Baking Junkie

Tag: Christmas

Monday, December 13th, 2010

Cinnamon Sugar Pretzels

Having simple snacks around at holiday parties and gatherings is a must. Some people prefer sweet, others salty, so these pretzels are the perfect combination of both. I am a huge lover of the chocolate and pretzel combination (remember these Pretzel M&M Cookies?), and I also love the cinnamon sugar combination so I couldn’t wait to give these a try. I love recipes like this one that have a small list of ingredients that most people already have on hand. I have to admit, these really didn’t smell the greatest while they were baking, and I was getting a little nervous. Derek was the first to sample them out of the oven and he gave them a big two thumbs up! Once I got over the smell I definitely agreed! They are just as addicting as any other salty/sweet combination snack you can think of. Enjoy!

Cinnamon Sugar Pretzels
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1 (16 oz) bag pretzel twists
⅔ cup vegetable oil
½ cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Pour pretzels into a roasting pan. In a medium sized bowl mix together vegetable oil, cinnamon and sugar. Pour over pretzels and stir to coat. Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes, removing twice to stir.

Tags: Christmas, Cinnamon, Pretzels

Posted in Appetizers | 20 Comments »

Sunday, December 12th, 2010

Snickerdoodle Blondies

Recipe adapted from Brown Eyed Baker

Snickerdoodles were one of the first Christmas cookies I made when I started doing my own holiday baking, so they will always have a special place in my baking heart. I am guaranteed to love anything with a cinnamon and sugar combination so anything with the word snickerdoodle really grabs my attention.

Sidebar: Does anyone know how these cookies got their name since there are no “snickers” or anything remotely chocolate involved?

These blondies started hitting the blog circuit this past summer and I bookmarked them immediately, but to me anything snickerdoodle is a holiday treat. Any blondie recipe is usually simple to make and these are no different. The dough gets thick, and when you spread it in the pan try to get it as smooth as possible because any marks left will be noticeable even once they are baked (as you can see in my picture). These smell absolutely wonderful while they are baking and will definitely fill your house with a holiday aroma. Enjoy!

Snickerdoodle Blondies
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1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, room temperature
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbsp vanilla
2 ⅔ cup all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×9 inch baking pan and set aside. Beat together the butter and brown sugar, then add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Slowly add to liquid ingredients and mix until combined. Dough will be thick. Spread into greased pan and smooth top as much as possible (either with back of spoon or spatula). Combine cinnamon and sugar, then sprinkle on top of dough. Bake for approximately 30 minutes.

Tags: Blondies, Christmas, Cinnamon

Posted in Blondies | 5 Comments »

Thursday, December 9th, 2010

Candy Cane Cake

If you can believe it, I really don’t think I had a bundt cake until Christmas a few years ago when my sister-in-law made this fabulous dessert! I was a little leary at first, I mean, a cake should really have more frosting right? Certainly not with this cake! Not only does it look great on the outside, but there is a nice surprise waiting for you on the inside! There is a ribbon of pink peppermint flavored cake just waiting for your taste buds (I was hoping to get a picture but was losing daylight hours quickly). I forgot to pick up candy canes at the store so I just used the peppermint baking chips I had on hand, but crushed peppermint candies would work as well. Baked as written, I thought the cake had the perfect amount of peppermint flavor, not too subtle but not too strong. You could certainly add more peppermint flavoring if you wanted. I think this makes a perfect dessert for your Christmas dinner table. Enjoy!

Candy Cane Cake
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1 box white cake mix
Ingredients listed on box + 1 extra egg
½ tsp peppermint extract
3-4 drops red food coloring
1 cup powdered sugar
½ tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp milk
Crushed candy canes, mints, or peppermint baking chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a fluted bundt pan, then set aside. Prepare cake batter according to directions on box. Pour ¾ cup of batter into a separate bowl and combine with peppermint extract and food coloring. Pour half of the remaining white cake batter into the bundt pan. Pour the peppermint batter on top, then remaining white batter. Bake according to directions on box, or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool 5-10 minutes in pan, then remove and place on serving plate to fully cool.

Meanwhile, combine powdered sugar, milk and vanilla in a small bowl. Stir in additional milk until the consistency is thin. Drizzle over cooled cake, then top with crushed candy canes, mints, or peppermint baking chips.

Tags: Cake, Christmas, Peppermint

Posted in Cake | 4 Comments »

Wednesday, December 8th, 2010

Russian Tea Balls

Russian Tea Balls. Mexican Wedding Cookies. Whatever you’d like to call them I can guarantee you it will be followed by “yum”! I had always heard of these cute little shortbread-like cookies but never tried them until my sister-in-law made them for Christmas a few years ago. I just kept eating, and eating, and eating them all night. Derek loved them even more than I did, so he begged me to get the recipe and I started making them last year. They have since topped both of our favorites list, and are in fact #2 on Derek’s. (I have a really hard time picking individual favorites, but if I really had to pick I would say they are #3 for me).

The list of ingredients is very simple, and I guarantee most of you have everything in your pantry right now. Most recipes do call for some type of nut, which we don’t really care for so I just leave them out. Ideally you should let the cookies cool before rolling them in powdered sugar, but Derek usually can’t wait that long and he actually likes the taste of the warm, melt in your mouth cookies. Enjoy!

Russian Tea Balls
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1 cup (2 sticks) salted, butter, room temperature
½ cup powdered sugar, plus extra for coating
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large mixing bowl combine all ingredients using an electric mixer. Roll into small balls and place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Place in oven and bake for 15 minutes. Allow to fully cool, then roll in extra powdered sugar.

Tags: Christmas, Cookies

Posted in Cookies | 1 Comment »

Tuesday, December 7th, 2010

Candy Cane Kiss Brownies

Recipe by Aimee

When I love things, I want to share them with people. Don’t you? For instance, I love Glee. I’m not afraid to admit that I’m a Gleek. There are two Glee CD’s on my Christmas list and you can be darn sure that if I don’t get them I will be purchasing them first thing on December 27th.

( Mr. Schu…HI! I love you! I can’t believe Emma married Carl either!)

My heart is filled with love now after watching the Glee Christmas episode, so I wanted to share some love with you.

I have also found a new place in my heart for candy cane kisses. I kept seeing fellow food bloggers using pumpkin kisses earlier this fall and was utterly devastated when I couldn’t find any in the FIVE different stores I searched. Needless to say as soon as I saw these beauties I snatched them up! Peppermint and chocolate go together almost as easily peanut butter and chocolate, so I knew brownies were the way to go.

This recipe is seriously the easiest (and shortest) I have ever made. Brownie mix + ingredients on box + candy cane kisses. That’s it. You could certainly substitute for homemade brownies, which I considered four about…oh, 4 seconds. I am obviously not above using box mixes and this was no exception. My only complaint about these brownies was that the kisses melted down a bit more than I thought they would so I didn’t get the pretty pictures I envisioned, but the taste was still fabulous. Enjoy!

Candy Cane Kiss Brownies
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1 box of Brownie mix + ingredients on back
1 package Candy Cane Kisses

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare brownies according to directions on box. Unwrap candy cane kisses and place upright in greased 9×9 inch baking pan. Pour batter over kisses. Bake according to directions. Cool completely before cutting and serving.

PS: Did you notice how all of the lines of the kisses are lined up in relatively the same direction? Yes, I arranged them that way. That’s my OCD hard at work.

PPS: My other love right now? Marry You by Bruno Mars. iTunes it. You won’t be disappointed.

Tags: Bars, Brownies, chocolate, Christmas, Peppermint

Posted in Brownies | 7 Comments »