It’s about that time again. The time when our grandest holiday intentions get pushed aside by a roaring reality. Plans of making fancy homemade cookie and candy platters for neighbors and friends. Plans of wowing teachers with homemade breads and dessert bars. I think we can all agree that nothing is going to slow down for the next two months. Time in a bottle will not be left on our doorstep. What to do about it?
Bake.
Now.
This morning I got a start on my holiday baking during the Twitter #bakingday event. I didn’t get a stellar amount accomplished, but something is better than nothing. And in that something I have 5 mini-loaves of Poppy Seed Dessert Bread that can now be wrapped and frozen for giving. I also have some of these in the freezer, but I know they won’t make it to the holidays!
Today’s Baking Day Accomplishments
- Poppy Seed Dessert Bread
- Wheat Bread
- Hamburger/Hot Dog Buns (with a few healthy adjustments)
- Veggie Chicken Noodle Soup
Right now, while the days are a little less crazy, while the weight of your holiday to-do list hasn’t stripped your holiday cheer, start baking. Works for me!
What are your favorite things to bake for the holidays?
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
Lovin’ the cinnamon rolls (they make me drool) but at what point would you freeze them? I’d love to have a batch (or 2 or 7) in the freezer and ready to go- but have no idea how to go about that.
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Amy Reply:
November 11th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
@maygan, I usually freeze mine after I bake them. Then just zap in the micro and eat.
However, I do have some in my freezer right now that haven’t yet been baked. Going to experiment with that. Will post after I have results.
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Janey Reply:
November 17th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
@Amy, I usually freeze mine after baking them, but I don’t bake them until they are brown, just until they have finished rising. Then I can take them out of the freezer, and pop them into the oven. When they are starting to brown, I take them out and frost them. Yumm. I do this with regular rolls too. I put them into round foil pans from the dollar store and put that into a gallon ziplock to freeze.
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Such a great idea…I always like getting a head start on the holidays.
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Awesome job!!
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Wow yummy!!! I want to start doing more baking, more than just my muffins. I didn’t even think about freezing my baked goods, I’m so silly!
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Great job with your baking day! What a fabulous way to bless your family and others!
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Those bread loaves look lovely! I’m going to go read your poppy seed bread recipe right now – yummy yum!
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I haven’t even thought of doing holiday baking yet! Your rolls look delicious!
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This is one of my favorite sanity-keepers for December. Unfortunately, my big freezer died and I’m trying to figure out how to do it this year with just the one on top of the fridge. We’ll figure something out! (Maybe an early Christmas present!!)
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Amy Reply:
November 11th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
@Becky, An early Christmas present sounds good to me!
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I am not a baker AT ALL, but I do love to make my grandmother’s Sour Cream Coffee Cake for Christmas morning. It’s an old family recipe that no one else makes anymore since she passed away.
When my mother-in-law had it 2 years ago she said that my husbands’ side of the family used to enjoy something like it too years ago!
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Amy Reply:
November 11th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
@Erika, Mmmm, sour cream coffee cake is yummy!
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Good for you! I plan on having a baking day of my own soon. It would certainly help during the holidays to have at least some of the work done.
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My son and I baked cookies and a cake for the Harvest Festival last Saturday. It was alot of fun. I really enjoyed spending time with him.
We’ll be doing some holiday baking for sure!
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I have a cake that I ALWAYS must bake for Christmas. In fact my sister’s family request I not show up without it! LOL I’ll be sharing that sometime in early December because I may just bake one for Thanksgiving again this year. My kids LOVE oreo balls. We’ve made them several years now. I also make fudge. My mom’s recipe and it is delish! You just gave me 2 new bloggin topics (cake and fudge). LOL
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Excellent idea to stock up early! And well done on what you’ve done so far.
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Great start on the holidays!!!
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Good job!!! I love that you made homemade hamburger and hot dog buns. You so RAWK!
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Amy Reply:
November 11th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
@Lisa@blessedwithgrace, Those buns are the best! So worth the effort.
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I’d be interested in seeing what “healthy adjustments” you made to your hamburger and hotdog buns. Yours look like they might be a bit more crusty than the others – a plus in my book! Although anything has to be better than the store-bought ones that keep forever on my counter. Why is it they never go bad? Never mind, I don’t want to know!
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Amy Reply:
November 11th, 2009 at 5:00 pm
@Jennifer, I subbed in some whole wheat flour and used honey and butter. They turned out great!
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I like to bake pumpkin bread, banana bread, and Jewish apple cake. For cookies we love sugar cookies (of course) and candy cane snowballs and snickerdoodles.
How do you go about thawing out your frozen baked goods? I always like to hear everyone’s different baking tips.
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Amy Reply:
November 11th, 2009 at 5:02 pm
@niki, I embrace “lazy,” and just set them out on the counter. If I’m in a hurry, I zap ‘em in the microwave.
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