Christmas Part VI: A few more recipes and a summary

It's time to wrap up this Christmas business.  The cookies have been destroyed and what little leftovers we did have are wrapped in tin foil and placed gingerly in the dessert archive.

For those of you who don't know what the "dessert archive" is, it's what my family calls my deep freezer.  I'm not making this up.   At any given moment, I could defrost enough food to host a 50 person bridal shower with a rockin' dessert buffet.  Waste not, want not.

So here's a little recap of everything sweet that I baked for the holiday, complete with a few recipes and pictures that I haven't already posted.

Desserts
- Red Velvet Cheesecake Cake
- Bread Pudding that I forgot to take pictures of because I was a little bit tipsy
- Chocolate Coffee Pots de Creme Pie times dos

Cookies and Candy 
- Sugar Cookies and Butter Cream Frosting

- Pecan Pie Bars
- Inside Out Pumpkin Bars
- Russian Tea Cakes
- Fudge
     - Maple Walnut
     - Chocolate
     - Chocolate Walnut
     - Peanut Butter
     - Candy Cane
     - Cake Batter
- Almond Bars
- Chocolate Caramel Shortbread
- Oreo Truffles
     - Add mint extract for peppermint Oreo Truffles
     - Replace Oreo's with Nutter Butters and replace the 8 ounces of cream cheese with 10 ounces of peanut butter for Nutter Butter Truffles 

Christmas Part V: Chocolate Coffee Pots de Creme Pie

Chocolate pots de creme is one of those recipes that every woman should have in her arsenal.  It's amazing- rich and creamy and delicious and impressive and incredibly easy to make.  In general, you can take the recipe below for the pots de creme and pour it into little, adorable mini glasses for individual sized desserts.  I like to eat these with mini spoons.  I also like to eat these in succession- about four a time.

Like so.

But anyway- since I never leave well enough alone, I instead poured my pots de creme into a pre baked pie shell along with some ganache, topped it with whipped cream frosting, adorned it with chocolate curls and voila- I had a french silk pie.  Ok not really- but it looks like a french silk pie and tastes so sinful that it's mildly awkward to eat around your parents. 

Two Chocolate Coffee Pots de Creme Pies 

Half each recipe to make a single pie

Components

2 pre baked pie shells

One Recipe Dark Chocolate Ganache 

One Recipe Chocolate Coffee Pots de Creme 

One Recipe Whipped Cream Frosting

Chocolate Curls 

Instructions

Pour warm ganache into the pie shells.  Let set in the fridge while you make the pots de creme.

Mix up the pots de creme and pour into the pie shells with the ganache.  Let completely set in the fridge.

Top with whipped cream frosting and chocolate curls.

Christmas Part IV: Pecan Bars

So, as you might already know, my family and I tend to overdo it a bit on Christmas.  Holidays in general tend to be an all out gorge fest marking the end of a multi-day bake-a-thon where I frantically run around my kitchen coated in flour and shame.  I don't know how we got here.

Actually, I know exactly how we got here.  Ever since we were kids, we had the staple "must do" items at the holiday dessert table: pecan pie, pumpkin pie- things like that.  And every once in a while, we'd try something new.  And inevitably, many of those recipes got added to the "must do" list and the gluttony ensued.  So in order to "cut back," my mom and I sat down for lunch one day and threw the list out.  We started from scratch, only writing down the recipes we really wanted to make for this particular holiday.  I wanted a red velvet cheesecake cake and bread pudding, my mom wanted tirimisu and rhubarb pie.  We decided that we were all old enough to understand that we don't need the classics for every holiday.  I mean, we just had pecan pie for Thanksgiving.... we don't need it again.... right?  There is no reasonable excuse as to why the seven adults in my family can't handle a Christmas without pecan pie.

Well apparently six adults could handle a pecanless holiday.  This adult secretly pouted until she realized that we had stated that we can bake "any cookies we'd like to have on hand."  And this one little bullet point on our holiday menu suddenly took on a new meaning for me- it was my loophole.

So then I made pecan bars.  Technically they are a cookie- so I wasn't breaking the rules.  But apparently I'm still 5 years old and I can't handle breaking tradition in the slightest.  No pecan pie is like no Santa Claus.  I had to.  She practically forced my hand.

