Kitchen

[Witchy Woman]

@Pooky1 

Oh, those sound even better!

I adore anything lemon.

I won't trouble you for the recipe as I'll never make them.  Sadly, my baking days are behind me.  My husband is not interested in anything sweet, and no one for gifting.  

But, thank you.  I know they are delicious! 

[KingstonsMom]

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@Yahooey wrote:

just finished cleaning up - been at it on and off all day

made spiced mixed nuts and candied pecans

2 batches of florentines

1 cranberry almond biscotti. 

these are for friends I'm meeting next week

dough is done, reads to be baked next weekend and will be given out Christmas

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@Yahooey 

Oooh! Can I trouble you to ask how you make your candied pecans?

I've tried a couple of recipes that didn't work out and I pay a fortune for them (because I can eat so many, LOL!) from Riverstreet Sweets here in Savannah!

[SharkE]

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@Witchy Woman wrote:

@Pooky1 

Oh, those sound even better!

I adore anything lemon.

I won't trouble you for the recipe as I'll never make them.  Sadly, my baking days are behind me.  My husband is not interested in anything sweet, and no one for gifting.  

But, thank you.  I know they are delicious! 

---

You should try those lemon Oreo cookies !

They are so good !

[Yahooey]

@KingstonsMom 

I used Trisha Yearwood's recipe from foodnetwork

I think Jerry is her BIL

I always did the spicy which I prefered much better but that could just be me

it was so much butter that I added an add'l cup of pecans

here is the screenshot fron the site

do you like savory spicy nuts?

[KingstonsMom]

@Yahooey 

Oh yes, I love the savory/spicy too!

I just love nuts in general, I guess, LOL! 

[house_cat]

@homedecor1 

I bake those every year. This is a photo from last year.

Last week I baked 8 mini carrot cakes for coworker gifts and twelve huge cupcake sized carrot cakes.  I didn't get one bite for myself!  That's okay, because I've been very careful about eating sugar.

Yesterday, my BFF hosted her annual cookie baking day.  There were four of us in the kitchen and we made:

coconut macaroons (a recipe I got from someone here)

peanut butter cookies

snickerdoodles

shortbread cookies

fudge

and a funky looking no bake cookie with candied fruit

I took a few of each home with me, just to be polite. I ate one fo the macaroons with my tea last night. It was good, but since DH doesn't eat ANY of the things we baked, I threw it all into the trash.  

Our baking day is fun because I get to be with my friends and most of them bake only that one day a year.  However, my family only likes a small handful of favorites and they ignore everything else, so it's wasted on us.

My last day of work before Winter Break is Friday and then I need to get busy fast.  I'll be making those Italian sprinkle cookies, apple pie and an oreo cheesecake.

[Boehm Collector]

Last weekend I made two sponge cakes ( I froze them) using the Cake Boss's recipe.  I use the sponge cake to make an Italian dessert called Zuppa Inglese for Christmas.  

[jeanlake]

You guys rock -- and your kitchens are busy. This year I discovered Zebra popcorn from Costco. Such a busy year for me, I've lost track how many bags I bought to give as neighbor gifts and for gatherings. Son is even giving bags of Zebra corn to his childcare's family. Maybe next year I'll heat up the oven. Hubs is retiring in January and I'll have more time. The entire house smells great when bakers are busy. Enjoy! 

[Yahooey]

@KingstonsMom 

try making these nuts - I promise you that everyone will love them

this year I made them with almonds, salted cashews and pecans

all done on stovetop and NO baking - fresh chopped rosemary is best but I used crushed dried rosemary this year (you don't want large bits of rosemary)

recipe is Emerill and I added the 1 TBS Rosemary

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tbs Rosemary

4 cups unsalted mixed nuts

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

6 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

Mix spices and reserve.

Directions

Heat the nuts in a dry skillet and cook, stirring frequently, until 

they begin to toast, about 4 minutes. Add the butter and cook, 

stirring, until the nuts begin to darken, about 1 minute. Add the 

spices, the sugar, 1 tablespoon water, and the salt and cook, 

stirring, until the sauce thickens and the nuts are glazed, about 5 

minutes.

Remove the nuts from the heat and transfer to a baking sheet lined 

with aluminum foil, separating them with a fork. Let the nuts stand 

until cooled and the sugar has hardened, about 10 minutes. Store in an 

airtight container.

[minkbunny]

Everything sounds (and looks) yummy.   This morning church services were cancelled due to weather so I took my newfound time and baked some almond shortbread and some oatmeal raisin cookies.  Both turned out great.