Soft Bits - Gingerbread Cookies

Hello all!

I'm back pretty early this time cos I want to get a Christmas recipe in before Christmas is upon us.
My family hasn't exactly made gingerbread men cos it's just so fiddly to get the gingerbread man into the oven whole. Yes, you heard me right. More often than not we end up with his body bits baking separately. And that just wouldn't do!

Christmas Post III - Patterned Zipper Pouches

Hello again!
Christmas was extra special cos I settled down to the sewing machine and discovered that making zipper pouches were just easy peasy!
It took some time to plan and a few trials & errors to discover what worked better.
I got this idea from Pinterest and in this post I'll just share a few tips on what makes this pouch easier to make.
I made 2 types of pouches...a boxy pouch from this post on Three Bears and a modified version which was a combination of the boxy pouch with this pouch from Leslie's Art & Sew.

Christmas Post II - Maple Pecans

Happy New Year!

This holiday isn't something I really celebrate but it's a new year anyhow.
But I'm still on my posts for Christmas. Heh. The problem with baking for friends and family if that you don't wanna post all the gifts until they've been given! Haha.

Anyway, this one was part cookbook & part Pinterest (which is my new obsession). Pinterest is splendid! There are so many ideas on that site and it's fun to repin things that worked. So I've added a Pin-it tab on all my posts.

Christmas Post 1 - Gingerbread Cake

Hohoho. The day has finally arrived. And I wish it would slow down.

I've learnt to moderate how many projects I take on this Christmas. It's been different. Besides baking, I took on sewing. Christmas presents were crafts that I made and will share on this site in the next few weeks. Things that are so dandy and handy! (:

For today though, I've got the Gingrebread Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting nailed!

Cornmeal-Cranberry Cookies

So here's another Christmas recipe I tried.

I tried this method of slicing cookie logs before and it didn't really work in this humidity. Tried it again this time and it was slightly better.

Cranberries are a nice ingredient to have during Christmas for it's colour and flavour. I had lots of cornmeal to use so this recipe came in handy.

Chocolate Oreo Cupcakes

YUMMY!! I wasn't too sure if everyone loved the spiced fruits and extra-richness stirred into Christmas so I had to try something else. These looked so inviting that I had to try them. (:

Chewy chocolate cupcakes with oreo-laced icing. I chose cute Christmas liners to add to the festivities. Originally I wanted ref-foiled liners but I got to Lemon Zest too late and had to settle for this.

Christmas Feast

Hello! I've decided to take a break from the Christmas Recipes and share with you my experiences of roasting my very own first Turkey.

Now, I'd like to say that the highlight of the meal was the turkey or the dessert. But honestly? I'd say the veggies and the potatoes were the highlight.

This video by Heston covered quite a few essentials for the turkey, broccoli & carrots. yum.

However, turnips on his radar could not be found. :( So here's what I did:

Chewy Molasses-Spice Cookies

And again, Martha Stewart came in handy with this simple yet very festive recipe. (:

I can't quite describe the smell and flavour of molasses. It's a spice, warm, nutty and rich kinda taste and smell. Wiki says you can replace molasses with maple syrup, black treacle, honey and dark corn syrup. I was doing no substitution. So molasses it was; Brer Rabbit Full Flavour Molasses. yum.

Linzer Sandwiches

So here's 2/6.

This cookie recipe I picked up from Martha Stewart. The cookies are rather bland on their own but the hazelnut flavour is seriously enhanced with the raspberry jam. Unfortunately, rolling and cutting out the cookies in this weather was a real chore. The fridge had to opened and shut 92737647362 times. -.- So if I ever do, or you want to, bake this again, either do it in a air-conditioned room or at some unearthly hour when the humidity is close to zilch.

Otherwise, it's quite a fancy gift for friends and family.

Eggnog Bundt Cake

Hello! A very blessed Christmas to everyone. (:

And as promised, here's the first of 6 Christmas goodies I baked for this year...

I'm not sure how many actually drink Eggnog but here's the Wikipedia definition: