It is once again December! Holiday baking season is upon us and it is one of my favorite times of the year. I love the smell of baking spices, cinnamon being my absolute favorite. I love being able to share my baked goods. Baking is my true passion and, for me, there is nothing like the feeling of being in the kitchen making something and being able to share the fruits of my labor with those around me.
It is once again December! Holiday baking season is upon us and it is one of my favorite times of the year. I love the smell of baking spices, cinnamon being my absolute favorite. I love being able to share my baked goods. Baking is my true passion and, for me, there is nothing like the feeling of being in the kitchen making something and being able to share the fruits of my labor with those around me.
For me, holiday baking comes in batches. We used to take 3 or 4 days and just bake up a storm. Now, I don’t work with enough people to be able to make the huge trays of goodies all at once I used to. Now, I break up the baking and make it a month of sharing! I always start with breads, like banana nut or apple, etc. Then, I move on to cookies, fudges and finally candies.
We usually started with the breads when we did our holiday baking and would have them in the oven while we worked on other things. I remember making banana nut and zucchini bread the most. Once we were older and it was my sister and I instead of Mom and us, Tera always made pumpkin bread and I found an apple bread we liked. Now, Tera knows she can’t have gluten so she adjusted and now makes a really good keto friendly, gluten free chocolate roll. We have shared so many wonderful memories by baking in the kitchen together.
I have to mention I received some test results this week in regards to some food intolerances. They included ginger, lemon, pear and pomegranate among others. Adrian stepped up and made this week’s recipes because I had already purchased the ingredients and couldn’t change them. And because he didn’t want me to be involved in the cooking of something that would cause me issues. So, thank you Adrian for your help!
This week, I went with muffins instead of breads as they are similar and they would be easier to distribute. I shared with some of the businesses in the area and Adrian once again helped out by making the deliveries since I was at work. I do want to say muffins usually require more baking powder than other recipes. This can leave your muffins tasting slightly metallic or if you are using acidic ingredients, it can have a reaction that may change the color of your muffins! If you make them enough, look for aluminum free baking powder to eliminate this issue. Make your grocery list and meet me for some of our favorite muffins. If there are too many for you to eat yourself, share with a neighbor or with your pastor at church or just with your favorite local businesses. We could all use a little holiday cheer.