More Lessons Learned from Christmas Baking

Photo courtesy of Masterfile.com

I like to do Christmas baking; I don’t find it a chore or something I ‘should’ do for the holidays. The great assortment of cookies and bars and sweets lets my creative juices run, not to mention the chance to buy a new recipe book perhaps (there are always new ones out for the holidays). I don’t know why we don’t bake all year round, but it seems the holidays give all us free passes to eat, drink and be merry (and then make annual resolutions to eat less and work out more).

This year was no different. I made my list of sweets to bake up, checked to make sure I had all the ingredients, and then set aside one day on the weekend to bake everything up while Matt kept himself occupied with football. I kept the list relatively short, deciding to bake a few favourites from the year before (many of which I’ve already posted about; just follow the links), and perhaps one or two new ones. My list included Mint Marshmallows (arguably the hit of Christmas past), Toffee-Pecan Bars, Gingerbread Men, and Peanut Butter Brownies. I thought that was ambitious yet manageable.

Unfortunately, I think I left the baking too late, and, in doing so, felt rather rushed to get all my goodies cooked, cooled, sliced, and ready to package (cookies make a great gift around the holidays and I always like to share a plate with family when visiting). Sadly, the gingerbread men didn’t make the cut due to time.

In the past I liked to make bars because it saved time in rolling and cutting the dough. Once everything is baked up in one pan, all you have to do is cut and serve. Well, that didn’t work out entirely too well this year for me. My brownies had not cooled long enough and were hard to get out of the pan (note to self – line your baking pans with parchment or tin foil, you fool!), and I didn’t follow the directions entirely with the Toffee-pecan Bars, which caused them to be overly brittle. The brownies never made it to family (oh, darn, more for me), and while the toffee-pecan bars didn’t look perfect, they sure tasted great. But I’ve now changed my opinion on the bars vs. cookies debate (the one ongoing in my head, of course) – cookies actually package a lot better then bars, and hence, transporting and arranging is done a lot easier. Next year, I’ve got to remind myself to read this blog post and try to bake more cookies.

I did pick up a new cookie book (I simply couldn’t resist). It wasn’t until after the holidays, so I haven’t yet had the chance to try any of the recipes out. But it’s on my to-do list for the coming weeks. Why not try them out before the holidays and then have a chance to find my favourites? Smart thinking, no? I probably didn't need another collection of holiday treats (especially because they are often repeated from year to year), but after flipping through this one, I thought there would be some new ones to try. I think I already found a winner to whip up for Matt's upcoming birthday.