Christmas-Bread and Rolls

Angel Biscuits

You do not need to let these rise before baking unless you have the time.

5 cups flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 package yeast
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter or shortening
2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup butter, melted

Mix dry ingredients, then cut in butter. Dissolve yeast in 2 tablespoons warm water. To yeast, add the buttermilk. Mix in all ingredients, except butter, well. Sprinkle board with flour, knead a few times to make soft but not sticky dough; roll to 1/4 inch, then cut with biscuit cutter. Dip in melted butter and fold over. Place close together. Let rise (optional). Bake at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes. Makes about 40 biscuits.

Christmas Eggnog Bread

1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup dairy or canned eggnog
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped red and green candied cherries

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir into butter mixture alternately with eggnog; mix only until dry ingredients are moistened. Fold in pecans, raisins and cherries. Spoon into a greased 9 x 5-inch loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 70 minutes or until bread tests done.

Christmas Stollen

A German Christmas treat. This recipe has been handed down through the generations

1-1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup white sugar
3/4 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
5-2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 ounce active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup candied citrus peel
1/2 cup candied cherries

Scald milk. Add sugar, butter, and salt, and cool to lukewarm. Add 2 whole eggs, and 2 yolks. Mix and

Add to 3 cups flour and yeast in food processor. Process and let rise until double.

When risen, cut into 3-4 pieces. Roll each into an oval, butter, and fold in half lengthwise. Put on greased baking sheet, cover, and let rise until double.

Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 25 minutes.

Remove to rack. When cool, frost with white butter frosting and decorate with candied cherry halves and sprinkle with colored sugar.

Cranberry Orange Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbl. grated orange zest
1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup melted butter
2 eggs
1 cup fresh cranberries cut in half

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugars and grated orange peel. Stir in orange juice, 1/2 cup melted butter, eggs and chopped nuts.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes. Serve hot.

Danish Kringle

Yields 3 braids.

1 cup butter
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 cup sour cream
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups brown sugar
1-1/2 cups chopped English walnuts, divided
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons water

In a large bowl, cut 1 cup butter into flour until crumbly, leaving pea-sized chunks. Stir in sour cream, and mix well; dough will be very sticky. Form dough into a ball. Cover tightly, and refrigerate 8 hours, or overnight.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet. Prepare the filling by combining 1 cup butter, brown sugar, and 1 cup chopped walnuts.

Divide dough into three equal parts; return two parts to the refrigerator to keep cold. Quickly form 1/3 of the dough into a rectangle, and flour lightly. On a heavily floured surface, roll out to approximately 12x17 inches. Position lengthwise on the work surface. Along the long edges of the dough rectangle, use a sharp knife to cut 4 inch long angled lines about 1/2 inch apart. Spoon 1/3 of the filling along the length of the rectangle's uncut center. Alternating from one side of the dough to the other, fold each 1/2 inch wide strip towards the center, crisscrossing the filling in a braid-like fashion. Lightly press together the ends of the strips to seal. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the remaining walnuts. Repeat with remaining ingredients to form 3 braided Danishes. Arrange Danishes on prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown. Cool for approximately 30 minutes. While the Danishes are cooling, prepare the icing: mix confectioners sugar and water until smooth. Drizzle in fine streams over warm Danishes.

Eggnog Almond Tea Loaf

A lovely tea bread, rich with almonds and spiced with nutmeg and lemon.

2-1/2 cups all-purpose white flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 cup finely chopped toasted almonds
1 egg, beaten
3 tablespoon vegetable oil
1-1/4 cups commercial or homemade eggnog

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour an
8 x 4-inch loaf pan.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Add the lemon zest and almonds and stir to combine.

In another bowl, combine the egg, vegetable oil and eggnog. Stir this mixture into the dry ingredients just until well blended. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.

Bake for about 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.

Gift of the Magi Bread

The aroma of this bread fills the whole house. This loaf is full of wonderful flavors that compliment each other. It is very delicious and has an excellent texture.

2 loaves
1/2 cup softened sweet butter (do not substitute)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 medium or 3 small)
1 cup coconut
1 cup semisweet mini-chocolate chips
2/3 cup sliced almonds, divided
1/2 cup chopped maraschino cherries
1/2 cup chopped dates

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 2 loaf pans and set aside.

In a mixer bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla (I sometimes use coconut or pineapple extract for extra flavor).

Combine flour, baking soda and salt and add to the creamed butter mixture alternately with the bananas. Stir in mandarin oranges, coconut, mini-chocolate chips, 1/2 cup almonds, cherries and dates; mix well to combine.

