Christmas Gifts From Your Kitchen
There really is nothing wrong with giving food items as Christmas Gifts. And it’s even more special if you make the goodies yourself. Christmas time is baking time so it’s always a good idea to double or triple your baked goodies so you have enough cookies, brownies, cinnamon rolls, or cake pops for the family, relatives, friends, neighbors, Teachers, mailman, or whomever else you want to give a gift to this Christmas. Here are a few goodies from my kitchen that you can also make. There’s still plenty of time to get the ingredients and make all the treats as pretty as can be.
Click on the highlighted text to get the recipe for each item.
- Christmas Sugar Cookies
- Snickerdoodles
- Apple-Cinnamon Rolls
- Peach Marmalade Cinnamon Rolls
- Twisted Cinnamon Bread
- Plain Or Chocolate Chips Cinnamon Rolls
- Chocolate Chip Cookies
- White Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Toffee & Chocolate Chip Cookies
- White Chocolate Chip Brownies
- Cake Pops
- Oatmeal & Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Buttery Gooey Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Or you can always make fruitcake. 
Apple-Cinnamon Rolls W/ Cream Cheese Frosting
Perhaps you could forget about making fruitcake this year and make cinnamon rolls instead? I believe cinnamon rolls would be a nice food item to give out to family, friends, and neighbors for Christmas. That’s what I did last year. It’s delicious for breakfast with a cup of coffee before or after opening the gifts in the Christmas morning. You can either make the regular cinnamon rolls or add a twist by putting chocolate chips, or peach marmalade. Or literally twist the cinnamon roll idea by making twisted cinnamon bread. Add to your list this apple-cinnamon rolls. My family prefers the peach marmalade though over this apple version but it’s not that bad and if you like apples with cinnamon then this would be a treat for you and your loved ones.
| Apple-Cinnamon Rolls |
-
DOUGH(adapted from ConnieV)
- 1-1/2 cups of lukewarm water
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon dry yeast
- 4-1/2 cups of flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup sugar 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
- extra flour and cooking oil
- 2-3 apples, cored, peeled, cubed
- 1/4 cup of brown sugar
- 1/2 stick of butter
- 2 tbsp of cinnamon powder
- 1 1/2 cups of white sugar
- generous sprinkling of powdered cinnamon
- 2 sticks of butter
- 1 stick of butter
- 2 cups of confectionery sugar
- 1 brick of cream cheese
- 2 tbsp of milk
FILLING
FROSTING
- In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, 1/2 cup of sugar and vegetable oil. In a another bowl, sprinkle yeast and 2 tbsp of sugar with the lukewarm water. Let that sit for 10 minutes or until bubbly. Once the yeast mixture is ready, pour it onto the flour mixture. Mix until you can form a ball. Once the yeast mixture is ready, pour it onto the flour mixture. Mix until you can form a ball.In a bowl, sprinkle yeast and 2 tbsp of sugar with the lukewarm water. Let that sit for 10 minutes or until bubbly.
- Sprinkle flour in a flat surface. Knead the dough for 10 minutes or so or until soft.
- Lightly grease a bowl with vegetable oil, drop the ball of dough in it then cover with a damp towel. Let the dough rise for 2 hours. Punch it after 2 hours, cover then let it rise for another 30 minutes.
- In a pot, melt 1/2 stick of butter. Add the cubed apples. Sprinkle brown sugar and powdered cinnamon. Cook for about 10 minutes or until the apples have softened. Don’t over cook.
- Sprinkle flour in the counter space. Cut the dough in half. Roll the 1st half of the dough into a wide rectangle. Sprinkle half of the white sugar and generous powdered cinnamon. Dot the dough with 1 stick of butter. Spread half of the apple-cinnamon mixture on top.
- Roll the dough as tightly as you could then cut the rolls. Lightly brush the bottom of a pan with butter. Place the rolls in the pan. Cover with clean kitchen cloth and let the whole thing rest for 15 minutes. Repeat the process for the other half of the dough.
- Bake the rolls in the preheated oven of 355°, for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Once baked, take ‘em out of the oven and let it cool for 5 minutes.
- Make the frosting while waiting for the cinnamon rolls to cool. Beat together the butter, confectionery sugar, cream cheese, and milk.
- Spread the frosting on top of the rolls using a spatula.
DOUGH
APPLE FILLING
FROSTING
If you would rather have a runny glaze instead of cream cheese frosting on top, just whisk together 2 cups of confectionery sugar and 1/2 cup of milk. Add more milk if the consistency is too thick.
Christmas Sugar Cookies For 2011
Making sugar cookies complete with decorations thanks to my mediocre talent is a tradition in my family. It started with my son when he was 5 years old. Now it’s with my 5 year old daughter while my 13 yr old son just helps out with the decorating part. This year I made the dough while the kids were with the husband during an appointment for the car, and a haircut for Caine. Actually, my husband told me he’d take the kids with them so I can have time for myself. So I made the cookie dough then stored it in the fridge coz it’s always better to do that before rolling it out to cut in different shapes. I could have started the latter process and then baked cookies after the dough spent an hour chilling in the fridge but I decided to wait for my daughter coz I know how much she loves making sugar cookies with me. Good thing I did that coz apparently she was a little bad during the car appointment.
