Kitchen

[dancingwoman]

I grew up in an Italian household.   Here’s a couple pics of some of the Christmas cookies I make.   Some recipes are mine...my sisters...my moms and my aunts....the two tone cookie is a Martha Stewart recipe...DW

[Carmie]

@dancingwoman   Your cookies look beautiful.  I recognize some of them.  We must bake a lot of the same cookies.

Do I see biscotti too?

[dancingwoman]

Yes there are a couple different biscottis in there...they are DH’s favorite cookie...thanks...DW

[RetRN]

Helping to decorate sugar cookies (cut-outs) was so much fun.

[Hoovermom]

My mom was a fantastic cook and also baker, nothing from a box, always fresh.  I remember our taffy pulls at Christmas time (what fun), along with her fudge made with marshallmellow cream, some with nuts, cinammon rolls, pineapple upside down cake (made in a cast iron skillet....how do you do that???).  Loved the smells coming from her kitchen.  RIP

[beckyb1012]

Mom's holiday fudge for Thanksgiving, Christmas and again for New Year's Day.  When she married in Dec. 1960 she received this big beautiful platter with lovely turkey design on it.  This held our bird but first the fudge was poured onto until ready to cut for storing.  I have the platter now and just pulled it out this past weekend.  That platter as barely missed a year of service since 1960.  Made five pds. of fudge for the family feast myself this weekend. Having more tonight!

[kitty60]

Funny, growing up my family never made many desserts.  Birthdays were always a 9x13 cake and Christmas was apple pie, mincemeat pie and stollen.  My grandmother's specialty was kuchen.  She made a blueberry kuchen, apple and a poppy seed.  I loved the blueberry.  The streusel topping was oh so good.  Found a recipe in my mother's box but it no way resembles her mothers.  Wish I could replicate.  

I on the other hand love to bake and spend any free time with my granddaughter's in the kitchen.  They love it.  My 13 yo has progressed to pies this year and my 8 yo still loves chocolate chip cookies, brownies and bread.  Together we love Christmas cookies and all the mess that goes with them. 

[FlyersGirl]

My mom was an excellent baker and went all out for the holidays making many cakes, cookies and pies. I really miss her spritz cookies with sugar sprinkles and silver dragees.

[Toppers3]

My Mom used to use a manual cookie press to make buttery Spritz cookies.

I still make those, but I haven't made any for awhile.

I also have a manual cookie press, meaning that it's not electric. You put the dough in the container, and then as you turn the top of it, it presses out.

She used to make the powdered wedding cake-type cookies, only they were called Pfferneuse cookies, or what translates into "pepper nut."

They are German-style with crushed nuts in them and are made into small cresent shapes or balls and are rolled in powdered sugar. 

My sister and I used to help shape the dough into the cresents, and then we'd roll them in the powdered sugar when still warm. 

We'd probably eat more of them, then would make them into the tray of cookies for Christmas. 

She would also make those chocolate crinkle cookies. Again, another one that got rolled in powdered sugar, but this time, it was done before baking.

Those are more of a chocolate fudge-type of a cookie--kind of like a brownie cookie, I think.

These were like the top favorites of cookies for the holidays, and then she would make a brandy-soaked fruit cake from scratch about 6 weeks before the holidays started. 

She made it as a Bundt cake, and then kept a cheese cloth over it, soaked in Brandy. She would periodically add Brandy to it, to keep it moist. 

That was some cake! 

I used to help her with it as I got older, and would pour a little bit of the Brandy on it to help keep it moist as it aged in the refrigerator. 

[Toppers3]

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@dancingwoman wrote:

I grew up in an Italian household.   Here’s a couple pics of some of the Christmas cookies I make.   Some recipes are mine...my sisters...my moms and my aunts....the two tone cookie is a Martha Stewart recipe...DW

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These are so beautiful, @dancingwoman !

They look like they belong in a bakery, or in a professional gourmet food magazine!