Pour into prepared loaf pans. Sprinkle with remaining almonds (I like more almonds on my bread). Bake 50 to 55 minutes (45 minutes is what I bake it at; it will depend on your oven) or until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean.

Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Bread

Yield: 3 loaves

3 cups granulated sugar
3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
4 large eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cup cooked pumpkin
2/3 cup water
1-1/2 cups chopped walnuts
Cream cheese (optional - for serving)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter containers well.

Sift the dry ingredients together into a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and add the eggs, oil, pumpkin and water. Beat thoroughly. It's easier to get all the lumps out if you use an electric mixer. Stir in the walnuts with a wooden spoon.

Pour the batter into containers, filling each only half to two-thirds full. Bake for 60 to 90 minutes, depending on the sizes of your containers. If you're using a very small container, start checking much sooner. The bread is done when a wooden pick in the middle comes out clean.

Cool about ten minutes, then loosen the edges of the bread with a knife, and turn out of the pans to cool the rest of the way on a rack.

Polish Angel Wings

4 egg yolks
1 whole egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons rum or brandy
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups flour
3 cups vegetable shortening for frying
Confectioners' sugar for topping

In a large bowl of an electric mixer, combine egg yolks, egg and salt. Beat on highest speed until mixture is thick and drops softly from the beaters, 7 to 10 minutes,

Beat in sugar, a small amount at a time. Beat in rum and vanilla extract. Remove from mixer. Fold flour into mixture by hand until incorporated.

Turn dough onto generously floured surface. Knead dough until blisters form on the dough, about 10 minutes. Add small amounts of flour as needed to surface to keep dough from sticking. Divide dough in half. Cover one half with inverted bowl, towel or plastic wrap to prevent drying.

Roll out other half of dough as thin as possible, (about an 8 x 12-inch rectangle). If dough resists, let it rest for a few minutes and resume rolling. Cut dough into 2 x 4-inch rectangles. Make a 2-inch slit from center almost to end of each dough strip. Pull opposite end of strip through slit to twist the dough. Repeat with remaining dough.

In a large skillet, heat vegetable shortening until it reaches 350 degrees F on a deep-fat fry thermometer. (This is important, if the oil is too cool, dough will absorb too much oil; if it is too hot, the pastry will burn on the outside and not cook properly on the inside.) Add a few angel wings at a time and fry until golden on both sides, turning about halfway through cooking time, about 1 1/2 minutes total. Remove to drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining angel wings until all are fried. Cool completely and dust liberally with confectioners' sugar. Store in airtight container.

Rum Glazed Coffee Rolls

Don't worry about how you arrange these biscuits in the pan; during baking they expand into a coffee cake that separates easily into single rolls.

1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup brewed coffee
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 tbl. dark rum
2/3 cup sugar
2 tbl. instant coffee granules
2 (11 oz.) cans refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted

Sprinkle pecans in a heavily greased 12 cup Bundt pan. Combine brown sugar and the next 3 ingredients. stirring well. Pour the mixture into the pan.

Combine 2/3 cup sugar and coffee granules in a shallow bowl; stir well. Separate biscuits; dip them in 1/3 cup melted butter and dredge in sugar mixture. Stand biscuits on edge around pan, placing 12 on outer side and 8 on inner side of pan.

Bake at 350* for 28 minutes. Cool in pan on a wire rack 5 minutes. Invert onto a serving platter and serve immediately.

Slovenian Potica

An incredible sweet and yummy Slovenian treat.

1-1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/4 cup milk, lukewarm
1 teaspoon white sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons white sugar
5 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/3 cups milk
1 cup butter, melted
12 ounces honey
2 cups raisins
1-1/2 pounds chopped walnuts
1 pinch ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease one large baking sheet. Dissolve yeast in 4 tablespoons lukewarm milk. Add 1 teaspoon sugar and 3 tablespoons flour. Stir well and set aside.

Add 5 cups sifted flour, salt and 1-1/3 cup milk and beat well. Beat dough for 10 minutes or until bubbles form. Cover with flour and let rise 2 hours.

Cut dough in half and roll out each half as thin as possible on floured board.

Spread each half with melted butter, honey, raisins, walnuts and douse with cinnamon.

Roll up like jelly roll, place on baking sheet, allow to rise and bake for one hour. Makes 24 servings

Christmas Cooking and Baking

Cooking Notes