Holiday Gifts to Share

The holidays are upon us.  The season of giving….and eating.  Don’t you think we should combine the two?  I’ve always been a firm believer that food makes an excellent gift.  Especially if you have friends that love to eat, but don’t really love to cook.  Something homemade, from your kitchen, is the best way to tell someone you care about them.  You took your time to make something especially for them.  Who doesn’t love that?

Today I have four recipes for you that make treats that are perfect for giving.  I have two recipes for pound cake (using a mix!).  The first is a yummy Egg Nog Pound Cake with a Rum Glaze and the second is a fantastic Gingerbread Pound Cake with a Lemon Glaze.  My third recipe is for Apple Pie Fudge, and my last recipe is for a knock-off of a certain coffee shop’s Cranberry Bars.  Don’t you think that you have a friend who  would love to receive a treat like that?

To make the pound cakes, I use a boxed pound cake mix.  For the Egg Nog Pound Cake, I use rich, thick egg nog instead of water.  I also use an extra egg and melted butter, just like the box calls for.  To make it taste even egg noggier, I add a teaspoon of rum extract and ½ a teaspoon of grated nutmeg.  This cake really does taste just like egg nog!

I top the cakes with a glaze made from powdered sugar and rum….or rum extract if you will be feeding little ones.

I bake my cakes in little mini loaf pans, so I get about 3 per box of cake mix.  I always by the disposable mini loaf pans that come with lids.  Perfect for giving!  And what’s even more perfect is that the cakes were super easy because you used a mix, but nobody will ever know!

I use the same boxed mix for my Gingerbread Pound Cake.  I use milk, eggs, butter and a mix of ground ginger, ground cloves, cinnamon, ground nutmeg and ground allspice.  I actually keep a little container of these spices around all season long.  I add my gingerbread spice mix to pancakes, waffles, hot chocolate, coffee, etc.  I love this stuff.

The gingerbread Pound Cakes get topped with a glaze made from powdered sugar and lemon juice.  I have always loved gingerbread and lemon together, but you could always use milk instead of lemon juice.

My third recipe is my Apple Pie Fudge.  Making candy can be kind of a project (a project most people don’t want any part of), but this fudge is actually really easy as long as you have a candy thermometer.  I combine sugar, milk, corn syrup, apple sauce, vanilla extract, pumpkin pie spice, butter, dried apples and cinnamon chips.  The flavors of apple, spices and cinnamon chips comes together to make this fudge taste just like apple pie, but maybe better??

I start by bringing milk, sugar, corn syrup and apple sauce to a boil in a pot, stirring the whole time.  Then, I reduced the heat to medium and let the mixture come to 235 degrees, which is “soft ball” stage.  Don’t try to do this the old-fashioned way….use a candy thermometer.  And oh yeah, during this part, you don’t stir.

Then, I removed it from the heat and whisked in the butter, vanilla and pumpkin pie spice.  Once that was whisked, I had to let it sit for a while to wait for the temperature to drop to 110.  Once it was cooled, I went at it with my hand mixer until the mixture was less shiny and thick.  I know “less shiny” sounds weird, but you really do beat it until it loses its “gloss”.

The last step is to stir in some chopped dried apples and the cinnamon chips.  Then, the whole mixture gets poured into a lightly greased 8x8 pan.  This chills in the fridge for a couple of hours, then it’s good to go.  Package it up in something cute, and you have an amazing gift to give!

Finally, if you are still with me, my last recipe is what I call Cranberry Bars.  Like I said above, it is a knock-off of a famous coffee shop’s cranberry bars.  My version tastes just like ‘em.  And they are so pretty and delicious….the perfect gift!

The bars start with a cookie crust.  The usual suspects are in this cookie crust….sugar, flour, butter, etc.  I also stir in white chocolate chips and dried cranberries.  The cookie crust gets topped with an orangy cream cheese frosting that is to die for. The last step is to drizzle more white chocolate over the top and then sprinkle on some more dried cranberries.