She knew it too as soon as they got home coz she was very quiet. I told my husband that perhaps she just missed me. A few minutes after I said that, she stood up from the floor, went to a corner wall and was silently crying. So I knew she felt bad for acting out. I let her have a moment with the wall for a few minutes then asked if she wanted to make cookies. Instantly, her eyes lit up and smiled so sweetly.
And off we went to make cookies.
I’m not posting the recipe here. I’ll just direct you to an old post where you could get all the ingredients and instructions to make Christmas sugar cookies with/for your family too. This year I’ve also used edible markers to make some of the designs. I found out at the last minute that I ran out of red coloring so red is not represented much this year. The kids helped out with the decorating but they got tired after a while so I finished the whole thing by myself. And FYI, there are cookies inside the tins and Santa Clause cookie jar too. My back was really hurting after all the cookies were decorated and the kitchen was back to its organized and clean state.
The sugar cookie recipe is actully good for any other occasion like Valentine’s Day, Easter, or Halloween. Just match the cookie cutters and decorations for each holiday. The cookies are great to bring at holiday parties and gifts for family, friends, and neighbors. Use cute tin cans as containers.
Tip to avoid breaking the cookies if mailing them out to friends and family: Wrap 4-5 cookies in a saran wrap as tight as you could get. Do this for like a set of 5 or more depending how large the tin can is. Line the tin cans with either a bubble wrap or gift tissue papers then carefully place the wrapped cookies.
Entry for Food Friday. 
How-To Make Homemade Whipped Cream
It’s always easier and more convenient to just buy that whipped cream tube or a tub of cool whip to top the pies with. But believe it or not, it’s also very easy to make homemade whipped cream. All you need are chilled mixing bowl and whisk, heavy cream, a little bit of powdered sugar, and patience.
I’ve only used 1/2 cup of the 1 pint heavy cream for the pumpkin cheesecake that I made for Thanksgiving. My husband saw the box of heavy cream in the fridge so he asked why I didn’t make whipped cream out of it for the cheesecake. I actually thought about it but I didn’t think we really needed whipped cream since the pumpkin cheesecake already has dulce de leche topping. It was the day after Thanksgiving when I decided to whip the remaining heavy cream.
| How-To Make Homemade Whipped Cream |
- 1 pint heavy cream
- 1 tbsp powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla(optional)
- Chill the mixing bowl and whisk in the freezer for 10-15 minutes. Make sure to do this. After the chilling process, beat the heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla(optional) in low speed at first. Turn it to med-high speed once everything comes together.
- Continue to beat the mixture until it’s fluffy and you get a soft peak texture.
- Serve it in dollop form on top of a pie or a cheesecake, or transfer it in a piping bag with decorated tip for an added decor on the dessert. Store remaining whipped cream in the fridge. Beat it again with the mixer the following day.
Pumpkin Cheesecake W/ Dulce De Leche Topping
Ditching the traditional sweet potato pies for our Thanksgiving desserts, I made pumpkin cheesecake with dulce de leche topping instead. It was my first time to make it so I was bit nervous how it will turn out. I also made red velvet cake truffles as a back up dessert just in case I totally mess the pumpkin cheesecake up. I pretty much just relied on the basic cheesecake recipe then added the usual ingredients that go with pumpkin, i,e cinnamon, and brown sugar. The result? So delicious especially with the dulce de leche topping and at the last minute, the homemade whipped cream that was optional but certainly didn’t hurt to have with the cheesecake.
| Pumpkin Cheesecake W/ Dulce De Leche Topping |
- CRUST
- 2 packets of cinnamon flavored graham crackers
- 1 stick Melted
- 1 tbsp vanilla
- FILLING
- 2 bricks Cream Cheese
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup of flour
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- a pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 cups pumpkin puree(canned)
- 1 tbsp cinnamon powder
- TOPPING
- 1 can of condense milk
- homemade(or store bought) whipped cream, optional)
- ———CRUST———–
- Crush the graham using a Magic Bullet or regular blender.
- Melt 1 stick of butter in the microwave. Pour it into the crushed graham crackers. Add the vanilla, then mix together by pulsing a few more times in the blender.
- Put the crumbs into the bottom and sides of springform pan. Distribute the crumbs evenly while flattening it at the same time with the bottom of the glass and/or your hands too sometimes. Set the pan aside after doing this.
- At this point, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- ——FILLING——–
- Beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add the brown sugar, mix until incorporated.
- Add the eggs (4). One at a time. Beating in between. Keep beating until well-incorporated. Scrape the sides a few times, then beat again.
- Stir in the flour, salt, cinnamon powder and vanilla, then add the pumpkin puree and heavy cream. Continue to beat a few more minutes.
