Each Christmas I seem to bake the same things--same cookies and same sweet breads--with no variety. I am thinking of doing some of the traditional (recipients expect certain goodies!) and adding two different cookies and one new bread. I enjoy baking, whether it is something I make all the time, or a new-to-me recipe. Do you bake the same goodies, or switch up and do different ones? Am I the only one in a rut?
This is the best time of year to get into the familiar rut. It's a comfy rut, and one that needs to stick as close to tradition as possible. Why bother with change when the old fashioned ways are so good, and the old fashioned recipes, as well as good old fashioned values. Surely all the new ideas are best left until Springtime.
So I never thought I would be the one to point this out, but Traditions are efficient. One does not have to reinvent the wheel every year. Are you really going to bake something better than what you have before? I doubt it. See? It saved you time!
Well this quezzie of yours reminds me of how un-traditional I am, and it extends to food as well. We do not bake very much at all, so we do not cook typically christmassy things. This means that I would urge you to go for some new and different baked things. Perhaps Scottish short bread cookies, filled speculaas cookies. Or maybe huge, soft chocolate or oatmeal cookies with choccy bits in them. Perhaps just making up something original in your own head. One thing for sure is that I would not let the expectations or wants determine what I would bake. Thus, I respectfully differ in opinion with my colleagues here. Now then, having said all that, there are traditional sweets that one eats with Sinterklaas, Easter and so forth. Are we being traditional then? No of course not, because those traditional goodies ( which I would happily eat all year round ) are available in the grocery stores only at certain times of the year. Outside of these windows of eating opportunity, they cannot be found anywhere, sadly. Folks here sometimes say, “ if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it”. Mates, if I subscribed to this theory, my gardening experiences would be fairly uninteresting. To be fair, there are some items that we do every year; however, each year is filled with new floral and veggie, growing techniques, plot changes and hours of reading, chatting and considering new things. Yeah Jane, for me the old adage guides my life and my Bride perfumes it. The adage: variety is the spice of life.
Thank you all for your opinions! That is so helpful in aiding my decisions. I am going to make the traditional, and then add a couple of "new" cookies and breads. We'll see how they are received. As I have been told "if you don't try it, you won't know". And anyway, I love to cook and bake, so I'll have fun even if others aren't so terribly pleased!
I'm going to try making dog ice cream this year. It seems easy and I'm sure our Labrador will love it. So much better than giving a dog human ice cream. It has only three ingredients: Bananas (2) Dog peanut butter - 1 tablespoonful (our peanut butter has xylitol in it which is toxic to dogs) Thick plain yogurt. Simply blend together then freeze. However just watch out for all the drool when your dog realises its for him.
Xylitol? Dog Butter? What? How can I be 56 and just learn this!? Oh -Ok its that low fat no sugar crap additive type product that my wife buys and says its good for me. No low fat no sugar peanut butter for the dog just the real thing! Got it! Man's best friend indeed! I really try hard to ignore those who seek to improve the classic originals, but obviously sometimes they break through and get my attention. I have almost broken her* of the nonsense of low fat mayonnaise. Its salesmanship though so whatcha gonna do? *DW not the puppy
Marlingardener I always stick to the same things for Christmas but if you want to do something different I'd have a trial run first to see how it turns out. I wouldn't worry about other people they should except what they get.
I'm cheering you on @marlingardener ! I hope your new cookies and bread is a hit. We Norwegians are traditional folks, but I have learned over the years that as long as we have a tin or two of julemanna (like gingerbread men but totally different recipe) in the larder and krumkake (very thin, waffle-ish, rolled into a trumpet) to go with the cloudberry cream nobody cares what we bake or don't bake. We have downsized the Christmas cookie varieties because they just didn't get eaten and we don't like to waste food.
WEll,, I was going to post this recipe in the cooking section but MG made me think ! I found a recipe for Ranch Biscuits in an old cookbook ! Re recipes are what have been used for the last century on ranches across the country ! I tried this one and was blown away at how good it is and easy ! Its similar to Angel biscuits but less trouble ! 1 pkg active dry yeast +1/2 c. warm water 4 to 5 c AP flour 1/2 c sugar 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp soda 1/2 c shortening 2 c buttermilk or sour milk Proof yeast and then mix all dry ingredients add yeast and buttermilk ! Stir all together til just mixed ! You can use it then or refrigerate and use as needed ! I stuck it in the fridge and made a pan full next day ! Lord they were good ! I made them a little big but I didn`t care ! Made me think that this recipe would make really good sweet rolls if patted flat, sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, rolled up and glazed after baking ! I haven`t tried them yet but still have half the recipe in the fridge ! Maybe tomorrow ! These are a cross between hot rolls and biscuits ! Just keep the dough in a sealed container and use as needed ! I baked at 375 for 25 minutes !
Well this is just in the nick of time! I got a package of buttermilk starter in the mail and now have a good reason to use it!
For instant buttermilk just put a TBSP of vinegar or lemon juice in whole milk and let it sit a while,, I usually throw a TBSP of sour cream in too just for the fat content ! Never tried buttermilk starter ! Usually I just buy it at the market !
My Mom was the one that did all the traditional Christmas baking, and it was always the same things that we all looked forward to every year. Thankfully a few years ago my sister started baking some of Moms recipes, but one of my favorites has been missing ... Baumkuchen, or as we called it Tree Cake. It was baked in layers and took all day to make. I mentioned it to my sister this fall, I hope she took the hint haha
