#Christmasgoodies #Funtimebakingwithmom
Monday, December 16, 2014
I (Alison) took a day away from the Soap Lily kitchen today to spend time baking with my mom. We did some amazing and delicious work today. Most of this will go to work with my husband, and some will go to work with my dad. We got busy and created enough variety to tickle as many taste buds as possible. It isn't soap, but I thought I would share it with you anyway.
Orange Balls - my favorite, well okay, one of them. It canNOT be Christmastime without at least one batch of these. But I just realized that we didn't even take 1 picture of them. DARN! Trust me. These are so good!
1 box Vanilla wafers - crushed (my Ninja works like a charm!)
stick margarine - melted (I use sweet cream butter)
6 oz frozen OJ concentrate
1 box confectioners sugar
coconut
Combine first 4 ingredients and stir until well combined. Roll into balls, then roll the balls in coconut. I like to store them in the refrigerator for a short while to give them time to harden up just a bit.
Pound Cake: My husband's absolute favorite.
And this is the most delicious recipe EVER! The recipe was given to Kathy and me as a gift from a friend we worked with in our previous life (Before Soap Lily). It is his wife's recipe, and I think she guards it pretty closely, so I'll be respectful and not share it. I will say, though, that it has 8 oz of cream cheese and 6 eggs! Kathy has already made one for a party she attended, and she wrote about it in the blog, too.
Greased and floured 3 loaf pans
That piece of paper in the upper right-hand portion of the photo is my recipe. See how wrinkled and rumpled it is? It is definitely a much used recipe.
Batter is ready to go into the oven.
And this is the final view with a nice layer of glaze. My husband took 2 to work, and my dad took 1. And my dear hubby has already requested that I make one just for him. (While I was writing this, my dad called, so I asked him how everyone liked the cake. He forgot to take it to work! I think that subconsciously he wanted it for himself. It is THAT good!)
Bourbon Balls - my Christmas tradition treat. I started making these several years ago just for fun, and now must make them every year. Sometimes people will call me and specifically request them.
Usually I use Jim Beam brand bourbon, but this year my aunt had a bottle she wasn't going to use, so rather than spend more money on another bottle, I used her Evan Williams Kentucky Straight Bourbon.
I'm sure I found this recipe on the Internet somewhere, and I really HATE not to give credit where credit is due, but it has been several years and I honestly cannot remember where I found it. If I come across it, I will edit the blog.
For the chocolate, I use Bakers AND Ghirardelli - equal parts of semi-sweet and un-sweet of each brand. I am also usually a bit heavy on the chocolate and end up using more than the recipe states. Be prepared and have plenty of chocolate on hand. If you have four packages total (1 semi-sweet Bakers, 1 un-sweet Bakers, 1 semi-sweet Ghirardelli, and 1 un-sweet Ghirardelli) then you should be fine.)
See how powdery it still is? Takes a while to get all of that sugar to cream with the butter.
Mom is impatient like I am. We went ahead and added a few drops of
bourbon to get it creaming faster. This photo shows the mixture after we had added the chopped pecans. Notice that it has a texture to it?
Personally, I prefer to chop the pecans VERY finely. Again, we used the Ninja to do the chopping work. I just like the texture and taste better when the pecans are not in chunks or even small pieces. I want them to completely blend into the sugar, butter, and bourbon.
After adding the chopped pecans, roll them into balls. The balls are quite sticky, so the gloves really help. You could also keep your hands coated in powdered sugar. After rolling them, be sure to chill for 8 hours in refrigerator or chill completely in freezer.
Don't skip or rush the chilling part. If the balls aren't chilled enough, they will become
misshapen or come apart in the warm chocolate, and it will take longer for the
chocolate to harden once you dip them.
Completed Bourbon Balls, just waiting on the chocolate to harden.
Sugar Cookies - What is Christmas without sugar cookies? My recipe is one I found when my kids were very small and I had a subscription to Disney's Family Magazine. My copy is so well-used that if I scan it and paste it here, you wouldn't be able to read it, so I found a link to it on allrecipes.com.
We have severe food allergies in my household, and I knew my daughter would want a cookie or two, so I made a few substitutions to the recipe so she could enjoy them too. I used butter-flavored Crisco instead of butter (follow the directions on the can and add a couple of TBS of water), and I had to make a substitution for the eggs. Usually I use an egg replacement powder that we special order, but as we were baking at my Mom's today, and since I forgot to pack that ingredient, I had to improvise. For this I used a mixture of oil, water, baking powder, and a bit of cream of tarter for each egg. Sounds bad, but it works well, no one can tell the difference, and my daughter can enjoy the cookies.
It makes a great stiff cookie dough. I divide it in half, wrap it in plastic wrap or
wax paper, and let it chill before cutting it.
Mom had a fun shaped cookie pan, so we made one batch using it. So cute!
After that, I rolled the dough into a log shape, wrapped it in plastic wrap to chill,
and then just sliced off circles of cookie dough.
We tried a new (to us) icing recipe this year, and we really like it! The link below will take you to the page where I found it.
EASY ICING
- 1 and 1/2 cups (180g) confectioners' sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon light corn syrup*
- 2 - 2.5 Tablespoons (30-38ml) room temperature water
- pinch salt*
After we took this photo we made green and red batches of icing
and placed dots in the center of each cookie. They look so Christmas-y!
Candied Pecans - recipe from Trisha Yearwood
Oreo Truffle Balls - I had never heard of these, but just came across the idea on facebook and wanted to try them. I found a recipe at Allrecipes.com
These are so rich! If you need a chocolate hit, this will definitely do it for you!
Pine Bark Candy - At this point I had to leave to make the after-school-pick-up run and fill a +Soap Lily order. While I was gone, Mom made a batch of Pine Bark to add to our goody menu. No pictures, but the link in blue is to the recipe she used.
If you like salty and sweet, you will like this. Some call it Pine Bark candy, some call it Sweet and Saltines, but the basic recipe is the same.
So, at the end of the day, we had prepared a table full of delicious Christmas goodies for the men in our lives to share at work. The reviews have been quite favorable!
Whew! What a fun day with Mom! :-)
And my husband's break room is a happy place!
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