Pecan Pie Bars
Recipe adapted from: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/pecan-pie-bars-i-2/

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups light corn syrup
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups chopped pecans

The most important part of this recipe is prepping the pan.  Unless you 10 X 15 inch jellyroll pan has unusually tall sides, you will need to plan on a little pan overflow.  

Line your jelly roll pan with several sheets of aluminum foil that hang over the edge.  Bend the foil up so that it creates sides which will prevent overflow.  Grease the pan.  Place your jellyroll pan on a cookie sheet.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt. Cut in 1 cup of butter with a pastry knife until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. It will be very crumbly and will not come together in the bowl.  Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the prepared pan, and press in firmly. 

Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven.

While the crust is baking, prepare the filling. In a large bowl mix together the eggs, corn syrup, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 3 tablespoons butter, and vanilla until smooth. Stir in the chopped pecans. Spread the filling evenly over the crust as soon as it comes out of the oven.

Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until set. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack before slicing into bars.

Christmas Part III: Inside Out Pumpkin Bars

So Trader Joes is the best store on the face of the planet for buying non-baking related grocery items like produce and meat and meals and things like that.  (But who really does that anyway?  I'm pretty much a "pie for dinner" kind of gal.)

And Trader Joes has these amazing things called "Inside Out Carrot Cake Cookies" which are these two yummy little chewy carrot cookies filled with nuts and raisins with cream cheese frosting sandwiched between them.  My husband would kill for these cookies.  So when he asked for something "pumpkiny" for Christmas, I thought I would try to recreate these cookies but with pumpkin instead of carrot.  Hence the name "Inside Out Pumpkin Bars."  They are just delicious pumpkin cookie sandwiches with cream cheese filling.  Pretty simple- but a huge hit!

Inside Out Pumpkin Bars
Recipe Adapted from: http://www.howsweeteats.com/2011/10/chewier-pumpkin-chocolate-chip-cookies-2-ways/

Ingredients

1 2/3 cups of all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 stick (1/2 cup) of butter, melted and cooled
1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons real vanilla extract
1/4 cup pumpkin puree from a can
2 Cups White Chocolate Chips

1 batch of Cream Cheese Frosting

Directions

Mix the flour, salt, cornstarch, pumpkin pie spice and baking soda in a bowl and set aside. In another bowl, mix the melted butter and sugars until they are combined. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and stir until mixed. Stir in pumpkin puree until smooth. Gradually add flour mixture and mix until a dough forms – it will look crumbly at first, but it will come together. Fold white chocolate chips.

Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes, then roll into golfball-sized balls. Bake for 8-11 minutes, then let cool completely. (Mine took the entire 11 minutes) If you keep these in the fridge for even longer, you may get a more cakier cookie.

When the cookies are cooled, fill two cookies with cream cheese frosting and let the frosting set in the fridge. 

Christmas Part II: Russian Tea Cakes

Russian Tea Cakes are one of those Christmas treats from my childhood that I cant go without.  The recipe is not all the dissimilar from a shortbread (don't worry, I made that too.... two kinds) and they had that simple, sweet buttery taste that just makes you think of Christmas when you eat them.  They are also called Mexican Wedding Cakes or Butterballs (thank you, Wikipedia) and this is the recipe that has always served me well.

The fact that I've been making these since before I owned a stand mixer of course didn't prevent me from screwing up and having to make them again.  That happened several times this season (like the Red Velvet Cheesecake Cake where the beautiful, expensive cheesecake I made ended up in a pile on the counter.  I drop things...)  I apparently let my beautiful walnuts that my wonderful friend got for me fresh from her family's farm to spoil without noticing.  Fabulous.  Well of course I didn't taste the walnuts or the batter before the entire recipe was made and something smelled like death.  Even my husband wouldn't eat them.  So I used pecans because they are better anyway and I had those in the pantry- not spoiled.


Russian Tea Cakes
Recipe barely adapted from: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/russian-tea-cakes-i/

Ingredients 

• 1 cup butter
• 1 teaspoon real vanilla extract
• 6 tablespoons confectioner' sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1/3 cup confectioners' sugar for decoration

Directions 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• 
  
• Cream butter and vanilla until smooth. Combine the 6 tablespoons sugar and flour. Stir into the butter mixture until just blended. Mix in the chopped pecans. Roll dough into 1 inch balls, and place them 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
• 
  
• Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven. When cool, roll in remaining confectioners' sugar. 

