On the sixth night of Hanukkah, Smart Bitches gave to me…. cookbooks, gift cards, and spices from Penzey’s!
Hey, that almost rhymes. Nice!
Today we’re celebrating RedHeadedGirl and her love of historical cookery, and also of things that smell good when you bake them!
There’s been a lot of historical cooking this year, and we want to help you make some delicious treats, too!
Here’s the prize pack – ready? Hold on to your aprons!
Included in this giveaway are:
A Penzey’s 4-jar Baker’s Gift Pack, including China Cinnamon, Natural High Fat Cocoa, Baking Spice, Double Strength Madagascar Pure Vanilla Extract.
A copy of The Medieval Kitchen: Recipes from France and Italy:
A Smart Bitches apron, so you don’t get your clothes dirty when cooking all the things!
Plus – a $25 gift card to the bookstore of your choice! You need more cookbooks, right? Of course you do!
So, ready to enter? Leave a comment below and tell us: what’s your favorite thing to make? Do you love baking cookies? Pie? Brownies? Saffron buns? Gingerbread? Anything so long as it’s delicious?
Standard disclaimers apply: I’m not being compensated for this giveaway. Void where prohibited. Must be 18 years of age and ready to tote and read. Open to international residents where permitted by applicable law. No dolphins, kangaroos, small fur-bearing animals or trees were harmed in the production of this giveaway. Only organically-grown alphabetical letters were used. Stiff penalties for early withdrawal. Comments will close on or close to 8:00am EST Saturday 12 December and winners will be announced soon after.
Cheers, happy cooking, and Happy Hanukkah!
ETA: We have a winner! Congratulations to Lisa J! I hope you bake up something terrific. Thank you to everyone who entered and celebrated with us!
I love making bread: particularly baguettes and sourdough But as for sweet baking, mini-pies! I plan to make single-serving apple pies tonight!
My current favorite is a recipe for chocolate banana muffins with mini chocolate chips. It is easy to make and helps use up those overripe bananas. During the holidays, my mother’s records for molasses cookies, chocolate crinkles and peanut butter kisses.
Pretty much any sort of baked good. I go in stages: obsessing over cheesecakes for a while, then bread, then cupcakes, etc.
One of my favourite things to bake is Hasty Pudding from Edna Staebler’s “Schmecks Appeal, More Mennonite Country Cooking” (her follow up to “Food that Really Schmecks”). The recipe uses apples (I have also made some adjustments to it for other fruits). The topping is crispy on top but forms a lovely custard that mixes with the apples (or other fruit) below. The Fluffy Pumpkin Pie recipe in “Food the Really Schmecks” is IMHO the best Pumpkin Pie recipe ever.
Jam cookies with homemade jam!
Any and all cookies! Plus Cantonese egg tarts.
My mom’s best friend had the recipe for the most AMAZING rum cake and it makes me happy just thinking about it. I only make it around the holidays, probably because even the smell makes you tipsy.
Cheesecake, because it’s always a bit of a gamble–did you pull it out at the right time? Is it going to crack? (Mine always crack, but so far they always taste fantastic)
For purely sentimental reasons: my mom’s toffee bar cake. It’s the only recipe I know by heart. It’s a connection to my childhood when it made us the envy of all our friends. It’s the no fail my brothers will consume the whole thing go to dessert. It feels like my mother’s smile.
The think I make most is pancakes. I love to make spice cake and gingerbread with molasses and pepper.
I still feel like a novice baker, but I love making spritz cookies: a family tradition. In fact, I think I’m baking them today!
Personally, I love making a classic apple pie (I can do piecrust!), as everyone loves it and it makes the house smell good, plus, there’s fruit, so I can claim some semblance of health. I also enjoy helping my husband in his annual baking extravaganza of cookies, regular Irish soda bread (golden raisins and caraway seeds), and holiday soda bread (craisins and chocolate chips).
