Christmas cookies

The other day, I had a baking ‘day’ with Mrs. Nye. We started at 10:30 a.m. and didn’t finish until 4:30 p.m., so it was quite an endeavor. We made three batches of cookies–traditional sugar cookies, soft sugar cookies and gingerbread cookies.

I actually don’t own a single Christmas-themed cookie cutter, and Mrs. Nye has enough to go around, so it worked out nicely. Growing up, one of my mom’s big things at Christmas was to make lots of Christmas cookies, but we almost never made cut-outs or decorated them. Her repertoire included those peanut butter-Hershey Kiss ones, the green cornflake/marshmallow ‘holly’ cookies, and some almondy-shortbread things covered in glaze and sprinkles. And chocolate-covered goodies. LOTS of things got dipped in chocolate over the years: pretzels, Oreos…she even made her own chocolate candies with different flavor extracts.

So anyway, Christmas cookie-decorating isn’t necessarily a childhood memory of mine, but it sure felt like it when I was with Mrs. Nye in her kitchen! I can’t believe I missed out on all that decorating fun.

And of course, the perfectionist in me had high expectations for how my finished cookies would look. I can’t say any of them could be mistaken for something purchased in a bakery, but I was pretty pleased with myself for using multiple colors and sugars, etc… And really, any aesthetic value is short-lived; they just end up eaten anyway.

Merry (almost) Christmas!

thursday is for baking

I made it through today (Wednesday I leave at 8 a.m. and don’t return until almost 9 p.m.) and am exhausted. I have an open Chem lab in front of me to complete, two GIANT tests coming up in the next couple days (one is Friday; the bigger one is Monday, thank goodness!), as well as a ‘to-do’ pile the size of Texas.

And all I can think about is baking.

Tomorrow, I am not painting. I am not doing yardwork. (Unless, of course, it’s beautiful and I need a break and the guilt overcomes me.)

I’m baking and studying. Baking, studying. Repeat.

There will be cinnamon apple scones. There will be pumpkin amazeballs. There might even be another treat, although it’s hard enough around here to eat what little I DO find the time to make!

And, not only do I get to bake–I get to cook! Our neighbors had their baby and I’m bringing them dinner 🙂 She’s a vegetarian (the mom, not the baby, obviously), so I’ll be giving them a quinoa dish with zucchini, dill and feta, as well as our favorite Nutty Sweet Potato Soup and a green salad. Oh! And I can make bread! In the breadmaker…I’m already probably too overcommitted (ahem, the still un-done lab in front of me).

Alright…enough procrastinating. Eyes are drooping. Still have to pack the swim bag for the morning. Sheesh…

sugar cream pie cookoff

Andrew grew up eating his mom’s sugar cream pie, something I’d never heard of until I met him and started visiting his house in New York.

Apparently, sugar cream pie is a Midwestern thing; Andrew’s mom is from Indiana, which explains why she made these pies, and Mrs. Nye–a New York native and pie-making extraordinaire–had never heard of them before.

Anyway, I randomly ended up making Andrew’s mom’s recipe in an effort to get rid of a pre-made crust that had been sitting in our freezer for awhile now.

However, I’d ripped another sugar cream pie recipe out of Food Network magazine years ago (having recognized the name from Andrew and thinking it would be fun to try), but had not yet made.

Andrew and I LOVE to do cook-offs to determine which recipe of something we like over another, so I thought to myself, ‘Why not do a cook-off?’ Andrew was up for the idea, but I was concerned about all that leftover pie the two of us would have. I decided I would take “cook-off slices” to our near and dear, since everyone was busy this past weekend.

Here, my friends, are the results:

Andrew’s mom’s pie:

This pie is light and has a gelatin-like consistency. It’s make with milk, sugar and cornstarch and is super easy. I liked the light flavor and with some fresh whipped cream, it’s awesome!

Hoosier Mama’s pie:

This pie is the recipe Hoosier Mama makes in Chicago. As I said, I found it in Food Network a long time ago and piqued my interest.

It incorporates a thick, crunchy crust made with a touch of red wine vinegar, of all things. I overdid the crust just a bit, but overall my tasters liked it a bit brown. The pie itself is made with both brown and white sugars, and heavy cream instead of milk.

It has a much deeper, richer–almost ‘burned’ sugar–flavor that reminds Andrew and me of the maple syrup pie we fell in love with in Quebec City a couple falls ago. (It does solidify; we microwaved it a bit which is why it’s a little runny above.)

Overall, I think the results favored the Hoosier Mama pie, but just barely. And really, they turned out so different from each other (something I hadn’t anticipated), that it was almost like comparing apples to oranges.

Do your own taste test and make them both!