So it's the final countdown to the holidays. This has been some year... All the more reason to make something delicious! What's coming out of your ovens for the holidays?

Personally, I feel like I am in a big baking rut so I have been searching around for good recipes for Pasteis de Natas (Portuguese Egg Custard Cups/Tarts). I tasted some really delicious mini ones at a wine tasting a few weeks ago and have been wanting to try my hand at a good recipe so if you're familiar with these and have a recipe please send me way.

Additionally I am going to make some peppermint fudge, eggnog cheesecake bars, almond biscotti, and chocolate stout brownies (essentially the Guinness Brownies substituting chocolate stout from a local brewery for the Guinness); some of the treats I'll take to the hospital where I volunteer on Sundays for the nurses and the rest to a potluck on Monday.

Happy Baking & Happy Holidays!!!

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~T. Martin

I'm going to try my hand at a from-scratch Eggnog Cake, and (against my better judgement) the Holiday Yulelog from CMD. I just know it'll fall apart on me like the Pumpkin Roulade did!

I made 8 loaves of banana bread a couple nights ago, for various gift-giving occasions. I also have a bday cake (Thomas the Tank Engine) to make today, and my son's cake to make next week. (I'm attempting the Millenium Falcon for him, yikes!) I have lots of cookie ingredients on hand, too, for the looooong two weeks of Xmas school vacation.
Is there a better pudding flavor than vanilla to go with Butter Pecan? That's the one I'm doing today.

Jen

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Man cannot live on bread alone. That's why someone invented CAKE!!

I like butterscotch pudding with butter pecan cake, if you are a butterscotch fan, you'll like it...may change color of cake a little but taste is good.
Rita

I have done so much baking! I think I have about 12 kinds of cookies in the freezer and tomorrow is candy making day. My two oldest granddaughters participate,we have a lot of fun! We'll be making peanut butter fudge, cherry mash, peanut clusters, snickers fudge, reindeer chow and probably a couple of other kinds.
Cookies, I'm made peanut blossoms, molasses cookies, gingerbread spritz, spritz, butterballs, cherry shortbread cookies, sugar cookies, date bars, raisin filled cookies and probably some I'm forgotten about.

Wow! Sounds like a lot of us are going crazy in the kitchen... Keep it coming folks (hey lurkers, this is your opportunity to chime in and share ).

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~T. Martin

We've made 3 different types of cookies and 2 different quick breads and given those out already. The Oreo Truffles (not a truffle at all but that's ok! LOL) The kiddos love and won't part with.

We still need to make real truffles, pecan tasses and brownie bites and I purchased egg nog to make an egg nog cake.

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Ruthieredneck

Seems like I haven't been out of the kitchen in a while. I need to quit NOW, things are beginning to go wrong. I haven't made spritz cookies in several years, but this year keep running across pictures of them that are so pretty so figured it was fated that I should make some. I had the biggest mess. I think the kitchen was too warm, or I mis-measured the flour. Who knows but the darned things wouldn't stick to the pan and after getting so frustrated, my spritz turned into drop cookies. I told my kids to eat them up and get rid of the ugly things to hide all evidence of my tired, bad cookies. Everything else turned out so nicely, I guess this was just a little lesson to keep me humble. Ha.

I've been making a lot of cookies! As my SIL's christmas gift I made her 5 plates and 25 little bags of cookies to give to her coworkers as their christmas gifts. Today I'm going to make some cupcakes to take into work, and tomorrow will be pumpkin pie.


Please let me know how that goes! My DH is a huge star wars fan and I had been trying to think of what kind of cake to make for his bday in a few weeks and you just gave me an idea!

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When life gives you lemons, make grape juice. Then sit back and watch the whole world wonder how you did it.