These bars just look like the holidays, and they are the perfect gift to give….maybe with a gift card to the coffee place that has gone unnamed?

This holiday season, when you are wondering what to give your child’s teachers, bus driver, the lady that does your nails, etc.  How about some sweet treats?  Like I said above, food is always a great gift!

Egg Nog Pound Cake

1 box pound cake mix

2/3 cup egg nog

½ stick (1/4 cup) butter, softened

3 eggs

2 teaspoons rum extract, divided

1 teaspoon grated nutmeg, divided

2 cups powdered sugar

1-2 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease loaf pan (I used 3 mini loaf pans-4 ½ x2 ½ x1 ½).

In a mixing bowl, beat together mix, egg nog, softened butter, eggs, 1 teaspoon rum extract and ½ teaspoon nutmeg with a hand mixer.  Beat batter for about 3 minutes.  Pour batter into greased pans.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

While cakes cool, whisk together powdered sugar, remaining extract, remaining nutmeg and 1 to 2 tablespoons of milk.  How much you use will depend on your desired consistency.

Drizzle glaze evenly over cooled cakes.

Makes 3 mini cakes.

Gingerbread Pound Cake

1 box pound cake mix

2/3 cup milk

½ stick (1/4 cup) butter, softened

3 eggs

½ teaspoon ground cloves

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground allspice

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 cups powdered sugar

1-2 tablespoons lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease loaf pan (I used 3 mini loaf pans-4 ½ x2 ½ x1 ½).

In a mixing bowl, beat together mix, milk, softened butter, eggs, and all spices with a hand mixer.  Beat batter for about 3 minutes.  Pour batter into greased pans.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

While cakes cool, whisk together powdered sugar and 1 to 2 tablespoons of lemon juice.  How much you use will depend on your desired consistency.

Drizzle glaze evenly over cooled cakes.

Makes 3 mini cakes.

 

Apple Pie Fudge

2 ½ cups sugar

 

1 cup whole milk

 

3 tablespoons light corn syrup

 

½ cup apple sauce

 

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

 

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

 

½ cup butter (one stick)

 

½ cup dried apples, chopped

 

¼ cup cinnamon chips

 

In a large sauce pan, bring milk, sugar, apple sauce and corn syrup to a boil over high heat, stirring the entire time.  Once the mixture boils, reduce heat to medium and bring mixture to 235 degrees on a candy thermometer.  Do not stir mixture.

 

Once mixture hits 235 degrees, remove from heat and whisk in butter, vanilla and pumpkin pie spice.  Let mixture sit until it reaches 110 degrees.

 

After the mixture has cooled to 110, beat with hand mixer until mixture is thickened and loses shininess.  Stir in dried apples and cinnamons chips and pour into a greased 8x8 pan.  Let chill for 2 to 3 hours.

Makes 1 8x8 pan.

 

 

Cranberry Bars

2 sticks butter plus ½ stick, softened

1 ¼ brown sugar

3 eggs

1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon ground ginger

Pinch salt

1 ½ cups flour

1 1/4 cup dried cranberries

1 12 ounce bag white chocolate chips

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 teaspoon orange extract

3 cups powdered sugar

In a mixing bowl, beat together 2 sticks butter and brown sugar until smooth.  Add eggs, vanilla, ginger and salt and mix well.  Slowly add in flour.  Once the batter is smooth, stir in ¾ cup dried cranberries and 6 ounces chocolate chips.  Pour into a 9x13 pan that has been lined with foil and greased.  Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes.

Frosting: 

Cream together ½ stick butter and 4 ounces cream cheese until smooth.  Add orange extract.  Slowly beat in powdered sugar.  Frost cooled bars.

In a microwave safe dish, melt 6 ounces white chocolate chips.  This will take about 45 seconds.  Stir until smooth and drizzle over frosted bars.  Top with the rest of the dried cranberries.

Remove bars from the pan using the edges of the foil.  Cut into bars to serve.

Makes 1 9x13 pan.