Bake 2019 - December


A year of baking!  All chronicled here on the blog.  I started this journey because I realized at some point in 2018 I had stopped baking.  I had stopped doing things I enjoyed.  I had taken on a mindset, after our miscarriage at the end of 2017, that wasn't good.  I was taught to bake and cook by my mom and grandma.  In my sadness I focused on the fact that I wasn't going to have a child to pass on my love of baking or share the little tips and tricks I learned from Mom and Grandma.  That was dumb, but it's how I felt.  I focused on what we were missing instead of what we had.  I talked with a good friend at the beginning of the year about how I wanted to do more things I loved.  More things that I felt like God had given me the talent for and baking was number one.  So began my Bake 2019 adventures.  I made some new things, some old things, some good things, and some bad things.  Then I began to do more things that I enjoyed, like crochet and crafts.  I slowly felt myself begin to heal.

Then May, oh May, was a roller coaster.  I cried some tears in my chocolate chip cookies because Joe loved them so.  Losing a brother when we're all in our 40's is indescribable.  But I had the cathartic gift of baking and more importantly a community of family and friends who loved us well through prayer and acts of kindness.  Even more important than that I know that, because of Jesus, I will see Joey again.

Okay, now on to my December bakes.  AKA - Showtime!  December for a baker is prime time!  I made some classics and tried some new recipes.  Prepare your scrolling finger, there's a lot here.


______________________________

What do you do with zucchini about to go bad?  Bake a loaf of Zucchini Chocolate Chip Bread and a loaf of Pumpkin Zucchini bread. I put these in the freezer for future enjoyment.  


_______________________________

Peppermint Bark fudge from Sally's Baking Addiction.  Delish!  I froze this.  Then I thawed it in the refrigerator and it was still good!  Next time I won't put the candy canes on top before freezing.  They got a little sticky.  It was fine, just a little sticky on the fingers. 


_______________________________

Low Carb cheddar bacon biscuits.  These are good!  Low carb savory baking is not bad if you find a good recipe.  I haven't found much luck in the low carb sweet baking, even with recipes from reputable sources.  


________________________________

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge.  This was kind of a fail, but fudge is never really a fail.  It tasted amazing!  I made my mom's chocolate fudge and then topped it with a batch of peanut butter fudge.  They looked cool but didn't stick together.  I left them together when I packaged them up though. 


I almost didn't try this because I love it when Mom put nuts (pecans usually) in the fudge.  I thought my experiment would work like the peppermint bark one.  Lesson learned.  Don't mess with Mom's recipe!

___________________________________________

Ginger Molasses cookies are one of my favorites!   They are chewy and spicy and sweet.  


Everyone loves these!  I was surprised by how many people loved these this year.  I've been offered money to make more of these.  I may just do that!
__________________________________

Is it a holiday without my famous chocolate chip cookies and festive sprinkles?  




______________________________________

I made peanut brittle for the first time.  I was sure I was doing it wrong.  I used the recipe that Mom gave me from my grandpa.  My grandpa Reagan made peanut brittle every year and it was so good.  I first thought I was doing something wrong because it didn't look right.  It takes longer than you expect.  But once it reached the hard crack stage and I added the butter and baking soda the magic happened and it was perfect.  Even kids liked it!




________________________________

I made two desserts for Christmas with the Vaughan side of our family.  I made a rum cake, from scratch.  It was great (except I must have gotten some egg shell in it because I found a piece of shell in my piece of cake - oopsie!).  I didn't even get a picture of it.  Imagine a bundt cake made with spiced rum and a spiced rum glaze on the side.  

_______________________________

Our two nieces on Matt's side of the family spent the night with us the night before.  That morning we made brownies.  We used a boxed mix.  The 10 year old decided to put some rolo candies and caramel chips in the batter.  Then I made a quick caramel sauce and heated up some ganache.  She drizzled it on top while the 4 year old added sprinkles.  It was over the top and delicious!


__________________________________

We did a lot of cooking and baking in Florida for Christmas.  I love cooking with my mom!  We had the bonus of my sister in law and the big girl nieces.  

Evalyn helped make the chocolate pie.  She did great!


We made three pies in total.  Chocolate, pecan, and pumpkin. 

Here's a sweet photo of Emma helping Nana make the cranberry Waldorf salad.


_________________________________

This baking challenge has meant more to me than I can explain.  I feel like myself again.  I don't plan to stop baking.  I don't know that I'll chronicle every bake in 2020, but know that I will still be baking behind the scenes.  I've already got a plan for a New Year's Day bake.




Comments

Popular Posts