The past couple of days the boys and I have been doing some holiday baking. By that I mean that I’ve been grinding flour and kneading dough and washing dishes…and the boys have been licking beaters and using cookie cutters and begging me to please make frosting for the cookies. It’s been messy, loud and my whole house smells like Christmas!
We started off with Orange Cream Cheese Cut-Out Cookies. I used sucanat instead of the organic sugar crystals I had originally used in the recipe, just to see if it would work. Oh yeah…it worked. They turned out dark in color…but oh well. They are delicious and the citrus flavor is SO good.
Malachi (age 4) was so excited to frost his Christmas cookies that he pulled a stool around the kitchen and got out all the ingredients we would need all by himself. I hated telling him that we didn’t need eggs or baking powder for the frosting. ;)
Here’s Elias and Malachi finally getting to frost the cookies. You MUST try the Orange Cream Cheese Frosting with these cookies. And don’t forget that you can pretend that the cookies are good for you and packed with Vitamin C since they have orange juice in them. Uh-huh…cookies to boost your immune system. That’s right.
We (the Mom part of we) got a double batch of Honey Whole Wheat Bread made. We’ve been out of bread for about a week…so it’s about time I got that job done.
We also made a batch of Coconut Macaroon Cookies to take to a friend who can’t have gluten (and who happens to love Coconut Macaroons). These cookies are so easy!
Next week, I plan to share a big list of food ideas that make GREAT Christmas gifts! Stay tuned!
Been doing any baking lately?!
I actually started baking the week before Thanksgiving so I would have some gifts to send home with family we won’t see at Christmas. Freezer has a good amount in there, pumpkin spice bread & several cookies, but someone keeps sneaking the peanut butter balls aka buckeye balls (I wonder who…) so I might have to whip up another batch of those. Coconut Macaroons are on my list to do this week! My boys love to help so we do a little every couple of days.
Not much baking yet…too much first trimester nausea…but looking forward to getting there with the rest of you all! :D
Thanks for sharing the recipes!
I made some of your Honey Whole Wheat bread for the first time a few weeks ago. (Wrote about it here: http://www.vanderbiltwife.com/2009/11/two-labors.html) I don’t know that I’ve ever made a yeast bread without a machine, but it turned out really well and sure was tasty!!
This weekend I have big plans to make rice krispie treats with chocolate for my coworker gifts and some Christmas cookies. Yay!
Hi Laura, I have a question.
I looked at your coconut recipe and wonder if I can use arrowroot starch instead of powder if I grind it up. Or, what other alternatives are there to arrowroot powder?
Thanks!
Love your site!
Your cookies & bread look great. We try to make a particular cookie every year: it’s called New World Spice – I’ve made it for so long, I don’t remember where I got it from. It’s a rolled cookie with molasses & cocoa & spices. Yum.
I also am trying to get info out to the blogosphere about my brother’s animation company. He’s producing a soon-to-be-released Christian preschool show called the Slug & Ant Show. It’s family-oriented and it teaches strong Christians values and morals. He’s having a giveaway of the dvd (which will be out in stores in February). Anyway, the giveaway is here: http://mkfoster.blogspot.com/ (and the info about Slug & Ant is here: http://www.slugandant.com/) You can also read about the giveaway on my blog. Just thought your readers might be interested. Thanks.
I’m excited to try these recipes! I have been wanting to start baking with some healthy sugar alternatives!! thanks!
I’ve just got to try your bread, Laura… it looks fabulous!! My wheat bread loaves NEVER turn out that fluffy!! ~Kristy
I have NOT started baking but do have a cookie swap coming up. Your post has inspired me to set a time to bake with my mom, a tradition I have not renewed since I was young. Thank you! I can’t wait for you budget-holiday-gift post!