where the secret ingredient is love
Scenes of my Christmas week… lovely, lovely, lovely.
Back home at our apartment…
At home with my family…
Merry Christmas! I hope and pray that your celebration is as wonderful as mine!
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” — John 1:14
In my family, Christmas breakfast is a big deal. Every year since I can remember, we’ll take a pause from present-opening to have a delicious breakfast of egg souffle, fruit, sausage and a special breakfast sweet bread. Growing up, our tradition was to always have an apple coffee cake. Same recipe every year. Absolutely delicious. In more recent years though, we’ve altered that strategy, experimented a little more, and have tried out new recipes.
This year is no exception. I’m not entirely sure what my mom’s plotting for our Christmas breakfast bread, but I’m sure that it will be great. [I heard rumors of cinnamon rolls, but I won’t know until we arrive home later today…] With that in mind, please consider these cranberry scones as an option for your Christmas breakfast table.
These Cranberry Scones are perfect in so many ways. Their texture is light and fluffy. Each bite is buttery and rich, with a sweet-tart kick from the cranberry and lemon zest to balance out the richness. They are incredibly easy to make and shape [at least for scones], and look fancy for guest or family without requiring an excessive stint in the kitchen. Finally, they can be frozen and baked [or rebaked]… which is a plus for any holiday morn!
Cranberry Scones [from Annie’s Eats]
Ingredients:
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a food processor, mix lemon zest, flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and baking powder. Pulse several times to combine. Add the butter piece by piece, and pulse in between each addition. The texture should resemble coarse crumbs; continue to pulse until it does. Remove to a mixing bowl.
Place cranberries and sugar in food processor. [Don’t worry about cleaning out the bowl because the cranberries will be blended with the dough soon.] Pulse a couple of times to chop the cranberries and mix with the sugar. Stir cranberries into dough.
Meanwhile, whisk together the egg, yolk, and heavy cream. Pour into the dough and stir until just combined. Form into a ball and knead together several times in the mixing bowl.
Shape dough into 3 inch balls. Place several inches apart on a baking sheet and press down slightly to flatten dough.
Bake until golden brown, approximately 15 minutes. Serve warm.
Note:
If you don’t have a food processor, feel free to use a pastry blender or two knives to mix the dough and a sharp knife to chop the cranberries.
Click here for the printable version: Cranberry Scones
Come join the fun at the My Baking Addiction and GoodLife Eats Holiday Recipe Swap sponsored by Chicago Metallic.
Question of the Day: Do you have a special Christmas breakfast tradition?
Another day of Christmas vacation, another day spent running, watching HGTV and TLC, reading, and cuddling with the kitty. Oh, and thinking about these amazing cookies. I’ve already made them twice in about a week. Does that tell you anything? Granted, I needed two batches for our Christmas goodie bags… but that may or may not have been due to the fact that once I tasted one hot out of the oven, I wanted to save some for myself. But that’s besides the point, right? Let’s get back to the cookies.
These Peppermint Sugar Cookies are Christmas in cookie form. Sugary, buttery, pepperminty. Rich, sweet, unmistakably seasonal. They may be now up there in the runnings for favorite Christmas cookie. After just one year… incredible, right?
Peppermint Sugar Cookies [from We Are Not Martha]
Ingredients:
Directions:
Crush candy canes/peppermint candies. I used a ziploc bag and a rolling pin, but you could use a food processor too. Be sure to leave some pieces on the bigger side because one of the best part of these cookies is the way the peppermint pieces melt as the cookie bakes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter and 3/4 cup sugar. Add egg and vanilla, and mix well. In another bowl, stir together flour, cream of tarter, and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients gradually, and blend until fully combined. Add 1/4 cup of the crushed peppermints and stir to combine.
In a smaller bowl, stir together remaining 1/4 cup sugar with 1/4 cup peppermints.
Now, roll dough into 3/4 inch balls and roll in the sugar/peppermint mixture. Place dough on baking sheet about 2 inches apart [otherwise the cookies will bake into one massive cookie…ask me how I know].
