While stores everywhere started putting up their Christmas decorations and playing carols before Halloween even ended, today is the traditional first day of the Christmas season for most people. Only 24 days remain until houses everywhere become buried in wrapping paper and packaging. And of course, in the days in between, there will be dozens of mouths to feed.
And Christmas is synonymous with baking. There are hundreds of recipes out there for the annual classics — sugar cookies, shortbread and fudge. And it's much too late in the season to get started on your fruitcake or Christmas pudding.
So here instead are a few other recipes to consider — a cake, a cookie, a bar and a log. One is traditional while the rest offer a little something different. Regardless, your Yuletide guests will gobble up these treats as quickly as you can make them.
Panettone
Sponge:
1/4 c. warm water
1 tsp. granulated sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 pkg. active dry yeast
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
Dough:
3/4 c. unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 c. sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
4 large egg yolks, room temperature
1/2 c. warm milk
1 tbsp. pure vanilla extract
3.5 c. all-purpose flour, plus additional for work surface
Fruit:
2/3 c. raisins
1/2 c. candied citrus peel
2 tbsp. grated orange zest
1 tbsp. grated lemon zest
To make sponge, combine warm water, sugar, salt, and yeast in medium mixing bowl. Stir and let sit until yeast is dissolved, about 10 minutes. Add flour and stir until mixture is smooth. Cover bowl with a towel or plastic wrap and let sponge rise in a warm place until doubled in size.
For the dough, combine butter and sugar in a bowl. Stir together until mixed. Add eggs and egg yolks then beat until thoroughly mixed. Add sponge mixture, warm milk, vanilla and stir until well mixed. Add 2 c. flour and mix. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.
Turn dough onto a lightly floured pastry mat or pastry board and knead until smooth and elastic, adding additional flour 1 tbsp. at a time if dough is too sticky. Place dough in a well-greased bowl and turn over once to grease the top. Cover bowl with a small kitchen towel and let dough rise is a warm place until doubled in size.
And now the fruit. While dough is rising, plump the raisins by steaming in a double boiler; steam the raisins about 1 minute or until softened. Thoroughly drain, or spread the raisins on paper towel to dry. In a small bowl, combine the drained raisins, citrus peel, orange zest and lemon zest.
Prepare one 8-cup panettone mould. Lightly grease the mould with shortening. If using a paper panettone mould, place it on a baking sheet. Try using one of the following: a 2-cup coffee can, a crock pot liner, a terra cotta pot, or another deep mould that is about six inches tall and eight inches wide, or a round baking pan with a parchment paper sleeve added to make the pan higher.
Punch risen dough down then turn onto a lightly floured pastry mat or pastry board. Add fruit and knead the fruit into the dough, knead only until the fruit appears to be evenly distributed. Form the dough into a ball and place in the prepared mould. Cover and let dough rise until doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 400 F and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 F and bake for 30 minutes or until bread is a golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Place pan on a wire cooling rack to cool.
Mincemeat Bars
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1 large egg
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
3/4 c. firmly packed light brown sugar
2 tbsp. light or dark molasses
1 tsp. grated orange zest
1/2 tsp. pure orange extract
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 c. prepared mincemeat
1/2 c. golden raisins
1/2 c. walnuts, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp. powdered sugar
Preheat oven to 375 F. Prepare one 13 by 9 by 2-inch oblong pan; lightly grease the pan with shortening and dust with flour.
In a medium mixing bowl, sift flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and allspice together. Set aside. In a large bowl, combine egg, butter, brown sugar and molasses. Use an electric mixer or wooden spoon and beat together until mixture is thick and smooth. Add orange zest, orange extract and vanilla extract and mix. Add mincemeat, raisins, walnuts and stir to mix. Then add the flour mixture and stir.
Spread the batter evenly in the baking pan. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Remove from oven. Using a fine-mesh sieve, dust the tops of the hot bars with powdered sugar. Place baking pan on a wire cooling rack to cool. Cut into squares. Makes about 3 dozen bars.
Gingerbread Men
1 pkg. cook and serve butterscotch pudding mix
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1 egg
1.5 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1.5 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
In a medium bowl, cream together the dry butterscotch pudding mix, butter and brown sugar until smooth. Stir in the egg. Combine the flour, baking soda, ginger, and cinnamon. Stir into the pudding mixture. Cover and chill dough until firm, about 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease baking sheets. On a floured board, roll dough out to about 1/8-inch thickness, and cut into people shapes using a cookie cutter. Place cookies 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until cookies are golden at the edges. Cool on wire racks.
Yuletide Log
1/4 c. butter
3/4 c. fine sugar
3 eggs, separated
2/3 c. sifted all-purpose flour
1.5 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1.75 c. graham wafers, finely rolled
3/4 c. buttermilk or sour milk
Line a 10 by 15-inch jelly roll pan with waxed paper. Do not grease. Cream butter and sugar. Add egg yolks and beat. Sift dry ingredients and add alternately to creamed mixture with milk. Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites and wafer crumbs. Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes. Turn out immediately onto a damp towel liberally sprinkled with fine sugar.
Carefully remove waxed paper, trim crusts. Roll cake up along narrow edge. When cool, partially unroll, then fill and frost with whipped cream or chocolate frosting can be substituted for the whipped cream.
