I enjoy baking around the holidays because it’s a great way for me to create affordable yet delicious treats for my friends and family. These are a few of my favorite recipes I tried making this holiday season.
Gingerbread Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Gingerbread cake is a delicious twist on classic gingerbread holiday recipes, and it’s perfect for impressing your friends and family.
I used a recipe found online from cookieandkate.com.
I started by preheating the oven to 400 degrees and lightly greasing a 9-inch square pan with cooking spray. I then combined the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl I combined the wet ingredients, whisking well until it formed a paste-like consistency.
I poured the wet ingredients into the dry ones, mixing until just combined. Finally, I poured the batter into the greased pan and baked it for 25 minutes.
Once the cake was out of the oven I began on the cream cheese frosting. Using a stand mixer (a hand mixer also works), I beat the room temperature cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Then, I added the powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until combined.
Peppermint Hot Chocolate
Peppermint hot chocolate is a tasty combination of two holiday essentials and reminiscent of thin mints and other chocolatey treats.
It’s super simple to whip up, and can be modified to your liking. I don’t prefer overly sweet hot chocolate, so I used my own recipe.
I began by pouring the milk into a medium sized pot over medium-low heat. Then I added the sugar and cocoa powder, mixing until combined. Once combined, I added peppermint extract and continued stirring until the mixture steamed.
To serve, I poured the hot chocolate into two mugs, topping them off with peppermint whipped cream and crushed peppermint. And that’s it!
This recipe is super quick and easy so it’s great for a cozy night in as the days get colder.
The hot chocolate could also be topped with whipped cream, crushed peppermints, chocolate shavings, or anything else you’d like.
I’ve made this recipe multiple times since trying it out and I can confidently say I’m obsessed. The subtlety of the peppermint pairs wonderfully with the richness of the chocolate, making this the perfect quick and easy holiday recipe.
Sugar Cookies
Traditional sugar cookies are one of the simplest, yet most tastiest holiday treats, great for baking and decorating with others. They are one of the most customizable treats to whip up using a couple ingredients you probably already have at home.
This recipe, from marthstewart.com, utilizes a small selection of household ingredients to make a delicious sugar cookie perfect to impress your friends and family.
First, I creamed the sugar and butter together in the bowl of a stand mixer. With the mixer at low speed, I beat in the egg and vanilla before stirring the dry ingredients into the dough.
I placed the dough in the freezer for about 10 minutes or so to make it easier to roll out. Once I took the dough out, I let it thaw for about a minute, before rolling it out to about ⅛ to ¼ inch thickness.
I baked the cookies at 325 degrees for 12 minutes. You could bake them longer or shorter depending the size of the cookies. Size will also determine the amount of cookies yielded. I used smaller cookie cutters, allowing me to bake roughly four dozen cookies.
To make the icing, put however much powdered sugar you’d like into a bowl. For this recipe, I made three different colored icings so I put roughly 1/2 cup in each. Then I added milk, stirring until it was thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
I chose to frost some of the cookies with red and green icing, though that is completely optional. I separated the icing into three bowls, adding red food dye to one bowl, green to another, and leaving the remaining bowl with white icing.
The cookies can be topped with holiday sprinkles, candies, sugar, or anything else preferred. I topped my cookies with an assortment of holiday sprinkles and crushed peppermint.
To decorate, I coated each cookie with icing and then added sprinkles while the icing was still wet. This was by far the most tedious part of the process. I would recommend grabbing a friend or family member to help with decorating since it’s a fun opportunity to spend time with others.
Once the icing hardens, the cookies are done. These cookies make a great gift for others. I made a bunch to give to my friends and classmates and they were a hit! I highly recommend making these tasty treats..
For the recipe read the article online at www.thecalifornianpaper.com
