2013 Christmas Baking

I've spent almost all of my free time in the kitchen the past couple of weeks making lots of yummy Christmas treats. As you can probably guess, that makes me a very happy girl. I've been doling out the the goodies to friends, family, and co-workers which is what I love to do this time of year. I really haven't made anything that I'd call healthy. I've been trying to eat really healthy meals to make up for it, but haven't been all that successful to be honest. Ah well, I guess we all fall off the wagon at some point. 

I'm splitting my Christmas baking into two posts, so stay tuned for post number 2 tomorrow. I've decided to omit the nutritional information for these goodies. Just enjoy them and have a very Merry Christmas!

Gluten Free Spritz Cookies ( Cookie Press Cookies)

adapted from this recipe from Land O Lakes

2/3 C sugar

1 C unsalted butter, softened

1 large egg

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla

2 1/4 C Bob's Redmill Gluten Free flour

1. Preheat oven to 400F

2. Combine sugar, butter, egg, and salt and beat until creamy

3. Add flour and beat until mixed. 

4. Fit cookie press with template, and fill it with cookie dough. 

5. Press dough onto ungreased cookie sheet about 5cm apart. 

6. Sprinkle with colored sugar if desired. 

7. Bake until edges are lightly browned ( 7-9 minutes)

Tips: 

- Invest in a decent cookie press. I bought a cheap one, and it kept falling apart while I was trying to press the cookies which was frustrating.

- bake on the top shelf. The bottoms brown quickly if in the bottom of the oven. 

Peppermint Bark Rice Krispies Squares

1 bag marshmallows
1/4 C butter
5 C Rice Krispies (gluten free if desired)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 C white chocolate, melted
1 C dark or semi-sweet chocolate, melted
crushed candy canes, about 1/2 C





1. Melt marshmallows and butter
2. Stir in Rice Krispies and vanilla until mixed.
3. Grease 9x13 pan and your hands and press marshmallow mixture into pan and flatten with hands.
4. Drizzle white chocolate on squares, then drizzle dark chocolate on squares. Top with crushed candy canes. Let squares harden before cutting.

Hot chocolate on a Stick
adapted from this recipe by "The Dessert Spot"

8 oz good quality semi sweet chocolate
1/4 C cocoa
1/2 C powdered sugar
1/16 tsp salt
12 large marshmallows
12 lollipop sticks
14 candy sticks to be used as stirrers







1. Use a whisk to combine cocoa, powdered sugar, and salt together.
2. Melt the chocolate, then add the cocoa mixture and stir until combined. It doesn\t look like it will all mix in, but it will.
3. Once mixed, spoon into a small silicone ice cube mold.
4. Top each cube with a marshmallow, and add lollipop stick.
5. Allow to harden completely, then package as desired if giving as gifts.
6. To enjoy hot chocolate, heat one cup of milk of your choice until its steaming. Do not use water. Stir in the hot chocolate on a stick until completely dissolved. To add extra flavour and sweetness, stir with a candy stirrer.

Gluten Free Peanut Butter and Jam Thumbprints

adapted from this recipe by Elana

3/4 C peanut butter (just peanuts)
1/2 C sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 C gluten free Bob's Redmill flour
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 C raspberry jam

1, Preheat oven to 350F
2. Cream peanut butter, sugar and egg until mixed and smooth.
3. Stir in flour and salt.
4. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
5. Make balls with about 2 Tbsp of dough, then place on cookie sheet. Make a large thumbprint in the center of each cookie. You may need to form the shape of the cookies to make sure they don't fall apart at this point. Fill each thumbprint with raspberry jam.
6. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before removing from cookie sheet.
7. Once completely cool, store in the fridge.

Mom's Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing

This was the first time I made and used royal icing, and I probably didn't let it set long enough before packing up the cookies, but now I know that when it says, leave it for 30 minutes, that you should actually leave it. I'll be making some more over the next few weeks, so there's time for improvement. My Mom's sugar recipe is my favorite. It's crispy, yet melt in your mouth and of course its that familiar taste of home. She always uses butter cream icing, which I love, but I felt like trying the royal icing for a change. It's definitely a little more difficult to work with. It starts to harden when its exposed to air so you really have to work quickly. If you're not going to use it right away, package it in a sealed Ziploc baggie with the air removed or in a bowl covered with a damp towel. You can do lots of fun things with color, but I decided to do mostly white this year, and I liked the results. I got the idea from the cover of a magazine. 

 Mom's Sugar Cookies

1 C butter
1 C sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon extract
41/2C flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cream of tarter
1 C icing sugar
1 C canola oil

1. Cream butter and sugar. 
2. Beat in eggs, one at a time until light a fluffy. 
3. Add oil, vanilla, and lemon extract. Beat until well mixed. 
4. Sift dry ingredients together and add to creamed mixture.
5. Wrap and chill dough for several hours or over night. 
6. Roll the dough and cut with cookie cutters. 
7. Bake at 325F for 8-10 minutes. 

Royal Icing

2 C icing sugar
2 Tbsp meringue powder
3-4 Tbsp water

1. Using the paddle attachment for your mixer, beat ll ingredients together at high speed until smooth and thick. 
2. If desired, add coloring. 
2. Immediately transfer to a resealable bag and either refrigerate or pipe onto the cookies. If using sprinkles and other decorations, quickly add them before the icing hardens.
3. Let cookies set for 30 minutes. 



Nutritional info per cookie for 96 cookies (without icing)  

cal 76.5
fat 4.4g
   sat fat 1.5g
carbs 8.7g
    fiber 0.2g
    sugar 4.1g
protein 0.7g

Black Bean Pumpkin Burgers

Before the sugary goodness that will come over the next few weeks, I wanted to share a healthy recipe that you can make ahead and freeze. Just pop one out of the freezer, either fry or bake to reheat, and serve with a salad and you have an easy recipe for a busy evening which happens a lot this time of year.



Black Bean Pumpkin Burgers
adapted from this recipe by Sara Forte

3 small cloves of garlic
4 green onions, chopped
1/2 C pumpkin puree
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
1 C cooked quinoa
2 Tbsp ground flax
1/3 C oat flour
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

 1. In food processor, combine garlic and green onions and pulse to chop

2. Add pumpkin, olive oil, and spices and run to just combine.

3. Add quinoa, flax, and flour, and pulse a couple of times

4. Add the beans, and pulse just to combine. The beans will be chunky, and the mixture should stick together.

5. Form 6 patties with your hands. At this point, you can freeze patties for future use. Just lay them on a piece of parchment paper on a pan, and stick in freezer for about 1 hour. Then you can remove them from the freezer, and place them in a labelled Ziploc bag for easy storage.

6. If using now, heat some oil in a frying pan, and cook patties until browned and slightly crispy on each side. Alternately, you can cook in an oven. Lightly spray with oil, and place on parchment lined pan. Cook at 350 for about 8 minutes per side. I would do this if I already had the oven on cooking sweet potato fries or something. You can cook patties from frozen either way. It will just take some extra time.

Sara recommends garnishing with avocado and cilantro. I would also add a little bit of Greek yogurt to that.

Nutritional info per burger (for 6 burgers)
cal 156
fat  6.8g
   sat fat 0.8g
carbs 19.7g
   fiber 5.2g
   sugar 1.2g
protein 4.6g