectrum, but have a deep rich chocolate flavor that’s going to make you want to reach for more than one. Or, maybe I’m just projecting. To me, these cookies might speak to Kris Kringle, but their powdered sugar exterior make them the perfect winter cookie to enjoy whenever […]

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Iced Eggnog Cookies

Maris Callahan — Mon, 21 Dec 2015 05:07:53 +0000

Eggnog lovers can take their holiday spirit to go now with these cookies, made with lots of warm spices, eggnog and finished with buttery, rum-laced icing. I love Christmas. Though I was raised by one Jewish and one Catholic parent, I’ve never identified with either religion and to an extent, have even struggled to fit spirituality into my life. I find the history of religions fascinating and of course, respect those who practice it, but I’ve never identified with the principles of either religion that I was exposed to growing up. Religion is a highly personal topic, and you probably came here for a cookie recipe, so instead of waxing on about what I don’t believe, I want to talk about what I do believe in: tradition, gratitude, love and celebration. I understand the religious significance of Christmas, and I realize a lot of people oppose the commercialization of a day that is supposed to be extremely holy, but I love the ceremony around the season: I think the decorations are beautiful, I love hosting and attending holiday parties, baking and sharing holiday treats and shopping for gifts that will make other people smile. I also love tradition and learning about how my friends and […]

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Peppermint Mocha Brownie Cookies

Maris Callahan — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 13:00:00 +0000

Even if you’re not a big cook or baker I am going to go ahead and guess that the words “holiday” and “baking” will appear in your vocabulary at some point before you change your calendar page from December to January. No matter what holidays you celebrate, cookies bring a smile to anyone’s face – especially when they’re packed with seasonal flavors like peppermint, almonds and cranberries. My current favorite cookie is one that I invented on a whim when my friend Jennifer sent me a stash of flavored Starbucks VIA, which is quite possibly my favorite product ever invented. These cookies are perfect for grown-ups, but kids with a taste for coffee might like them too. Eaten warm from the oven, they have a soft texture, almost like a fudge brownie but as they cool, they will turn to a more cake-like consistency. If you need a dessert or homemade hostess gift to bring to a holiday party, serve a dozen of these cookies in a festive, silver tin lined with parchment paper. With a touch of mocha, hints of peppermint extract and of course, the rich chocolate you crave throughout the holiday season, these cookies will be sure to land you on everyone’s […]

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