Holiday Cranberry Panettones

Most of you are probably screaming that it's too early to be thinking about Christmas, but I really do love the holiday season. How could you not love Christmas and all it's charm? It is enchanting despite what people say or think.

It's not about the perfect gift. It's about the first snowfall that blankets everything in an immaculate shade of soft white. The quietness of the morning when you first notice that this has occurred.

Walks when it's snowing and that certain someone places his arm around your shoulder to keep you warm. Cold lips warmed by kisses at the front door never tasted so sweet. Realizing that you miss someone more than you ever thought you would.

Christmas is a time for love, compassion, generosity, and for some the chance to start over. These are the reasons I love the holidays so much. The possibilities for magic are endless.

The panettones themselves are a little magical as well. In that, they can be any flavor you want them to be. You can add raisins, chocolate, or any dried fruit of your choice. The sky's the limit.

Let your imagination run wild with the "add-ins" and live in the moment. Take the time to appreciate the smell of warm bread coming out of the oven. The smile of that certain someone when you hand him or her a freshly baked panettone.

Print Recipe

Banana Dulce De Leche Cake

You didn’t think I would have a BBQ party without serving dessert? Of course, I served dessert. After everyone ate their burgers on freshly made hamburger buns, I brought out a banana cake filled with dulce de leche and iced with a mascarpone frosting. I served the cake with iced coffee because lately it’s been very warm here in Southern California. Everyone enjoyed the cake especially the icing. I was a little worried that my guests would think that the mascarpone icing would be a little too tangy. As it turned out my worries were unfounded.

The cake is a rich banana cake made tender by the sour cream in the batter. The original recipe calls for a banana filling as well, but I decided against that. I had a jar of dulce de leche left over from my last vacation in Mexico.

In Mexico, the best dulce de leche is from the state of Guanajuato. In addition, it is not called dulce de leche. Its proper name is cajeta and is packaged in little wooden boxes. You can have it made with goat’s milk, cow’s milk, or a mixture of both.

My grandmother (father’s side) is from Guanajuato and I have spent many summers there. At the local bakery, they had a toast that was extremely dry and it had a “cream cheese” spread on top. We used to buy the toast and then drizzle cajeta over it. Seriously … unbelievably good!

Well, I am going to have to wait until June to replenish my stash of dulce de leche and other goodies I purchase in Mexico. (Stef-I a put a post it in my passport so I remember to bring you dulce de leche.) Finally, the recipe.

Mascarpone Icing

Adapted from Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook
Makes one 9-inch layer cake
1 ½ sticks of unsalted butter at room temperature
1 2/3 cups of sugar
2 ¾ cups of all purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
½ teaspoon of salt
3 very ripe bananas mashed
¼ cup of sour cream
1 teaspoon of vanilla
4 large eggs
¾ cup of dulce de leche (cajeta)

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Butter two 9-by-2-inch round pans; line the bottoms with parchment paper. Butter the parchment paper and dust the pans with flour; tapping out the excess. Into a medium bowl sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside. In a small bowl mash together the bananas, vanilla and sour cream; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment cream together the butter and sugar (medium speed) until fluffy and light. Scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add the eggs one at a time mixing thoroughly after each addition. With the mixer on low speed add the flour in two batches. Using a rubber spatula fold in the banana mixture.

Divide the batter among the pans evenly. Bake rotating the pans halfway through until cakes are golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean, 30-35 minutes. Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool 20 minutes. Invert cakes on to the racks and remove parchment paper. Reinvert cakes, and cool completely.

Once the cakes are cooled, spread the dulce de leche on one of the layers. Place the remaining layer on top and ice with the mascarpone icing. I had a little extra dulce de leche left in the jar and I drizzled that over the top of the cake.

Hugs & Kisses

Well look at this. I have actually managed to post a recipe before the “holiday” is even here. Are you shocked? I am. My friends were even more shocked when I presented them with their gift and announced “Happy Valentine’s Day”! ( Feb. 8) The idea of “hugs & kisses” is originally from the Martha Stewart Magazine (Feb. 2005). In the magazine she used an “x” cookie cutter and an “o” cookie cutter to make the “hugs & kisses”. I paid a visit to my local baking supply store looking for the said letters when I came across the perfect cutter. A cookie cutter that had merged together the x & o. Perfection.

After purchasing my cookie cutter, I made a quick stop at my craft store for ribbon and paper roses. I have to admit, that gift wrapping my cookies was the best part of the whole process. But enough about gift wrapping, let us move on to the baking!

The vanilla cookies are plain old sugar cookies with sanding sugar. Don’t get me wrong they taste fantastic. The thing is, everyone has their own favorite personal sugar cookie recipe that they love to use. So, go right ahead and use your own recipe if you like. The chocolate recipe was delicious! The one and only down side was, that it was hard to work with. The cookies “cut-out” best when the dough is cold. And I was constantly rolling and refrigerating it. I spent way too much time trying to cut-out the chocolate cookies.

In the end cookies were worth all the extra effort and hard work. Especially when my friends realized that I had gift wrapped “hugs & kisses” for them.

Strawberry Jam Crumb Bars

Please do not let my lack of photography skills keep you from trying these cookies (bars). They are simply the greatest bar-cookies I have ever had. I am completely amazed. No matter what I type, I will not be able to do these cookies justice. They recipe can easily be changed to whatever filling your heart desires. Oh, and the recipe makes a ton of cookies. I only made half but I will be making a full batch for the holidays with apricot or peach jam. If I were not a college student, I would easily slap a “money back guarantee” on these cookies.

So there you go, a must make, must try, hypothetical money back guarantee cookie recipe. Happy Holidays!

Jam Crumb Bars
adapted from the Martha Stewart Baking Handbook

• 3 sticks of butter cut into small pieces at room temperature.
• 11 oz. blanched almond finely ground
• 3 cups of flour
• 1 ¼ cups sugar
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• 1 ¾ cup of jam

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Butter and line a 15x10x2 pan with parchment paper with a 1-inch over hang. Set aside.

In a large bowl whisk together the almond, flour, sugar, and salt. Cut in the butter until it resembles coarse crumbs.

Transfer half of the dough to the prepared pan and press into the pan. Including the edges. Dough should be firmly packed with no cracks or holes. Bake rotating half through for 15-20 minutes until golden. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Evenly spread jam over the cooled crust. Scatter the remaining crumbs over the top of the jam. Bake rotating the pan halfway through until the top is a light golden brown about 20-22 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Run a knife around the edges to loosen the cookie from the pan. Transfer to a cutting board and cut into 3-inch by 2-inch bars.

Madeleines

After my muffin failure (2 posts below) I needed a pick me up. You know something I knew I could bake and would come out well. Ta-Da! Madeleines!

These seashell shaped cookies scream fancy. Okay, maybe that part is only me, but they are purty cookies.

Madeleines satisfy the cake craving many of us have without having to bake a cake. The recipe is from "Martha" and it's a fairly easy one, pretty much guarantees success.

It's also very adaptable, I added orange extract as well as zest. You could also make a glaze for the cookies with powdered sugar or just dust them with powdered sugar. Martha says, one should serve the cookies with tea. Well, I had mine with espresso and it was great. So pick your poison and enjoy.