Bake for about 8-11 minutes, depending on how soft or crispy you prefer your cookies. Store dough in the fridge in between batches. Cool on the baking sheet for about a minute or two before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling. Makes about 24.
Click here for the printable: Peppermint Sugar Cookies
Shared at Life as Mom, it’s just Laine.
Question of the Day: What’s your favorite Christmas cookie?
I love snack food. Especially at the holidays or times when I have long breaks. Sometimes it’s more fun to eat little bits of a wide variety of many things… or is it a lot of a wide variety of many things? I’m not sure. Anyways… I was home a few weeks ago visiting my family while my husband was hanging out with his brothers for the weekend, and as usual, my mom, sister, and I spent some time cooking. My sis and I whipped up this quick, easy, and tasty snack mix… and I have to admit that I probably ate more of the mixture before it was baked than after, but that’s beside the point. What IS the point is how delicious this [appropriately named] sweet and spicy snack mix is, and how easy it was to make. The crunch is so satisfying too. This would be a great addition to your Christmas meal or party spread… but I know I’ll be making it other times of the year too! Deeelicious!
Sweet-Spicy Pretzel Mix [from Everyday Food, September 2008]
Ingredients:
Directions:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, mix pretzels and almonds. In a medium saucepan, combine butter, sugar, and cayenne pepper over medium heat. Stirring constantly, bring mixture to a boil. Remove from heat and pour over pretzels and almonds. Stir to coat. Spread on baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for 20 minutes or until mixture caramelizes; flipping every 3-5 minutes to prevent burning. Recipe can be doubled.
Click here for the printable: Sweet-Spicy Pretzel Mix
Question of the Day: What’s your favorite snack mix?
Cranberry sauce is VERY serious business. Because it’s my favorite holiday dish, like stuffing, ya know? It’s the only way I can stomach turkey or a big hunk o’ meat, as is traditional for holiday meals. And FYI… I’m not talking about that stuff in a can. I hope you didn’t think that was the case.
No, I’m talking about real, whole berry cranberry sauce. Today I’ll be sharing my two best cranberry sauce recipes, just in time for your Christmas dinner.
I love my family’s traditional cranberry relish because it’s tart and sweet at the same time. The sweetness of the citrus pairs perfectly with tangy cranberries. The Cranberry Relish is a snap to make too–from start to finish, this dish takes about 10 minutes, tops. How simple is that? Love it!
Cranberry Relish
Ingredients:
Directions:
Place cranberries in the bowl of a food processor. Add half of the orange and lime [including the rind], and pulse several times to chop. Then add the rest of the orange and lime and pulse a few more times. Pour in 1/4 cup sugar and pulse to combine. Taste and add additional sugar as desired. I usually use about 1/2 cup sugar total, but adjust to your tastes. Cover and chill until ready to serve.
Notes:
Feel free to use any type of citrus in this cranberry relish… oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruit, clementines, etc. Just be sure to remove the seeds first!
and for recipe #2…
I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical about trying a cooked cranberry sauce. It wasn’t what I had grown up enjoying. However, I am so glad I gave this Gingered Cranberry-Apricot Sauce a try. The combination of spicy ginger, sweet apricot, and tangy cranberries is fabulous! It’s unlike any cranberry dish I have ever tasted… I made it for Thanksgiving and it’s making a repeat appearance at Christmas. Yum!
Gingered Cranberry-Apricot Sauce [from Woman’s Day]
Ingredients:
Directions:
Drain apricots, reserving juice into a measuring cup. Add water to juice to make 1 cup of liquid. Chop apricots into thirds.
In a medium saucepan, combine liquid, cranberries, apricots, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1 teaspoon ginger. Stir together and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 20-30 minutes or until the majority of the cranberries have burst. Taste, and add additional sugar or ginger to taste. Cover and chill until ready to serve.
Click here for the printable: Cranberry Sauce Face/Off
Question of the Day: Cranberry Sauce… Yea or Nay?
The Pajama Chef 