Christmas Baking 2011: Sugar Free and Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies

This is the second last installment of the Christmas Baking Frenzy of 2011. The cookies I am posting today are a Christmas tradition that I started for my father-in-law and my husband’s brother-in-law, neither of whom should eat sugar; I present to you the Peanut Butter Cookie. Coincidentally, these are also gluten free. Sugar Free [...]

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Christmas Baking 2011: Recap and Gift Box Photos

Hello everyone! Christmas Baking is over for the time being and I am quite happy with the results; there is a lovely variety of old and new favourites and I am excited about putting my gift boxes together for our friends and family. I still have a dessert to bake for Christmas Eve which we [...]

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Christmas Baking 2011: Ginger Snaps

Confession time: I made this cookie recipe about a week ago, but I completely forgot to add the brown sugar and I didn’t watch my syrup and it boiled up (sadly, I can’t blame it on drinking); the taste turned out OK while they were still warm, but the next day the cookies hardened so [...]

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Christmas Baking 2011: Chewy Peanut Butter Bars

In the late 70′s my 10 year old brother (20 months my junior) gave me a cook book of cookies, candies and desserts for Christmas; he inscribed it with this sentiment: “This is really for me, in the long run!” And it was! The bad photography of that time didn’t stop me from making so [...]

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Christmas Baking 2011: Bargain Basement Barbs’s Amazng Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies

As I mentioned before, I met Barb at KPMG in the early nineties; after a year or so, Barb decided to move to Vancouver. JT and I had just bought our home in the upper beach in Toronto and had a vacant basement apartment. We had never had a tenant before so we thought it [...]

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Christmas Baking 2011: Anzac Biscuits

I made these cookies about 15 years ago, my mom copied down the recipe from a Martha Stewart show highlighting things about Australia. According to Wikipedia Anzac Day marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. The acronym ANZAC stands for Australian [...]

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Christmas Baking 2011: Butterscotchy Almond Bars

This is a recipe I picked up about 20 years ago on one of those little recipe cards the Dairy Farmers of Ontario put out. It’s a very attractive butterscotch Blondy with a caramel almond topping and chocolate drizzle, really pretty! Follow the directions verbatim for the nutty topping otherwise you may end up with [...]

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Christmas Baking 2011: Chocolate Crinkle Kisses

Chocolate Crinkle Kisses My friend Anna made these cookies one year as a hostess gift when she and her hubby André came for dinner. Barb of Profiteroles and Ponytails introduced us to André about 20 years ago (André is a commercial photographer whom I employed a lot in my corporate days). I LOVED the candy [...]

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Gentle readers, start your ovens! May the Christmas baking frenzy begin! Christmas Baking 2011: Mexican Spiced Macaroons

The oven is on, baking supplies are stock piled and I’m ready for my marathon baking for Christmas. I make little packages for all our friends and neighbours; each of two if you’re a couple, or four if you’re a team! I generally bake 10-15 things. This year I’m going to try to downsize, but [...]

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’tis the season to be Scary…

In honour of the upcoming festive holiday season, I thought I would present some past photos and share a couple of scary stories. Oh, did you think I was going to blog about Christmas? Hmm! Halloween is such a fun time of year. JT and I usually have a pumpkin carving contest, we decorate the [...]

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