Yesterday I finally launched holiday baking … running a little late, but making up for last year when my senior mother took ill and nothing was baked save Christmas bread.  Yesterday was the five small loaves of Alton Brown's Free Range Fruitcake with a ridiculous amount of rum and now into 2 weeks of basting with brandy (first time trying the recipe and, mercy, they smell incredible!!). 

There are 5-1/2 dozen of traditional Pfefferneuse sitting overnight to dry their jacket of sugar frosting before going into a large pickle jar to season at least a week.  The 4 rolls of my grandmother's Depression-era Ice Box Cooky (with fine toasted hazelnuts) have chilled overnight to be sliced today and baked into delicate crisps … a single recipe can produce about 250 cookies so I'm only baking 2 and freezing the rest for later.

Prepped the ingredients last night for Brandied Sugarplums, a no-bake ball cookie of ground vanilla cookies, melted chocolate, pecans, brandy topped with a cherry half, rolled in sparkly sugar.  These all are the early cookies that need sit time to turn into mouthful of glory.  Today is mixing the Chinese Almond Cookies to chill for baking tomorrow … easy to bake, a bear to mix with the cutting in of lard (like a melting mouthful of sweet pie crust!).

I love this time of year!

bonita said: Ruthmarie: Care to share pfeffernusse recipe? Mine makes 540 cookies! (and when I try and make only a fourth of it, they just don''t seem the same!)

Seriously? 540 cookies? <img class="sfsmiley" title="bug-eyed" onclick="sfjLoadSmiley('buggingeyes.gif', 'bug-eyed', 'http://chickensintheroad.com/wp-content/forum-smileys/&#039;, '', '1');" src="/wp-content/forum-smileys/buggingeyes.gif" alt="bug-eyed" /> Are you mixing it with a paddle? maybe a commerical mixer?  Holy cats, can't get my head wrapped around that quantity.  I have just posted our family version of Pfefferneusse at FBR … should show up tomorrow morning since it's late now.  I started out with my grandmother's version and sorted in a couple of ingredients from a dear friend who lost her battle to breast cancer about 15 years ago.  She was third generation to German immigrants and baked her family's Pfefferneusse throughout the year simply because she loved the cookie.  Makes me smile to think of her when I make them each year.

I am going to bake osme gluten free cookies and gluten free banana muffins today. That's the plan, anyway. We'll see how it goes. Something always comes up on baking day to delay my plans. Maybe I'm just not focused or determined enough.

Well, I had great plans to do a chunk of the holiday baking over the weekend and was waylaid both days (yeah, me too, Sheryl) between shopping with DD, errands for Mom and an impromptu trip to the once-a-month antique event.  Outdoors, very early in the morning.  This old girl's bones didn't like the cold, but did find a couple of vintage jewelry purchases for stockings (Russian hand-painted pin for $1!) as this year needs to be cheap.  I have to say cold truly motivates negotiation with equally chilled vendors.

DD made up for distracting from original plans by helping with the baking yesterday and we knocked out about 350 cookies between 3 varieties of Spritz (pink wreaths, green trees & PB camels) and finally completing the Chinese Almond mixed late Sunday.  Might've done more if my aging Mirro gun hadn't broken the center weld in the lid, turning with the threaded rod which invoked an impatient repair with thin strips of duct tape (my husband is still hooting over that).  Once again, duct tape holds together the universe and will have to serve at least through today.

For today DD has talked me into 2 extra varieties of cream cheese Spritz (lemon stars and chocolate Scotties) plus the full bore cream cheese hearts we dip in melted dark chocolate & rainbow sprinkles (a Half-Hearted cookie!). And I still haven't sliced & baked the Ice Box Cooky assembled Friday plus the family favorite of Nut Butter cookies in Pecan Crescents. I am moving much slower than I used too!

No baking today, but for Sunday dinner I made a Chicken Pot Pie with homemade biscuits on top. Here's the recipe:  CLICK HERE