Monday, December 25, 2006

Merry Christmas

Happy holidays, my darling friends! I hope yours has been as enjoyable and delicious as mine. I am currently awaiting dinner. Christmas dinner. One that I do not have to cook. That just makes it even better. We are being very un-Christmas-y this year and will be dining on Salmon, Green Chili mashed potatoes, and fondue for dessert. Yum!

This Christmas was a cooking jackpot. My mom outdid herself with the gifts. I received an All-Clad sauce pan, Kitchen Aid can opener and tea kettle, silicon spatulas, wine bottle opener, martini glasses, gluten-free cookbooks, and so much more. My mom loves to cull through all of the housewares at T.J. Maxx and Homegoods to find great deals on high quality cooking equipment. She did good. She even ordered me a little extra something from Cafe Press. Yes, that's right, she bought an apron from Karina's designs. Gluten Free Diva! She thought it was silly, but I love it. Karina, too fantastic.

So for you, my friends, I give the gift of recipes. (I know, not too creative on a food blog, but what can I say?) I have to admit to not being a clean cook. I make quite a mess. It drives mom crazy. The idea of cleaning up as I go along is a foreign concept for me. We started with macaroons from Mike's book. Very good recipe. I liked the addition of cinnamon. You want the recipe? Buy his book! I made Kolachkis with apricot filling. My faves! I used the Kinnikinnick pastry flour. Nice and light for the delicate dough. Sorry, the recipe is a top secret family recipe. No sharing allowed!

I did make two treats I can share. One was posted on Fancy Toast (Erielle's blog). Chocolate Cherry Cookies. I substituted Pamela's Pancake and Baking Mix for the flour and such. They were great. If you make them be sure to keep out only the amount you will eat in two or three days. They get stale fast! The dried cherries aren't cheap, but they are worth it.

The other recipe is for Pumpkin Gingerbread. I found it on recipezaar. I wanted to bake bread for all of my friends for Christmas. I couldn't make it full of wheat flour and taste test it. No sireebob. So of course I made a GF version first. Pamela came to the rescue again. (You know, one of these days I am going to get ambitious and make my own flour mix.) I made mine in muffin tins so that it would be easier to freeze them in single serving sizes.


Pumpkin Gingerbread

1/2 cup soft shortening
1/2 cup
sugar
1
egg
1 cup sour milk
1/2 cup thick
pumpkin (strained)
1/2 cup
dark molasses
2 1/4 cups Pamela's Pancake and Baking Mix
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon
cinnamon

Mix thoroughly shortening, sugar and egg.
Blend molasses, sour milk and pumpkin together.
Sift flour, soda, salt, ginger and cinnamon together.
Combine all mixture and beat until smooth.
Pour into well-greased and floured 9-inch square pan.
Bake 45 to 50 minutes at 325 degrees F.


Enjoy!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

My family loved the pumpkin gingerbread. I shared it with them this past weekend. Thank you!

Mike Eberhart said...

Sounds like you have been busy. It's always nice to have some free time to bake and try out new recipes. Looks as though you ended up with quite a selection for the holiday feast!

Lynn Barry said...

Happy New Year!