- Pour the mixture into the springform pan. Shake it gently to make the top smooth or just use a flat spatula to smooth out the top. Stick it in the oven to bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes
- After baking, turn the oven off, then open the oven door. DO NOT TAKE THE CHEESECAKE OUT! Leave it in the open oven for 10 minutes.
- After that, take it out of the oven and let it sit in the counter to cool for about 10 minutes then stick it in the fridge to chill overnight.
- ———–TOPPING———-
- 2 hours after you’ve chilled the cheesecake, make the dulce de leche topping. Pour the condense milk into a pot, under medium heat. Whisk and continue to whisk until it’s smooth, bubbly, and the color has darkened slightly.
- Pour it on top of the chilled cheesecake and carefully spread to cover the top. Put the cheesecake back into the fridge to continue with the chilling process(overnight).
- Once ready to serve the dessert, take out the chilled cheesecake out of the fridge. Let it stand for 5 minutes before slicing. This process will soften the dulce de leche topping which will make slicing into the cheesecake easier.
Look at how beautiful this slice of pumpkin cheesecake with dulce de leche topping is.
Put a dollop or(rose-tipped decorated) whipped cream on top too if you want.
Entry for Food Friday.
Chocolate Banana Cupcakes W/ Cream Cheese Frosting
Before the bananas in my freezer go bad, I decided to make cupcakes out of ‘em. I wanted something chocolate too so I made chocolate banana cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and for an added cuteness, my daughter decorated the cupcakes with chocolate sprinkles on top. The cupcakes turned out moist and delicious.
| Chocolate Banana Cupcakes W/ Cream Cheese Frosting |
- 4 ripe bananas, mashed
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup oil
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 brick cream cheese
- 1 stick of butter
- 2 1/2 cups confectionery sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- chocolate sprinkles
- 15 cupcake/muffin paper cups
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- In a bowl, stir sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, beat egg, mashed bananas, water, milk, oil and vanilla until well-blended. Gradually add the dry mixture into the wet mixture while continuing to mix.
- Lined muffin pans with the paper cups. Pour in the batter into the cups, 3/4 full. Bake it the oven for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when you stick it in the middle of the cupcake. Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting.
- Beat together the butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla. Frost the cooled cupcakes then decorate with chocolate sprinkles.
Thanksgiving Day Recipes
Looking for easy recipes to make for Thanksgiving Day? I’ve curated the recipes from my own Thanksgiving Day Menu throughout the years that I’ve posted in this foodblog for easy access. Just click the links to get the recipes. The print button for each recipe is located underneath the title and in newer posts, it’s also located within the recipe box, top-right.
Strawberry Cake Truffle Pops
I made these strawberry cake truffle pops with my daughter/sous chef for Halloween. I only made them for us though, not to give to the trick-or-treaters since it’s the rule not to take homemade goodies therefore I don’t give out homemade goodies either. Anyhooo, the cake pops are just like the truffles I’ve been making these past weeks except they come in pop sticks form.
You can find the pop sticks at the party and baking aisle at Walmart. A bag of 50 sticks is $2.50. And instead of using regular white chocolate chips for coating, I used the Wilton candy chips which are actually better for coating. They come in different flavors too. Just follow the melting directions from the bag itself. I found the Styrofoam brick from the craft section. You’ll need this to stick the pops in so you could decorate or let the coating set up for a few seconds before drizzling melted chocolate for decorations as well.
As you can see, my decorating skill is less than mediocre. I admit it, I suck at it. My son said he likes the chocolate spiderweb designs. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that I wasn’t going for spiderwebs. They just kinda turned out that way, HAHA! Oh well, I tried. I’ll just keep practicing.
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Chocolate-Yema Truffles
Thanks to my favorite Filipina Actress Ms. Marian Rivera, who’ve inspired me to make truffles, coz now I can’t stop, Haha! I first made red velvet cake truffles, then I made chocolate truffle pops which I haven’t posted yet, and now here are chocolate-yema truffles. WARNING, these can be detrimental to your diet. They are so decadent that you’d find yourself fighting with yourself about not having another 1 then you’ll end up chastising yourself after finishing the 3rd or possibly the 4th truffle. If you can discipline yourself to only have 1 chocolate-yema truffle a day, then good for you. If not, try to limit 2 per day. That’s All! (count how many times I said “yourself”)
Mom’s White Zucchini Bread
I’ve made Zucchini Bread before but if you search for the recipe in the search box right now though, you won’t find any. It wasn’t all that bad really. I think it was just on the dry side and the glaze I drizzled on top didn’t look all that pretty in the pictures. That’s what I get for trying to be all fancy-schmancy in here. But thanks to my Mother-in-Law, I now have a zucchini bread recipe as of today, October 5th, 2011. My in-laws from New York were here for a visit last week and brought along delicious loaves of zucchini bread and banana bread. I ate 3 slices of the zucchini bread the first night we got it. I made sure to take pictures of it first of course so I could post the recipe as soon as I got it from her.
