Is There Such Thing as Seasonal Baking Disorder?

...If So, I've Come Down With It.


For some inexplicable reason I find it necessary to bake as much as possible and use any excuse to do so. Why do the holidays elicit these types of emotions? 


My first order of business this week was to attempt my mother-in-law's Honey Wheat Bread recipe. She is amazing at making homemade bread and usually gives out loaves of the Honey Wheat Bread for the holidays. 


With some apprehension I set out all of the necessary ingredients and tied my apron around my neck. Being my first attempt at making homemade bread that actually requires yeast I felt pretty good about the outcome. After the bread came out of the oven Alex and I had to do a taste test to make sure it was edible. Needless to say it passed the test. Neither of us were very hungry for dinner that night. 

As my bread was baking in the oven I started on my next adventure of making homemade dog biscuits. This was another first. I decided not to make sugar cookies for Christmas this year so this recipe allowed me to utilize my cookie cutters anyways, which I was pretty excited about. In all actuality, it wasn't much different then making regular cookies. After tasting one I would consider them "savory cookies" or an unusual cracker (like those chicken & biscuit crackers...) Not bad at all.

Delicious Dog Treats
 from allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 cube beef bouillon, crumbled
• 1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
• 1 tablespoon mild paprika
• 3/4 cup cornmeal
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 egg

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the oats, white sugar, brown sugar, beef bouillon, poultry seasoning, paprika, cornmeal and flour. In a separate bowl, stir together the butter and hot water until butter melts, then stir in the milk and egg. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix until well blended. The dough will be stiff. If it is too stiff, add a bit more water. If it is too sticky, add more flour.
3. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for a few turns. Roll out to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness, and cut into squares or into desired shapes using cookie cutters. Place treats about 1 inch apart on the prepared cookie sheets. 
4. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until lightly browned and firm. Let cool for 10 or 15 minutes. When completely cool, store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Seeing as I don't own a dog of my own, I then had to package up the little goodies to distribute to my furry friends! (I love a good excuse to get out my gift wrapping and craft supplies). So cute!

The next day Alex and I went to a movie and on our way back I decided we needed to make some Christmas cookies for ourselves. We've been on a dried cranberry kick lately so I decided to look for a recipe that would incorporate this ingredient. I decided on Cranberry Chip Cookies! The whole idea of baking the cookies was that we were supposed to do it together (envision a scene from one of those holiday movies that plays on continuous loop on the Lifetime Movie Channel). 


What ended up happening... I gathered all the ingredients and Alex started watching YouTube videos on his computer, like this one - Jimmy Kimmel Live - YouTube Challenge - I Gave My Kids a Terrible Present. I mixed the dough and dropped the cookies onto the cookie sheets while Alex entertained us both. It still counts as fun in the kitchen together right?


The cookies were the perfect consistency while warm. They turn out to be more of a crunchy dense cookie  after cooling, but still just as delicious!


Cranberry Chip Cookies
from The Taste of Home Cookbook


Ingredients
1/3 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 cup finely chopped walnuts


Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, shortening and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.
2. Combine the flour, salt and baking soda; add to creamed mixture. Stir in chocolate chips, cranberries and walnuts. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets.
3. Bake at 350 for 10-11 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Now that we've made Christmas cookies, decorated the house and sent out our Christmas cards it's time to have a little fun tonight at our neighbor's Christmas party! (Check out other pictures of the 2011 Holiday). I can't wait to take pictures of Alex and I in our tacky Christmas gear that we bought at Goodwill this afternoon. 


There's still some Christmas shopping to do, but there's still time next week. Also on my list for next week... bourbon balls, eggnog cake and cranberry apple pie! 


P.S. To my Kris Kringle, Pat - you might as well just get me some flour and sugar and call it a gift ; )