Lately (and this will sound so hokey), but making brownies (from the box!) with my daughter has been a ton of fun.
Blueberry Boy Bait is my favorite. It is a favorite at home and at work.
I love to bake, so it is really difficult to narrow it down to my favorites. I really love making Apple Pie Bars with homemade salted caramel sauce for a sweet treat. For savory, I probably most often make Chicken Mushroom Hand Pies. The filling is to die for – shredded chicken, spinach, Parmesan, and a little cinnamon and nutmeg to riches the flavor. Yum!
My son and I love to bake together. Sugar cookies are our favorite.
COOKIES!!! All kinds of COOKIES!!! over-the-top sweet cookies! shortbread & butter cookies!! Chocolate cookies!! Oatmeal cookies!! Krumkake!! Fattigman!! ALL COOKIES!!
I love making gingerbread and shortbread cookies
I’m one of those who likes to make anything as long as it’s delicious. Alter ego is participating in #RomBakeOff and the Victoria Sponge Cake was interesting. I’m looking forward to this week’s Tartes au Citron! My favorite December cookie to make are these chocolate drop cookies that I inherited from my mom. I’m also reasonably famous for the Apricot Oatmeal Bars that I make 😀
I love making cream puffs because they combine my favorite things to bake — choux pastry and creme pat. And I always end up with leftover egg whites for meringue cookies 🙂
I love making Nestle Tollhouse cookies. Reminds me of being young.
A tres leches cake! Delicious.
I’m not much of a cook or baker but my husband and son bake biscotti and everyone loves them.
Right now, I love making homemade milano cookies! And olive oil cake!
I love baking cookies…in fact, I’ll be baking some today.
This time of year I’m all about the home-made yeast rolls and cinnamon rolls. Penzy’s Cinnamon and Madagascar Vanilla are to die for! Just sayin’…
Chocolate chip cookies!
I am in charge of trifle only coking is the cake and it is so we hidden it doesn’t even have to be good
Chocolate chip cookies for me as well. I love the way the house smells while they are baking.
My favourite thing to cook is lentil soup. I make that at least once a week, sometimes twice. For baking, maybe chocolate cake. Discovering dump cake (worst name ever but easiest baking ever) definitely changed my life for the better.
Double chocolate chip walnut cookies are my jam- must toast the walnuts!
I love to cook soups & stews in the fall & winter months. One of my favorite soups is Harvest Soup, which has butternut squash chunks in it & loads of other vegetables. I also love to bake cakes from scratch & make homemade buttercream!
does microwaving count? LOL.. I’m not a baker/cooker/candlestick maker by any means. In fact, I’ve been asked to stop trying!! Thanks for sharing!
I love baking cookies.
I love baking all kinds of cookies and I’ve been thinking about getting back into bread making again. Some day, I will find the perfect rye bread recipe.
I make really good chewy chocolate chip cookies but I enjoy baking anything.
I make the pies for all the family occasions – my grandma taught me to make pie crust when I was little (my recipe card calls for “flower”), and this Thanksgiving I got to teach my niece. Not sure if the 13 year old appreciated using her great grandmother’s rolling pin and recipe, but it sure made me happy. And the crust was delicious!
Mmm, I love baking gingersnaps, carrot cake, and any kind of pie!
Spintz cookies! Though we just called them butter cookies when I baked them with my grandma. Cookie presses are so much easier than scooping or hand-rolling and I always have the ingredients on hand!
I love making oatmeal raisin cookies because they are my husband’s favorite and when I make a batch just for him, he looks at me like I’m made of magic and sparkles. It’s lovely. Plus, I don’t really like them, so I can make the entire house smell amazing, make him happy, and I don’t gain 15 pounds by eating all of them! #winning
I also love my family cookie exchange every holiday season with my mom and sister. It’s kind of a stressful day, but it’s totally worth it for all the bonding, Christmas movie binging, and cookies!