Homemade Treats to Brighten Cold, Dark Days

Rotten chilly weather is a great excuse to warm the house and heart with treats from the oven. And nothing says heartfelt like homemade when it comes to gift giving. There's love in that jam, those cookies, that carrot bread. The message is: I'm giving you the gift of life. That's what all the giving and baking is about at this cold, dark time of year: doing what we can to keep our loved ones alive...with spices that warm the body (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, clove), fat that gets the metabolism cranking up the heat (buttery pastries), vitamin loaded dried and preserved fruits... .

Nothing needs to be complicated or frustrating. In fact, my all time favorite holiday gift--I mean favored by all the recipients who remind me the rest of the year they're waiting for them--are vanilla spiced walnuts which are so simple a six-year-old can make them. I buy a bunch of tins (the Dollar Stores are great for this adventure) and fill'em up.  Here yet again, because I post this every year, is the way to go: (In fact I was at a Dollar Store today piling on the tins when an elderly woman said: "You must be baking cookies." "Vanilla walnuts," I said. "Oh!," she exclaimed. "I like that idea. Tell me what to do."

These recipes deliver cooking confidence and joy to kids. They can make them all.

Vanilla Spiced Walnuts

You can double or triple this recipe and you will probably want to so you have enough for yourself. They're handy snacking, perfect for cocktails and delightful in green salad. Plus they will last months in an airtight tin or jar in the fridge.

This will fill about 3 sm/med tins. 
1 lb walnut halves
1/2 c granulated sugar
2 1/2 tbsp corn oil
1 tbsp good quality vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
couple grinds of the pepper mill
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground allspice
pinch cayenne

Preheat oven to 325".
Blanch walnuts 1 min in boiling water. Drain well in a colander. While still hot put in a large bowl and toss with the sugar and corn oil and vanilla. Let stand 10 minutes to absorb. Arrange on a rimmed baking sheet (for easy clean up line it with parchment paper) in a single layer. Bake 30-35 min, checking every 10 minutes and moving them around with a metal spatula so they don't brown unevenly. They should get brown and crispy.

While the bake, combine all the spices, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Toss the hot nuts in the spices being sure everyone gets coated. Cool before packing into airtight tins.
Yes something so fabulous and beloved is that easy.

Orange Almond Cake

This is the gift for the gluten-free dairy free diner in your midst. A cake with no flour or butter that happens to be delicious for everyone else as well. And it's very now. Tis the season to celebrate citrus, which soaked up the sunshine and turned it into Vitamin C we need these days. This flat disk of a cake is moist, rich and sensually fragrant. Perfect for a cup of tea on a cold, dark afternoon. Perfect as a hostess gift and in a lunch box. (Photo not mine)
serves 8
2 lg navel oranges
6 extra large eggs
1 1/2 c ground raw almonds
1 c granulated sugar
1 tsp orange flower water
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
pinch of salt
1 tsp baking powder

Wash the oranges. Do not peel. Put them in a pot of boiling water (enough water to cover them) 30 minutes or until they are very soft. Drain, cool and cut into quarters, removing any seeds. 

Preheat oven to 350º. Generously butter, grease or oil (you could use coconut)  a 9" round cake pan.
Puree the oranges skin and all in a food processor, blender or chopper. A bit of skin may stay in tact: that's okay.  
In a large bowl, beat the eggs until thick. Add the ground almonds, salt, sugar, baking powder, cardamom orange flower water and finally the orange puree. Blend well. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and shake lightly to distribute it evenly, removing air pockets.  Bake at 350º 50-60 minutes or until the cake feels firm to your touch (you can't leave a fingerprint in it). Remove from the oven, let cool 10 minutes and then invert it onto a serving dish.
You can serve this with nutmeg scented whipped cream or candied orange slices sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Basic Biscotti

These are my favorite non-sweet sweet. They're the best friend a cup of coffee will ever have yet they are also perfect for teething babies to gnaw on. They go in a lunch box and since they don't go stale quickly, they can be shipped. A tin of them is a perfect gift--a gift of good health too because almonds, which are the core of these biscotti, have protein, fiber, hard to find Vitamin E, potassium and riboflavin--the last 3 protection from the ravages of winter. Biscotti are double baked cookies. (Not my photo)

1 stick unsalted butter (1/2 c)
2 extra lg eggs
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 c granulated sugar
2 c all purpose, unbleached flour
3/4 c chopped raw almonds
(Those are the basic ingredients. You can experiment with spices if you choose although I'd recommend only the slightest hint of whichever one you choose: allspice, cardamom, nutmeg, ginger, anise or rose water.)

Preheat oven to 350º. Butter a large baking sheet or line it with a silicon pad or parchment paper.
On another baking sheet toast the almonds at 350 5 min.  When they cool, chop them into small pieces.
Om a mixer or mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until smooth. One at a time beat in the eggs.
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder, then carefully add it to the wet batter in the mixer, mixing only enough to blend. Do not overmix flour. Stir in the vanilla and almond extract and any spice you have chosen. Fold in the chopped almonds.

On the prepared baking sheet, form the batter into 4 oblong bars, each about 4 1/2" x 2". Bake these at 340º 20-25 minutes until they are golden and no longer soft. Remove from oven. Don't panic if they've sprawled!

With a sharp serrated knife cut each bar into 1/2" thick slices. Now you see the biscotti form! Save the ends for scrumptious snacking with your next coffee.  Lay the slices side down flat on a baking sheet, return to the oven and continue to bake at 350º about 20 minutes, until they are lightly browned on both sides.  Cool.  Store in airtight tins or wrap in foil and tie with a big red bow.

