Thursday, November 19, 2009
I feel as though I am living in a winter-dream. Hollywood-sized snowflakes, shaggy horses, eggnog and baking and glowing hearths are lending a surreal quality to our days here. It is beautiful! My life is beautiful! Even the struggles of marital communication, health, and sleepiness seem somehow hushed under this embracing blanket of Season.
I have been so impatient to move into Augusta, but now, in our longest stretch of living on the ranch without guests, I am finally finding a sense of home in this big open lodge we’ve been waiting within. Maybe it’s the baking or the carols, maybe it’s just having consecutive weeks of just being a family. Whatever the reason, it feels nice.
I am in the middle of a massive pan of Scottish shortbread (J’s FAVORITE), with plans of a variety of chocolate ‘barks’ in the next couple of hours. My goal is to finish all of my Christmas baking by the weekend. One third will go to The Ranch (owners, guests, etc) for their use and pleasure, one-third to us in Augusta, and one-third for packages and moments. The whole thing is much scaled down from previous years. Partially, because I’m aware of how crazy it got last year (long story involving over-baking leading to over-indulgence...), how pricey it is, and how in fact my identity isn’t based on what I bake ;)
So, this year’s Christmas goodies are:
- Scottish caramel shortbread
- Lemon squares
- ginger molasses cookies (soft and spicey, with most of the batch frozen in little dough balls to bake fresh whenever guests desire)
- apricot sage cookies (a very classy and ‘grown up’ looking new cookie. Totally different, uses fresh sage in the dough.
(the above 4 are all done!)
- teriyaki nuts (made a huge bunch last night and...burnt them to a crisp! We’ll see....)
- white chocolate almond/cranberry bark
- milk/dark espresso bark
- butter-tarts/tartlets/squares (we’ll see what form they take this time....)
- maybe...my favourite chocolate dipped orange pecan shortbread.... (But they will have to be locked up!)
- something minty....
- maybe this new lemony cookie i saw....
- and lots of fresh roasted coffee!
Okay. Much too much time online—yikes! Gotta go! OH! And yes, I will be posting one of these recipes every few days so you can try them too!
6 comments:
I love christmas baking and especially giving it to people...but sadly I don't know if there is going to be a lot done this year so I enjoy hearing about yours:)
What is bark? I have never heard of it..I miss you . Your right- it is not your identity- but I do tend to think of you as a domestic goddess:) Ah to have the gift...You are much more but ...anyway...this year I feel exhausted just thinking about christmas...Is that bad?
Ha, is it bad? Well...sad? But kinda expected these days in the midst of scheduled and health and everything.
Hmm...I need to come over and bake some goodies for both of you sweet ladies :)
Oh, bark is thin chunks of chocolate filled with things like nuts or candy chunkes or...yeah. It's a tradition for me and yummers!
Missy, I tried doing a butter tart 'square' today but your tart recipe remains Queen!
yum... looking forward to the recipes!
Yum!
This sounds way too good! I have a love for baked goods too!
Your Christmas goodies sound great. What a beautiful home you have.
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