Here's a question about Christmas baking. Thinking of Christmases past, what would you say is your ever-favorite holiday treat? And what would be your most poignant memory connected to baking or cooking this time of year?
For me, it's the whole idea of making Christmas fruitcake... the excitement that swirled around the kitchen table as Mom and Grandma would spend the day before measuring, chopping, and mixing all the fruit, peel, raisins and nuts. Little hands would sneak the odd cherry or almond.... usually to the mild chiding to get your hands out of there.
Then would come the measuring of brown paper to line the loaf pans (of course now I use parchment), greasing them down...
For me, it's the whole idea of making Christmas fruitcake... the excitement that swirled around the kitchen table as Mom and Grandma would spend the day before measuring, chopping, and mixing all the fruit, peel, raisins and nuts. Little hands would sneak the odd cherry or almond.... usually to the mild chiding to get your hands out of there.
Then would come the measuring of brown paper to line the loaf pans (of course now I use parchment), greasing them down...
Pouring in the lovely batter, and then watching as the pans with their rich treasure slide into the oven. The anticipation built as we all seemed to be waiting for the spiced fragrance to begin wafting through the kitchen ... those exotic smells of cinnamon and cloves and ginger.
Nowadays fruitcake seems to get a bad rap around these parts, but both my hubby and I love fruitcake, and we always look forward to cutting generous slices to eat with steaming cups of black tea on a wintry afternoon.
The photos here are for a light fruitcake -- you can find the recipe here.
The photos here are for a light fruitcake -- you can find the recipe here.
On that spicy note, I'm away,
Brenda
xox
Baking memories, well, my mom would bake and bake and bake, then would freeze all of them. With strict orders NOT to eat them.
ReplyDeleteWell, that was all it took, I would see how many I could sneak before being caught. Usually, I could sample all of them.
Fruit cake, looks great!
Looked that... yes we did that too! We found ut years later that my dad and his siblings did that to their own mother (in the very farmhouse I grew up in).... so some things are timeless!
ReplyDeleteAs my mother might have been the worst cook ever (she'd readily admit this), I don't have any memories of Christmas baking with her. But we made it a tradition to bake and decorate sugar cookies with our boys. We would get ice cream tubs from the relatives and store them in the freezer in the basement. Many a time I would go downstairs to get a plateful and find the tubs almost empty except for the date pinwheels. So I guess sneaking cookies is an unspoken Christmas tradition worldwide. We like fruitcake here too. Just made up one the other day.
ReplyDeleteI am not a fan of fruitcake, though my mother made a version with just nuts and dates that I found quite tolerable. The one treat of Christmas I most loved? The cookies I think.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your baking, Brenda!
Your fruitcake looks delicious. I just started one today (it has to sit overnight) that I took from another blogger. I'm definitely going to check yours out too. I never eat it, but my husband loves it, as do some of our children.
ReplyDeleteBaking memories - my mother baked, and still bakes, beautiful, delicate, perfect sugar cookies. Crisp and buttery, and perfectly iced. I loved helping her. And eating raw cookie dough. Which I still do and have never suffered a twinge for it.
oh, it looks so yummy! I love baking at Christmas. Fudge & Pralines are two of my favorites.
ReplyDeleteI have great memories of baking this time of year, I owned a candy shop back years ago. So, lots of candy was prepared this time of year!!!
Hi There Ms. Brenda, thanks for poping in on mine.. Love your blog and I'm now a proud follower.. Thanks for the comment and grabing the award. You're my first and maybe the last. lol..I think I've run everyone off, they don't seem to want the award...lol .. Yes that Delsa is a sweetheart..
ReplyDeletemy mom and grandmas made fruitcake but I'm not a fan either. I liked all the different kind of cooking and of course hot cinnamon rolls!
ReplyDeleteI. Love. Fruitcake.
ReplyDelete