Fresh Ginger Gingerbread
Tis the season for ginger, a body warming spice, so all sorts of gingerbread concoctions are out there. This one is moist, dark, rich with molasses and very yummy plus easy easy to make.  It's about as all American traditional as you can get. Serve with whipped cream. Or vanilla ice cream. Take it to a party, bake it for the kids, share it at your coffeeklatch or Alice in Wonderland tea party. Don't be frightened by the long ingredient list: it's mostly spices. This is a spicy cake!

makes one 8" square cake

2 oz fresh ginger root, peeled
4 tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 c raw or light brown sugar
2 extra lg eggs
1/2 c molasses
1 tbsp dark rum
3/4 c boiling water
1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp gound cloves
1/8 tsp ground allpice
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1 c all purpose, unbleached flour

Preheat oven to 375º. Butter and lightly flour an 8" square baking pan.
With the motor of a food processor running, drop in pieces of ginger to chop it. If you do not have a processor, grate the ginger. In the bowl of the processor or a mixer, cream the butter, ginger and brown sugar. Add the eggs one at a time and blend carefully.  

In a small bowl or large cup with pouring spout, combine the rum, molasses and boiling water. With the mixer running, pour this into the butter/egg batter. 

In another small bowl whisk together   all the spices and mustard, salt, flours, baking soda and powder. Quickly beat these into the batter, not mixing longer than needed to blend. (Never overwork flour.)
The batter should be liquid. Pour it into the prepared pan and bake in the center of the oven at 375º 30-35 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.  

Cool 10 minutes in the pan. Then using a small metal spatula loosen the edges and invert the pan to drop the cake onto your serving plate. It may not fall out at once so leave it on the cooling rack a few more minutes.  Serve cut in squares and topped with whipped cream.

Apple Oatmeal Squares

Anybody can send or bring a box of fancy French pastries but nothing will quicken the heart as much as the sight of something as homespun and homemade as these healthy apple oatmeal squares especially in a house with kids. And after all Christmas is about kids. These always sold out immediately at my bakery. They are an old fashioned  New England favorite because they're sturdy but not necessarily sweet. You can serve 'em for breakfast, pack them for lunch and enjoy them at tea. The best news is that you can make them by hand without processors and mixers. (Not my photo)

makes 15  3" squares
2 c all purpose unbleached flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
3 c rolled oats (not instant)
1 1/3 c light brown sugar
1/2 c currants soaked in cranberry juice
2 sticks (1 c) unsalted butter
2 extra lg eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
5 Granny Smith apples
1 c chopped walnuts, toasted
1 tbsp butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350º. Line a 9"x13" halfsheet pan with aluminum foil and go up the sides with it. Cover the foil with 1 tbsp melted butter. Chill pan until ready to use.

Melt the 2 stick of butter.
in a lg mixing bowl, sift of whisk together flour, baking soda, salt and spices. Stir in sugar and oats. 
Whisk the vanilla and egga one at a time into the melted butter. Slowly add this wet mix to the flour mix and stir to blend into a dough. Wooden spoons always do the job. Press half the dough into the chilled pan to form the bottom crust of the squares. It will not be very thick. Return to the refrigerator.

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or waxed paper. Roll the remaining dough into a thin rectangle the size of the half sheet pan with the crust (9" x13"). If you have trouble use your hands to make a patchwork out of it: nobody will notice once it's baked.  Chill this top crust.

Peel, quarter and thinly slice the apples into crescents. Arrange the apples in overlapping rows along the bottom crust until it is completely covered. Sprinkle with the nuts and drained currants. Now cover the apples with the top crust on that large sheet pan, pressing down on the edges to bond it lightly to the bottom crust. This seals in the apple juices.  Bake 25-30 minutes at 350º until the top is golden brown.
Cool in the pan. Chill in the refrigerator before cutting into squares. (For easiest cutting, invert the chilled pan onto a large cookie sheet, peel off the aluminum foil lawyer and invert back onto a cutting board or another baking sheet to cut.

Rum Raisin Pound Cake
Tis a gift to be simple and old fashioned raisin pound cake has that talent. This one if very buttery with a....well, a....rum punch.  Seal it in foil, wrap it with red ribbon and you've gifted the best.

makes one 9"x5' loaf
1 1/2 stick (3/4 c) unsalted butter, very soft and mushy
1 1/4 c all purpose, unbleached flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 c dark, seedless raisins
3 extra lg eggs
1 egg yolk
2/3 c granulated sugar
1/3 c dark rum
pinch of ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350º. Butter and lightly flour a 9"x5" loaf pan. To keep the bottom of the loaf from getting too brown, line the bottom of the pan with a piece of wax paper and butter it.

Sprinkle 1 tbsp lfour over the raisins to coat them so they don't sink to the bottom of the batter.
In a lg mixer or mixing bowl, beat the eggs and yolk with the sugar 5 min until the blend is light and fluffy.  Add rum and beat til blended.  

In a smaller bowl, sift or whisk together the flour and baking powder. With a wooden spoon or spatula fold this into the egg mixture, not stirring too much.  Fold in the butter, then swirl in the raisins.  

Pour the batter into the loaf pan, leveling the top. Bake in the center of the oven 1 hour or until a cake tester comes out clean. The cake should have begun to shrink from the sides of the pan. Remove from oven and cool at least 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack.

To serve, slice very thin, making several slices per portion.