Happy New Year!

Fireworks sugar cookies to ring in the new year with your glass of bubbly.

I used little bits of leftover icing from my Christmas cookie decorating to make these guys. I think they'd work on just about any plain shape of cookie. You could even use a knife and cut out squares or rectangles if you don't have basic cookie cutter shapes.
I didn't even bother to outline the background, I just used flooding black royal icing, then with teeny-tiny holes cut in my bags of the other colors of royal icing, I made my fireworks and words.

You know... I just thought about another way to do this... use melted chocolate or Candy Melts! Do the background in dark chocolate. Use a tip #1 or just cut the tiny hole in a disposable bag and use colored candy melts for the fireworks. Man! I wish I'd have thought of this earlier. My Chocolate-Loving Husband would have really, really loved that! Next time, I guess!

The recipes I used:
Royal Icing Recipe
Vanilla Sugar Cookie Recipe

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Bring on 2012!

Thank you all for your support and interest in Beki Cook's Cakes Blog in my inaugural five months of blogging. I have a lot to learn, and have already learned tons.
I'm going to take a little week-long break after the Season of Baking craziness the last few weeks to gear up for a good start to next year.
Please don't be a stranger. I have something really pretty in mind for New Year's Day.
Love, 
Beki

Merry Christmas Sugar Cookies

Of course, there have to be sugar cookies for the last of the holiday baking.

This year, because I was mailing many of my cookies away, I decided to go simple, and sturdy. I went with all circles to decorate. I apologize for slacking and not doing many how-to photos.

Special K Bars

These peanut butter and chocolate treats are two of my sisters' favorite holiday treats. And I call them healthy because they have protein (peanut butter) and Special K cereal. Breakfast, solved!

What You Need:
1 cup sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
2 cups chunky peanut butter
6 cups Special K Cereal
6 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
6 oz. butterscotch chips

Pretzel "Turtle" Candies

These treats are very easy to make, even when the kids are involved.

What You Need:
Pretzels (I prefer the "pounders")
Rolo Candies
Pecan Halves (Toast them if you wish. Click the link to see how to toast the nuts in my snowball cookie recipe.)

White Chocolate Pretzels

These are my favorites, but until this year, I can honestly say I've never made them myself. They're SO easy. And if you already have some of the pretzels, candy and sprinkles for other projects, then why not?!

What You Need:
Pretzels
Almond Bark or Candy Melts (I prefer the white/vanilla, but chocolate would be good, too.)
Sprinkles, of course
Parchment or Waxed Paper
Fork
Optional:
Vegetable oil or shortening

Peppermint Bark

I'm not really sure why, but my husband really loves peppermint bark. And given how easy it is to make... I'm okay with that.

What You Need:
Vanilla (White) Almond Bark (or Candy Melts)
Chocolate Almond Bark (or Candy Melts)
Candy Canes or Peppermint Candies
Parchment Paper
Optional:
Two pint-sized helpers 

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

These cookies are really easy. They're good. And the kids, even the littlest kids can help with them.
I got the 'recipe' from my friend, Kate, a few years ago, and they've joined my holiday baking list ever since.

What You Need:
1 package refrigerated Peanut Butter Cookie dough*
1 package Miniature Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
Mini Muffin Pan
Nonstick Cooking Spray

*You can absolutely substitute your own homemade peanut butter cookie dough here. I have had to do that when I couldn't find the refrigerator stuff. The reason I like using the packaged kind is that way I don't have to worry as much about the kids touching the raw dough.

The Cookie Plate

You know those beautiful pictures of dessert tables you find on all of the baking blogs? The ones where everything is matched by color and they're on assorted heights of plates and there are perfectly matched decorations to go along with them?

That is SO not my life. Do I wish it were? Sure. But it's just not.
In my life, I have...

The Cookie Plate. This means Christmas to me.
It's a little bit of this, a little bit of that. It doesn't match anything. And I LOVE IT!

100th Post & A Giveaway! - Contest CLOSED

100 Blog Posts! I can't believe I've actually written 100 Blog Posts in less than 5 months! Let's celebrate with a trip down memory lane, and a giveaway.
The contest is now closed. The Winner is announced below.

First, I bring you my top 10 posts.

#10: The Great Fondant Comparison 

 This post took a lot of work, but it was really fun to do, and I think the results were interesting.

#9: Pumpkin Cake Pops

These suckers are good! And they're really not that hard to make-- compared to other cake pops.

Snowball Cookies

Okay, they're usually called Russian Tea Cakes, but when I call them snowballs, my kids like them a lot better. This recipe is how I altered the one from my Betty Crocker cookbook.

What You Need:
1 cup butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup flour
1 cup finely chopped, toasted pecans*
1/2 tsp. salt
Additional powdered sugar for dusting

*Measure the pecans after you chop them. You want a cup of the chopped nuts, not a cup of pecan halves, chopped. There can be as much as 1/4 cup difference if you measure before rather than after.

Mint-Chocolate Brownies

These brownies ARE holiday baking to me. Though I do make them at other times of the year, they are something my Mom made at the holidays, and I love, love, love them.

What You Need:
Brownie Layer:
1/2 cup whole milk
2/3 cup brown sugar
4 oz. chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
3/4 cup butter (divided)
2/3 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp. cocoa powder

Mint Layer:
3 cups powdered sugar
3/4 cup butter (not margarine)
3 Tbsp. Creme de Menthe*
1 Tbsp. Water

Top Layer:
1 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 Tbsp. vegetable shortening

Makes 3-4 dozen small brownies
*Note: Creme de Menthe is found in the liquor store or liquor section. You can buy it in clear or green. I like green because I like the color it adds. It's also yummy to add to hot chocolate on a cold winter's night. Mmmmmmm. 

