Christmas baking, a family tradition

I always had fond memories of christmas baking when I was growing up. My mom used to take orders for all kinds of baked goods and the aroma of all that baking just makes it easier to bring me to a  more Christmassy mood.  This year is no exception especially now that my daughter is old enough to "help" and with this family activity. The baked goodies I chose this year have to do with convenience without sacrificing taste and presentation.  Here are some pictures of the gingerbread men I decorated. I used Anna Olsen's gingerbread cookies recipe with a few adjustments and used a lemon icing recipe for the decoration. I made 2 batches of these tasty and not so sweet cookie to allow for many "tastings" from my family. I also tried my hand on making the Italian Panetonne using a small brown paper bag as a container. This calls for very little need to decorate it and a "greener" choice for packaging. I recall making this festive bread a number of  years back and thought it it time to try it again. Now I remember why I don't do this every year. It takes a lot longer time than I would like to spend on just one item. On the other hand I made two kinds of refrigerator cookies (see my other post for pic on this) and Rice crispy square and it was almost instant gratification.

My two greatest fans (and taste testers) for my baking (and cooking) are my husband and 3 year old daughter. When my daughter says "Mmm, it's good Mommy." and my husband  "Mmmmm..." with eyes closed and just savoring every morsel, very encouraging indeed!

My Top 5 for November

November is typically a very gloomy month with not much sunshine and lots of rain. This time, at least for a week, the weather didn't seem all that bad, with a trip to sunny California. 

1. Traveled solo with my daughter for a trip to California. But having to go through airport security with a sleeping toddler in a stroller, a mommy-bag, a heavy laptop bag was a tad challenging when I was told to wake her up to be checked! Aaargh!

2. California in November ... (I certainly welcomed the days when I felt the heat of the sun). 

3. Registered my daughter to preschool. That's a milestone for me! My little girl is growing up!!!

4. Did my goals list for 2009. 

5. Being away from hubby made our reunion at the airport, so sweet! AND thanks to my loving hubby, I came home to an impeccably clean home, with a new dining light fixture installed plus a lovely poinsetta plant to boot to start off the holiday decor at home. Wonderful!

Orange Cranberry and Deep Chocolate Refrigerator Cookies

This year, I planned to steamline my christmas baking. After getting some ideas and searching the internet for a good and easy recipe for refrigerator cookies, ended up using a recipe from an old cookie cookbook as a base and changing the flavouring to whatever I have on hand. This time, instead of orange and walnut, I used orange and chopped dried cranberries. I think the little specks of orange zest and dried cranberries makes this crispy buttery cookie a very festive cookie. The chocolate version was done by adding 1/2 cup of Dutch pressed cocoa powder and adding a teaspoon of instant coffee to enhance the chocolate taste. Indeed, it is a delicious cookie that's not too sweet with a deep chocolate flavour that is not bitter. I'll work on how to package these crispy delights to give to friends.

Sunny contemplation

October whized by and truthfully I have to look at my calendar to see what activities we did. With the busy summer months behind, it seems like there was a tug-of-war between being in business and being a mom. To my daughter's delight, mom duties prevailed. It is during these times that I reflect on why I wanted to work at home... to be able to spend time with my daughter during the day, go to the aquarium on a weekday, play dates and this time of year, planned a children's birthday party for my daughter's 3rd birthday. I made a special castle cake for my little princess and it all went well.

Going into November, it more of the same routine with some freelance work and taking my daughter to her creative movement class. I reflect on how quickly my concerns disappeared, about my daughter's uncooperative behaviour earlier in class to having a much improved, focused 3 yr old at the end of the session, dancing so expressively. I'm sure there will be many more instances like these in the future.

My contemplative mood carried on to the end of November even with a trip to sunny California. My daughter was a flower girl for a wedding and almost the entire trip was like a never ending play date! We stayed at my brother's where there were other kids staying there so, needless to say, it was exhausting! We did manage to see one of our play date friends who moved to California. I would really have to rethink any more trips with just me and my daughter. I brought my laptop on this trip and it was well worth lugging it through the airport, with a mommy bag, stroller and an active 3 year old in tow! During some quiet moments at night, I managed to write down my goals for 2009. I've kept a number of years of  goals list and even just comparing my list from 2 years ago, wow, what a difference!

December is here and holiday season seem almost like an obstacle course I have to go through to get to the new year, a newer outlook in business, life, on our changing priorities, shifting gears to a different schedule now with Daisy going to preschool in January.  Surely a lot to think about but this is exactly why I write my goals in November. This way, I hope I can be in the moment in December with the holidays, christmas baking, family and all the things and people who really matter. Happy holidays!