How To Host A Holiday Baking Bash
Photos by Steve Babin
Makeup by Gabby Keller & Caitlyn James of Gray Salon
Hosted at the home of David & Lee Nast
Nothing says happy holidays like baking, except maybe baking with a group of friends and family.
We gathered a few tips by getting together for the benefit of baking up fun for our EVENT readers. We hope you enjoy our favorite recipes – brought to you with a heap of love and a few cups of laughter from “our kitchen” to yours.
Raspberry
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Cookies
1 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 cups flour
1/2 cup raspberry jam
Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
2-3 tsp water
1 tsp almond extract
In a mixing bowl, combine butter, sugar and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract. Beat at medium speed, being sure to scrape bowl often until it becomes really creamy. Gradually add in the flour at low speed, again scraping bowl often until it is well mixed. Cover well and place in the refrigerator for at least an hour. You want the dough to be firm (but not too hard.)
Preheat the oven to 350 and line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Shape dough into a 1 inch ball and place about 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Make an indentation with your thumb – don’t worry if edges crack slightly. Fill each with a heaping 1/4 teaspoon jam. Bake for 14-18 minutes until edges are lightly brown. Remove from oven and let stand 1 minute on cookie sheet and then remove to cooling rack and cool completely.
Combine the glaze ingredients with a whisk and drizzle over the cookies.
Lori Boatfield, Editor
Grandma Johnson’s Tea Cakes
3 cups self-rising flour
1-1/4 cup sugar
1 cup shortening
2 eggs
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 tsp vanilla
Cream sugar and shortening together. Add eggs and mix well. Add flour, buttermilk and vanilla and mix. Roll out thin and cut with a cookie cutter. Place on greased cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees about 8 minutes.
Judy’s Peanut Butter Fudge
1/2 cup margarine – not whipped
2 cups sugar
3 tbs cocoa
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup peanut butter
Cut margarine into sauce pan, add sugar, cocoa and milk and heat over medium heat, stirring until butter is melted and mixture is creamy. Bring to a rapid boil, stirring constantly. Boil for two minutes or until a soft ball forms when dropped into cold water. Remove from heat and beat with mixer on high, add peanut butter and vanilla and beat until smooth. Spread onto teacakes for tea cake sandwiches or pour into buttered dish to cool and serve as fudge.
My Grandma Johnson always made these cookies around Christmastime. When I was growing up, my mom continued the tradition, but added a peanut butter fudge filling to make tea cake sandwich cookies. They
were my dad’s favorite Christmas treat.
Pecan Pie Muffins
2/3 cup butter
2 eggs
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 – 3/4 cupchopped pecans
Dash of cinnamon
Dash of nutmeg
Mix eggs and butter together in one bowl. Mix next three ingredients in separate bowl. Combine wet ingredients with dry ingredients and stir until moist. Spray mini muffin tins with non-stick spray and fill about 2/3 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. (Start checking them around 15 minutes)
A friend of mine made these for a women’s church social and they taste just like pecan pie! Enjoy!
Patty Satterly
Creative Director
Graphic Designer
Triple Treats
1 pkg chocolate cake mix
1 pkg instant pudding mix
Add and mix
3 eggs
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup oil
Add
1 package chips
1 package nuts
Put into a greased pan and bake at 325 degrees for 35 minutes. Let cool. Cut into squares and enjoy with or without vanilla ice cream.
This recipe came from my husband’s great aunt in Atlanta. She iced hers with chocolate frosting. NOTE: You can use the chocolate cake mix with the pudding in the mix and eliminate the instant pudding.
Chess Cake Squares
1 box yellow cake mix
1 stick melted butter
1 egg
1 box powdered sugar
1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese
3 eggs
Mix the first three ingredients and press into a 9×13 inch pan. Mix the next three ingredients well
and pour over the above mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.
I got this recipe from my mother. One time she made them when my children were very young. We found one of them under the dining table eating the tops off and leaving the crust.
Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies
1 box Red Velvet cake mix
1⁄2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
Confectioner’s sugar or granulated sugar, for rolling
Preheat oven to 350°. Stir in cake mix, oil and eggs in a large bowl until dough forms. Dust hands with confectioners’ sugar and shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll balls in confectioners’ sugar and place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake for 8-10 minutes or until center is just set. Remove from pans after a minute or so and cool on wire racks.
Lee Nast
Account Executive
Christmas Crack
1 sleeve regular Ritz crackers
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread parchment paper over a jelly roll pan, making sure to let the paper cover the sides of the pan. In a saucepan combine the sugar and butter. Bring to a full, rolling boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. A full rolling boil is one that doesn’t let up once you stir it. Once it’s really boiling, set your timer for 3 minutes and stop stirring. After 3 minutes, immediately pour over crackers. Do your best to put some on each cracker, but don’t worry about covering each one completely.
Bake at 400 degrees for 7 minutes. Once it’s been in the oven for 2-3 minutes, it will start to bubble. This is when the candy will cover the crackers on its own. They’ll also move around a bit, so you can see why it’s so important to have a bit of extra parchment paper up around the sides.
Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over the top. Put back in the oven for 2 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit for 1-2 minutes. Spread melted chocolate over toffee and top with chopped nuts. Cool completely and break into pieces. Enjoy.
Ann’s Chocolate Snow Cookies
1 pkg fudge brownie mix
1/4 cup water
1 eggbeaten
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Combine dry mix with water and egg. Stir until well combined. Using a very small scoop or tablespoon, scoop dough into a bowl of powdered sugar and shape into a ball, fully coating dough in powdered sugar. Place on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. Remove immediately to a wire rack to cool.
Ann Lane
Account Executive
Here’s what you’ll need for your Happiest Holiday Baking Bash:
1.Five to ten friends or family members – a few crazy ones are optional, but that component makes the bash a bit more fun
2.Adorable aprons, personalized for the occasion – also optional, but they make great gifts for your guests
3.Your favorite cookie recipes – from your grandma, your mom, your friends, your own brain
4.Christmas cookie tins for your guests to take home a sampling of all the cookies
5.Comfy furniture for the cookie coma aftermath
