Christmas Baking

[spacecanada]

It's that time of year!  Now that our tree is up and the houses decorated inside and out, I feel a strong desire to do a huge amount of Christmas baking!!

What are some of your favourite recipes? 

Bonus points: Anyone have a good recipe that is free from peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, potato, sorghum, egg, and milk?  (I can usually substitute egg and milk with good results, it's wheat that's most irritating to replace.)

[hezzier]

I thought this sounded interesting when I was looking for dairy free recipes for my niece, she wasn't particularly excited about it.  Her mom has poisoned her against figs due to a story from our HS biology teacher told my sister that the seeds in a fig were really wasp skulls, but I can't make this one for MIL because she seems to have lip swelling due to ginger.

https://www.godairyfree.org/recipes/fig-chewy-molasses-cookies

[Macabre]

Ick. You may have ruined me for figs. 😯

[hedgehog]

I looked it up.  It's not nearly as gross as it sounds.  The seeds are seeds.  But the fig does break down a wasp to nourish itself.

[hezzier]

Ick. You may have ruined me for figs. 😯

Sorry Mac, but it's what HH said, not what the Bio teacher told my sister.

[spacecanada]

I've attempted and failed butter tarts three times so far.  It may not happen this year.  It may end up being just the filling in ramekin dishes.  LOL  I now have a container full of failed butter tart shell attempts - mostly crumbly cookie bits: a perfect ice cream topping.

The molasses cookies look delicious, hezz - a nice twist to the classic.    I think I'll use the add-ins with my molasses cookie recipe (well, Enjoy Life's recipe.) 

[becca]

What are butter tarts?

[spacecanada]

What are butter tarts?

They are a Canadian treat: a pastry tart shell with a filling made from butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, and eggs (usually).  Some people will add pecans or raisins to them.  We like raisins in ours, or plain, and use flax/cornstarch eggs. 

https://www.foodnetwork.ca/shows/great-canadian-cookbook/recipe/jen-scotts-butter-tarts/16518/
(That's not the recipe I use, just a sample of how they are made.)

[hezzier]

Well, my brownies failed.  I was planning on making the brownie santa hats.  Round brownie on the bottom, cool whip or ready whip, then a strawberry and then topped with a dot of ready whip.  I made the brownies in my mini muffin pan but couldn't get them out so I scrapped them out with a spoon and made them into brownie truffles.  So I rolled the brownie crumbles into balls and then rolled them in powdered sugar and stuck them in the fridge.  They taste good.

[becca]

Nice save!

[becca]

So, butter tarts sound similar to pecan pie, without nuts.  Yum!

[hedgehog]

Hezz, one of the greatest celebrity chefs of all time, Julia Child herself, was all about embracing that kind of "fail" and using it however it works.  If it tastes yummy, it's all good.

[spacecanada]

So, butter tarts sound similar to pecan pie, without nuts.  Yum!

Yes, exactly!  Many people use pecans in them, so they're really mini pecan pies, I guess. 

Hezz, one of the greatest celebrity chefs of all time, Julia Child herself, was all about embracing that kind of "fail" and using it however it works.  If it tastes yummy, it's all good.

Oh, the story of my allergen-free baking these days... my recent butter tart shell failures turned into a crumb base layer for butter tart squares, which turned out yummy in the end, and some ice cream topping we'll use later.  Make the most of it -- those ingredients are expensive!

[hezzier]

I just didn't want to waste them especially since they are dairy and gluten free for our neighbor who is coming to dinner tomorrow night.  As for the strawberries, I will just dip them in enjoy life chocolate chips.  Plus I bought an ugly sweater cookie kit that the kids decorated today by Create a Treat.  Plus I think both neighbors coming to dinner are bringing dessert too.

[SilverLining]

I've attempted and failed butter tarts three times so far.  It may not happen this year.  It may end up being just the filling in ramekin dishes.  LOL  I now have a container full of failed butter tart shell attempts - mostly crumbly cookie bits: a perfect ice cream topping.

I cannot make the shells. But I make butter tart squares.