7 pastry recipes that our team loves to prepare year after year | Spirit and pleasure

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7 pastry recipes that our team loves to prepare year after year | Spirit and pleasure
Baking Recipes Our Team Loves | Spirit and pleasure
Apple and olive oil cake Photo of Matt Link For Spirit and pleasure

For many people, baking is a big part of the holiday season. Whether it’s a beloved family recipe or one you’re trying for the first time, this time of year in particular is perfect for enjoying the joys of baking.

However, I am not a baker by nature. I can make a good cake if I need to, but I don’t really like doing the baking process itself. This is why I wanted to call on our team to their favorite baking recipes. I hope you find something to do in the list below!

7 baking recipes our team loves

Recommended by: Kate

I first discovered this recipe (pictured above) in 2014. The cake was delicious and incredibly memorable. This is a very simple olive oil cake, fancy enough to be a dessert, but also light and sweet enough to be a great cake that you serve for breakfast or with tea. If I need to make something that I’m sure people will love, it’s cake.

2. Spritz Cookies

Recommended by: Nancy, Executive Assistant

This is a family recipe that I make again and again. I find that this recipe tends to give you softer, more flavorful cookies than the average spritz cookie recipe.

Instructions

Mix the following ingredients together. Mix well by hand or on medium to low speed with a hand mixer.

  • 1 cup butter at room temperature (Using good butter makes a difference!)
  • 3/4 cup white sugar
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Stir in 2 cups of flour, one cup at a time to mix more easily and thoroughly.

At this point I divide the dough into two bowls and add green food coloring to one to make Christmas tree spritz cookies and red food coloring to the other dough to make poinsettia spritz cookies. If you don’t want to add food coloring, you can bake them without it, then sprinkle them with red and green sprinkles for a little extra sparkle.

Place the dough in a cookie press and form shapes on a baking sheet. If you don’t have a cookie press, you can gently roll out the dough and use small cookie cutters, whatever shape you prefer.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes. It helps to divide the baking time in half by baking the cookies on the lower rack for half the time, then moving them to the upper rack for the second half.

Recommended by: Bridgette, Brand Director

When I was a kid, the holiday season meant two things to me: presents (obviously) and mint chocolate chip cookies. My mom would make a HUGE batch of these in early December in the hopes that they would last the entire season. (Spoiler alert: They never did.)

Recommended by: Jackie, Editorial Director

I rarely cook these days, but when I do, this monster cookie recipe is my favorite. I swap out the regular M&Ms for their peanut butter-filled counterpart, omit the pretzels and white chocolate chips, and add nuts. The result is truly a dream.

If you don’t want to make them all at once, they cook wonderfully after being stored in the freezer. Simply place the dough balls on a plate or baking sheet lined with parchment paper and put them in the freezer. Once frozen, transfer them to the freezer bag of your choice and return them to the freezer to store. When you’re ready to make them, cook as usual, allowing a few extra minutes of cooking time to account for the colder temperature.

Close-up photo of perfectly baked monster cookies with red and green M&MsClose-up photo of perfectly baked monster cookies with red and green M&Ms
Monster cookies Photo via Half-cooked harvest

5. Peanut Flowers

Recommended by: Greta, Content Creator (recipe is from my grandmother)

Instructions

Combine:

  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tablespoons of milk
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla

Then add:

  • 1 3/4 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon of baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt

Mix well and form balls. Roll the balls in a mixture of sugar and red and green sprinkles. Then place on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.

Once finished, immediately top each with a Star Chocolate or Hershey’s Kiss. My personal tip is to garnish with mini chocolate chips instead. I think the chocolate to cookie ratio is better, and it doesn’t feel like such a big bite!

Recommended by: Carolyn, graphic designer

I am in love with this focaccia recipe. It’s the soft-on-the-inside, crispy-on-the-bottom focaccia of my dreams. I like to cut the recipe in half, cook it in my largest cast iron, skip the garlic butter step at the end, and best of all, add a bunch of castelvetrano olives after the dimples/before sprinkling with flaky sea salt.

7. Rhonda Rolls

Recommended by: Nancy

These are so delicious! They are family favorites. We eat them on Christmas morning while we unwrap presents because they taste like a mini cinnamon roll.

Instructions

Cut together 4 cups flour and 1 lb butter. Stir in 1 pint sour cream. Divide and shape into four balls, then refrigerate overnight.

Using a rolling pin, roll each ball into a 12-inch circle.

Mix these three ingredients together, then sprinkle ¼ of the mixture over each circle.

  • 1 cup of sugar
  • 1 cup walnuts (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon of cinnamon

Using a pizza cutter, cut each circle into 16 pie-shaped pieces.

Roll each piece starting at the widest end – each should look like a mini crescent roll when rolled.

Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

While the Rhonda cools, mix the frosting ingredients together:

  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons of milk
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla

Place the Rhonda rolls on parchment/wax paper and frost them once cooled. Continue to cool after frosting so the frosting can set.



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