Simple Christmas Cake

I originally saw this idea on cupcakes, and thought it was just awesome. So, I tried it.

But I don't like that much frosting, so I wanted to make it with a mini cupcake underneath to cut out some of the icing.

Then, I had a blank cake... was hosting a holiday get together... so I thought I would try it on a cake.

I like it. It was a big hit with the kids, who liked to point out that it was a "Christmas Tree Family: Daddy tree, Mommy tree  and Baby tree." The decorating didn't take terribly long... more on that later. But it really is a simple homemade Christmas cake that anyone can do with very few supplies necessary!

What You Need:
Cake
A Double Batch of Decorator's Icing
   -leave 3-4 cups white, color 2 cups green
Piping Bag
Tip #1M
Cupcake (removed from wrapper)
Mini Cupcake (removed from wrapper)
Sprinkles!!

The Season of Baking

I love holiday baking. Sometimes I don't actually love the baking part because it seems like I'm always stressing about how to fit it in around everything else. But I love the rewards of the baking. Eating all of my favorite things. (I will add more photos and links as soon as I get them baked, I promise!)


My Must-Haves:

Gingersnaps*

Gingerbread Men*

Sugar Cookies, of course.

Pecan Snowballs (or Russian Tea Cakes)

Mint-Chocolate Brownies*

Peppermint Bark

Special K Bars*

My Kid-Friendly Baking:

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies*

Pretzel "Turtles"

White Chocolate Pretzels

My Newer Additions to Round Out the Cookie Plate:

Cardamom Shortbread Cookies*

*Those ideas marked with a * freeze well.

Gingersnap Cookie Recipe

The original recipe (which I've only slightly altered) for these cookies was a wedding gift from a friend of my husband. These cookies are some of his favorites.

If you eat these straight out of the oven, I mean, just cool enough not to burn your mouth but still really warm, you might think you're in heaven. I do!

What You Need:
1/2 cup Shortening
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter (softened)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup molasses
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 - 1/2 cup sugar for coating the cookies

Why yes, this does look an awful lot like my gingerbread recipe. But it's not the same. Less flour and more baking soda. But yes, there will be some deja vu in the instructions for mixing, but there are changes for the baking.

Gingerbread Cookie Recipe

"Run, Run as fast as you can. You can't catch me. I'm the gingerbread man!" So taunts the yummiest, cutest cookie around. That's right, I'm finally, finally getting to some holiday baking!

I am a Gingerbread Man purest. I like only a little icing outline, and some red-hot buttons. Occasionally, I'll add more decoration, but I think it just adds too much sweet to something so yummy without it.

What You Need:
1/2 cup Shortening
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter (softened)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg*
3/4 cup molasses
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon

Royal Icing Recipe
Red Hots/ "cinnamon imperials" (or other sprinkles/decorations)
  - Yield: 3-4 dozen 4" tall gingerbread men

*You see 2 eggs in the photo because I doubled the recipe in order to make some gingersnaps, too. For info on how to make half & half, check out the bottom of the gingersnap recipe.

What?! Your Freezer Doesn't Look Like This?

And Why Not?!

Okay, my freezer doesn't usually have 9 cakes and 2-3 dozen cupcakes in it. (Not to mention the tucked-back bags full of cake scraps to be used for cake pops...) But I do love my freezer.

I fit this "baking thing" in around many other activities in my life. So, when I have some bad bananas, I bake a banana cake (top right). I know I'll need it eventually. And when I have too much batter from a cake, cupcakes or whatever, I make cupcakes (far left) or mini cupcakes (top center).

I sometimes bake cakes for friends. When this photo was taken, I had two birthdays in the same week, with a total of 8 cakes to bake. So, some of those cakes were baked ahead of time and frozen.

I highly recommend making use of your own freezer space. When a cake is cooled completely, I wrap it twice in plastic wrap, then set it on a flat plate or on the cooling grid inside the freezer until it's frozen. Once fully frozen, you can move the cakes around to sit on their sides or whatever you need to make the space work.

It's so nice to know that I have two banana cakes in there right now, one 6", one 8"... just waiting for me to do something with them!

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The Best Part About Decorating Cakes for Other People...

LEFTOVERS!!

Step 1: Take spare banana cake out of freezer. (See Monday's post about the freezer.)

Step 2: Slap leftover icing on top and sides.

Step 3: Drop leftover dots on top. (More info in a later post about icing decorations.)

elapsed time: 5-10 minutes (other than defrosting time)

How to Bake when You're Busy: A Timeline

When I have to prepare a lot of desserts, or bake a cake that will require a lot of decorating time, I try to break down my work into smaller pieces... and spread it out over days, or even weeks, if I need to.
Here's how I made it work for the four different desserts I made for the chocolate party (which was a Saturday night).

Weekend before: (1-2 hours)
Grocery Shopping.
Make & Bake Cardamom Cookies. Cool and Put in the Freezer in Freezer Bags.

Cardamom Shortbread Cookies

I added these cookies to my Chocolate Desserts menu to have something a little less traditionally sweet.

I got this recipe from a friend a few years ago. Originally from India, most of my super-sweet treats are a little too sugary for her taste buds. But these cookies are awesome. Not too sweet, but sweet enough. And they're perfect to add a little different flavor to a holiday cookie plate.

What You Need:
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup light brown sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. ground cardamom