Is it too late for a Christmas Blog?!?!?

I'm not sure if it is because of the massive amounts of food I ate around the holidays, but I've managed to wait this long to post all the yummy things I made for Christmas! So you know how everyone makes a batch of Christmas goodies like cookies, peanut butter kisses, peanut brittle... you know you know. Well I wanted to do the same thing, but since it's my first time, I figured I'd try some different stuff. And don't worry, I didn't miss out on the regular stuff since I pretty much ate all the stuff people brought into work during the last three weeks of the year...

So here is a list of things I made!
(Click on each picture to get the recipe)

1. Magenbrot - When I was in Switzerland last November, I was on a rampage trying every new thing in sight! We came across a little Christmas stand that had various goodies and this weird pink bag called filled with Magenbrot (translated as stomach bread). Someone in our group told me it is one of his favorite things to eat so I for sure got a bag, inhaled one piece, and fell in love! I ate a lot of things in Switzerland and this by far was one of my favorites. I'm happy to report that despite my concerns with the hard and dry dough, the Magenbrot turned out perfect!! I can see why they call it stomach bread, beacuse one bite and your stomach is happy! Funny thing was that during our Christmas get together, this was the least popular dessert. Oh well... more for me!!!

2. Cream Cheese Raspberry Brownies - Just the name gives away the yumminess of this one! Although the brownies turned out a tad on the dry side, I really liked the cream and raspberries mixed in with the brownies!

3. Ginger-Lemon Pinwheel Cookies - Instead of just plain old cookies, I decided to make something with a twist. After I made the dough, I probably lost 7.3% of it because it was sooooo good and I couldn't stop eating it. And after I made the cookies, I licked the bowls so clean they didn't stand a chance! Even though the dough was good, I felt like the cookies lost a little flavor after they were baked... so they were just aaaaiiiight. For the trouble it takes to make them, I don't think I will make them again... well maybe I'll make them just to eat the dough!

4. Jeera Biscuits - Had she not been sick, we would have had a guest from Pakistan at our Christmas get together. Just for fun, I thought I would make a dessert from Pakistan and while I was doing a search, I came across a biscuit recipe with cumin seeds... N say what?!? Really they are more like cookies. So... I like cookies... and I like cumin... so why not!!! Since these weren't sweet, they didn't go to well stacked up with the other desserts, but I thought they were OK. The recipe called for 3/4 cups oil, which I thought was excessive, but I wanted to stay true to the recipe. FOR SURE it was too much oil so I modified the recipe to reduce the amount of oil to 1/4 cups. If I was ever in the mood for something not too sweet, I would make these again.

5. Pumpkin Bread Pudding - Next to the Magenbrot, this was one of my favorites!! I looooove bread pudding and have made different kinds in the past, but never one that tasted like this. It was super mushy (just the way I like it) and I filled it with prunes (which everyone things I'm obsessed with) and it was yummy! Of course I decided to be a little decorative and put little piggy and lady bug marzipan pieces on top to freak people out.

6. Mini Pumpkin Whoopie Pies - I told my sister I was going to bring these and she totally thought I was going to buy them. Do I buy food??????? Ingredients maybe, but I for sure I was going to make these babies from scratch. While the process was cumbersome and messy, this was the most popular item and were quickly gobbled by everyone like.... WHOOOOPIEEE!! I recommend everyone try this recipe out!

7. Babka - Babka is a sweet loaf of bread filled with yummy cinnamon chocolate swirls inside. It's not the easiest thing to make, but it was definitely worth it. The recipe calls for chunks of chocolate, but instead I used these chunks of peppermint bars that I brought back from Switzerland. I'll tell you that these bars were super strong, so it gave the bread an interesting peppermint chocolate flavor. I want to experiment with this bread again and try a new type of filling. Carmel chunks? Peanut Butter? Onion?!?!? We shall see :)

8. Sugar Plums - So around Christmas time, you hear about sugar plums... I mean... there are frickin sugar plum fairies! But what the heck is a sugar plum?!? I had no clue so I looked up a recipe for it. There are a lot of variations, but basically you take chopped fruits and/or nuts, stick them together with honey and you've got yourself some sugar plums! Again, this wasn't a favorite at the Christmas get together, but that worked out because I loved them! They taste like a fruit and nut energy bar, so I would pop in some before I hit the gym as a snack.

Well that's it! There was dessert that I didn't tell anyone about because it was a complete failure and I eventually threw it away after several attempts to save it. Apparently when you are making meringues, you can't use egg white substitutes... oops! I'll remember that for next time. Anyway, I encourage everyone to try at least one of these recipes next Christmas (or any time for that matter) and aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaas usual... ENJOY!!!

DPM