It's time to do some fun Christmas Baking. Something that I have been playing around with is sourdough baking. I received a sourdough starter a month or so ago from my sister and I have been a baking fiend since! I have been experimenting with flavors and add ins for sourdough loaves. My favorite so far is a rosemary kalamata olive blend. I know it's not a cookie; I'm breaking the rules again.... I wanted to share it with you because I think a lovely warm loaf of bread in a quilted bowl cozy makes for a wonderful gift! There are many recipes on Pinterest on how to start a sour dough. My sour dough starter came from King Arthur. Did you know that when you get a sour dough starter it is good luck to name it. Mine is named Dough Moon Arisen. My sister's named theirs, Yeasty Beasty and Sir Rise Alot.
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| ~Sour Dough bread with rosemary and kalamata olives~ |
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| ~ Regular Sourdough Bread~ |
This previous weekend was also our annual cookie day with my mom and sisters. The highlight of the morning was using mom's new stove! For many years we struggled with a timer that didn't work easily so we reverted to our phones or mom's google nest. It was so nice to have a working time and a treat to use her new stove!
I made all of my usual recipes, peanut butter yo-yo's, caramel, and dipped pretzels... but I also tried some new recipes, gingerbread spritz cookies and brownie truffles. Both are very good, and I will make them again. The recipes can be found below.
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| My sweet mama on Cookie Day. |
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| Gingerbread Spritz Cookies 1 Cup Butter 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar 1/4 cup molasses 1 egg 3 cups flour 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp ginger 1/4 tsp ground allspice 1/4 tsp ground cloves 1/8 tsp white pepper Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cream butter and sugar with a hand mixer. Add the molasses and egg and beat well. Mix the dry ingredients together then add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until combined. Add cookie dough to cookie press and press out into desired shapes onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 6-8 minutes until the cookie is just set but not brown. Cool before decorating. Vanilla Icing Mix together 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract and 1 Tbsp milk until smooth. Drizzle or dip cookies and top with sprinkles if desired. |
Brownie Balls
1 pan Brownie mix baked according to directions on the box
3 cups chocolate chips (I used chocolate almond bark)
sprinkles
Crumble up brownies while still warm but cool enough to touch, form into tablespoon sized balls. Dip in melted chocolate and decorate with sprinkles if desired.
I had planned on having some large bowl cozies made but my time got away from me since I have been watching my little grandbabies on and off over the last few weeks. I love spending time with them and can't wait to celebrate Christmas with them and all my family. I'm wishing you all a wonderful holiday season and a very merry Christmas. I hope that you have fun checking out everyone's blogs, the complete list is below...
December 2
Quilt Doodle Designs (You are here!)
December 3
December 4
December 5
Merry Christmas and Happy Baking,
Cindy, Bonaparte and Josephine
Your bread looks fabulous and those cookies!!! Yummy things are cookin'
ReplyDeleteMy sister used to make sourdough bread with a starter she got from a polygamist woman in Utah. She made delicious bread with it. I haven't baked bread in years, but your beautiful loaf makes me want to give it a try. Thank you for all the recipes (I gained wait just reading them) and good times we've had over the years. Thank you so much, Cindy! xo
ReplyDeleteYour sourdough loaves look fantastic! And to put it in a bowl cozy ... how clever is that? Your cookies look delicious! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThe sourdough loaves are lovely. Thanks for sharing your cookie recipes!
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing better than the smell of baking bread and your loaves look yummy! Thanks for the cookie recipes.
ReplyDeleteYour bread looks delicious. Thank you for all of the recipes.
ReplyDeleteThere’s nothing like homemade bread! The cookies sound great too.
ReplyDeleteGingerbread Spritz Cookies sound like a yummy cookie. Thanks for the recipe.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun day with your mom! Neat tradition! Those gingerbread cookies and that bread look delicious!
ReplyDeleteYour bread looks fantastic! Love the name for your starter.
ReplyDeleteYour sour dough bread looks amazing and sounds wonderful. We have really been into sour dough lately. I may have to try a starter. Your starter names are awesome! The cookies sound great too! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYour bread sounds delicious. I could eat it a loaf at a time. Maybe not healthy but definitely a great way to enjoy life.
ReplyDeletecookies sound good too but i personally prefer bread.
I have been wanting to try sourdough bread for so long. I recently saw the starter on King Arthur's site. I was tempted to get it. I also just a few weeks ago saw that you're supposed to name your starter. Oh boy...that's a tough one. I would have to try it a few times before coming up with the right name. You did a great job with your names and I see the loaf looks perfect. I laughed at your comment that "'m breaking the rules again." Isn't that what made these hops so great? We had few rules and lots of leeway. I will miss them so very much. If I was retired, I might agree to host a few but work is just annoying lately. I haven't even been able to post much in recent months. Well, that's enough about me. I really enjoyed reading your post and seeing the cookie recipes. What a lovely tradition to bake with your mom and sisters every year. I think it's a marvelous way to keep things flowing and special. Not to mention, you gals have quite the variety of cookies going on!! All the best and Happy Holidays to you and yours'!
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas! I recently started my sourdough baking again, after a break of several years. I just love a crusty slice of sourdough bread with a bowl of home-made soup. My favorite winter supper!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun idea to experiment with sourdough! Your rosemary kalamata olive blend sounds delicious. A warm loaf of bread in a cozy is such a thoughtful gift. If you're looking for the best Christmas gift, check out The Jacket Seller for all types of leather jackets for men and women – perfect for the holidays!
ReplyDeleteHow lovely to have an annual cookie making day with your mom and sisters!!! I wish I lived closer to my sister, it would be so fun to do that every year with her - mom doesn't bake, lol!!! Thanks for sharing the lovely recipes and have a very Merry Christmas! xx
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