Triumphant Return to Baking.... and hip hip hurrah for the birth of Christ.... and fudge

So once upon a time life happened and I stopped blogging for awhile.  But I continued to bake- oh boy did I continue to bake.  I would make things, get excited, eat all the things and forget where I got the recipe and what massive changes I made to the recipe.  Then I would want to give out the recipe or make it again, and I would turn to my trusty blog where I kept my detailed notes and archives, get really annoyed with myself and cry.  Hence the triumphant return to baking!  And what a time to start- I just had two full days of non-stop baking to prep for Christmas.

Christmas is a glorious time in my household.  To celebrate the birth of Christ, we consume more cookies, pie and cake than the average glutton would be able to eat in a month.  We pretty much do everything in excess- the presents, the food, the alcohol, the presents.... Oh- presents!  That leads me to another reason why I have to blog again.  My really pretty husband got me a computer!  I'm typing on it right now!  Look.  At.  Me.  Type.  My old computer was....well.... less than sufficient.  I got it my first year of college and immediately strapped it to my back for the next four years of my existence.  It's a little worn.  I fall a lot.  And I don't respect my physical belongings.  But I'm pretty sure I am in no way at fault for the fact that it barely functions anymore.  But regardless- I have a new computer.  So long old computer who stood loyally by me for countless papers, group projects and study guide compiling.  You are dead to me now and I've replaced you with something younger and prettier.  Husband- don't get any ideas.  

So I've gotten off track again- baking.  This is a baking blog, right?  Yes?  Good- the holiday food was wonderful, and about 30 sticks of butter (no exaggeration) and 5 lbs on my hips later, it's time to document all that I created for next year.  I'll also be going back through the last few months and typing up the big hit recipes in order to catch myself up.  So expect a few entries that are less rambling and more informative.  Who would want that?  Everyone but me?  Ok...

I'm going to start out with my favorite discovery of the season: THE EASIEST AND MOST AMAZING FUDGE YOU'VE EVER MADE OR EATEN.  This recipe has been a huge hit and I've shared it with pretty much everyone I know.  Let's count how many batches I made in the last 30 days... two maple, four peppermint, three chocolate, two peanut butter and (my favorite) two cake batter!  That's a bakers dozen batches of fudge.  Let's do this:

The Easiest Fudge Recipe Ever:
Recipe Adapted From: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/fudge/detail.aspx detail.aspx
The recipe below is for a double batch.

Ingredients
3 (12 ounce) bags of chocolate or other flavored chips
1 Stick Butter
2 (14 ounce) cans of Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
Various Extracts and mix ins, see variations below for exact details

Directions
Line a 9x13 inch pan with parchment paper, leaving extra paper on the sides in order to help remove the fudge later.

Pour the chips in a large microwave safe bowls.  Cut the stick of butter into pads and layer on top of the chips.  Pour the two cans of sweetened condensed milk over the chips and butter.  Stir together.

Put the bowl in the microwave and microwave for 90 seconds.  Stir.  Microwave for another 90 seconds and stir again.  If after stirring well all the chips are not melted, return to the microwave for 30 seconds increments until the mixture is completely melted.

Add any mix ins or extracts you want, described below.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and let set in the fridge before cutting.

Peanut Butter Fudge
Use Peanut Butter chips instead of chocolate chips

Chocolate Walnut Fudge
Use Chocolate Chips and add in 2 cups of chopped walnuts before pouring into the pan.

Maple Walnut Fudge
Use White Chocolate chips instead of chocolate chips.
After the mixture is melted, add 1 tsp of maple extract (more to taste) and 2 cups of chopped walnuts.  Stir well.

Candy Cane Fudge

Use White Chocolate chips instead of chocolate chips.
After the mixture is melted, add 1 tsp of peppermint extract (more to taste) and 1 package of chopped candy cans.  Stir well.

Cake Batter Fudge

Use White Chocolate chips instead of chocolate chips.
After the mixture is melted, slowly incorporate one cup of dry yellow cake mix a quarter cup at a time. Stir well.  Top with sprinkles.