"Artisanal" Holiday Presents

[Panaderia Canadiense]

This year it's Nanaimo bars in 6-flavour packs, black fruitcakes (they're in huge demand right now!), maple-walnut shortbreads, and butter tarts.

[Darienne]

Mostly Enstrom copycat toffee coated in bittersweet chocolate. Confectionery partner and Barbara will begin next week. Also two new recipes I found on this Toronto site, www.closetcooking.com/‎ , shortbreads, one based on orange and the other on lime. Oh, and chocolate-dipped ginger slices. That should do it.

Edited December 11, 2013 by Darienne (log)

[andiesenji]

I'm not doing much this year as the local folks who usually get baskets are away for the month. I will take one large one to the senior center - a couple of stollen loaves, some simple cookies, my plain cocoa cookies, and some home- blended teas with spices and etc.

I've made a couple of cheese logs but some of the folks there don't like to eat cheese so I may save those for something else.

I've been invited to the home of some ex-neighbors for a day but was instructed to bring "just myself" as it is to be a day of making tamales for the big family celebration. I'm invited to that also but considering that I will be more than sufficiently fed the previous day, I will probably stay home.

Including me in the tamale-making event is something I consider an honor for a non-Mexican.

There will also be construction of several varieties of empanadas...

I've already made a large batch of candied ginger and candied orange and lemon peel.

Edited December 11, 2013 by andiesenji (log)

[andiesenji]

The last 6 pounds of the candied ginger just out of the dehydrator. Left it a bit longer than usual so it is just a bit darker and a bit dryer, not as flexible as usual.

[Pierogi]

Tomorrow I'm doing my "not a fruitcake", which is a sweet bread with dates, candied cherries, nuts and chocolate chips. The recipe, which was my Mom's, calls it Bishop's Bread. Why, I have no clue. I always have to warn people that it's "not a fruitcake", since so many are put off by the the day-glo red and green cherries ! But it just isn't the same without them.

I'll also make some cranberry-hot pepper jelly, which I found in Bon Appetit several years ago. Hot, tart and sweet. It's great as a condiment, and works really well over cream cheese as an appetizer.

Cookies, of course....I think 6 or 8 varieties this year.

Pierogies, also of course. 3 varieties (potato/cheese, mushroom/sauerkraut, ground beef/mushroom/onion/kraut), shared with special friends ONLY.

And I'd like to try my hand at pickled cocktail onions, canning them in a hot water bath. If for no other reason than I'd like some for my own cocktails.....

[Okanagancook]

Every year I made rubs for different kinds of meat, fish and poultry. My friends do quite a bit of BBQ'ing in the summer so they are usually ready for a new batch by Christmas. The hard part is finding appropriate jars.

[Smithy]

Tomorrow I'm doing my "not a fruitcake", which is a sweet bread with dates, candied cherries, nuts and chocolate chips. The recipe, which was my Mom's, calls it Bishop's Bread. Why, I have no clue. I always have to warn people that it's "not a fruitcake", since so many are put off by the the day-glo red and green cherries ! But it just isn't the same without them.

I confess, the day-glo red and green cherries are always off-putting to me, but I recognize them as being traditional. :-) Peirogi, your "Bishop's Bread" sounds like a Christmas stollen except for the chocolate chips. Does it taste like that? Maybe she tweaked a stollen recipe and gave the name an appropriate twist?

I love your description of the pierogies, even though I cut them out of the quoted part. Sauerkraut in pierogis! How I wish I'd made more kraut last fall!

[Darienne]

Made the Orange Cookies Dipped in Chocolate for the neighbors up the road. Beauties. And yummy too. Made the glace orange bits first (thanks to first eG mentor Andiesenji)

[andiesenji]

Beautiful, Darienne. Makes me feel lazy for not yet getting around to baking cookies. However, I have measured out the dry ingredients for four kinds into ziplock bags and stored each in a jumbo bag along with the recipes.

Even with just a few batches, doing this saves so much time and aggravation if one finds there is not enough (or any) of a particular ingredient.

When I used to prepare more than a dozen varieties, it was absolutely necessary - of course I was still working then - but the "production line" method helps a great deal.

Edited December 14, 2013 by andiesenji (log)

[Darienne]

Ingredients in the Ziplock bags sounds good. Monday is Toffee day and I think I'll measure out the ingredients before partner Barbara gets here. We have quite a lot to accomplish and I could do this tomorrow.

Laughed when I found an old eG topic which I started on whether I could double or triple my toffee recipe. Had completely forgotten about that one.

[Herbprincess]

How about we start this thread again. 

 

Im making fudge with and without nuts, peanut brittle, cashew brittle, toffee, bourbon balls, Mexican wedding balls, choc chip pretzel nut cookies, butter cookies,  caramel fudge, dilled oyster crackers,  spices pretzels, hot chocolate mix, chai mix, peppermint bark

[kayb]

Still pondering on mine (treat-making is next week) but on the possible/probable list:

• jarred pickled quail eggs and knockwurst
• Cranberry pepper jelly (already made)
• pub cheese with horseradish
• A selection of sweet breads, both yeast and quick. Found a cashew date yeast bread that intrigues me
• Pseudo Raincoast Crisp crackers
• Possibly -- jarred deviled ham 
• Toffee
• Pralines
• Martha Washington candies
• Assorted cookies, including meringues from the egg whites I still have frozen from last year's eggnog extravaganza
• Peanut butter fudge
• Chex mix