Joyce Klynstra - Christmas Baking: Festive Cookies, Candies, Cakes, Breads, and Snacks to Bring Comfort and Joy to Your Holiday

Copyright 2020 by Laura Klynstra & Joyce Klynstra

Photographs copyright 2020 by Laura Klynstra

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover and interior design and photography by Laura Klynstra

Print ISBN: 978-1-68099-646-3

eBook ISBN: 978-1-68099-647-0

Printed in China

for my grandkids

joseph, megan, matthew, levi, leo, victor, and johan
who bring me so much joy

J.K .

for my boys

leo and victor
may all your christmases be sweet

L.K .

CONTENTS

If baking is any labor at all, its a labor of love. A love that gets passed from generation to generation.

REGINA BRETT

INTRODUCTION

Christmas is a bridge. We need bridges as the river of time flows past. Todays Christmas should mean creating happy hours for tomorrow and reliving those of yesterday.

GLADYS TABER

P art of the appeal of Christmas is the many memories we bring to the season. Attic boxes filled with tinsel, garland, and delicate glass ornaments come out once a year and remind us of the anticipation and magic of our childhoods. We have songs we only listen to in December and recipes that are especially for this time of the year. The fragrance of cinnamon baking can fill you with an intangible nostalgia that is part memories of baking with a parent or grandparent, part seeing your own childs holiday excitement, and part thinking of how he will remember today in years to come.

I recall sitting on the kitchen counter when I was too small to see over its edge. I watched my mom mix cookie dough, sitting cross-legged by the bowl. The vision of butter, sugar, and eggs coming together and the smell of vanilla is at the root of my love of baking. At Christmastime, my mom rolled out and baked gingerbread people then set my brother and me to decorate them with paintbrushes and colored Wilton candy melts in coffee mugs placed in hot water. Now my son, Leo, loves to climb onto the counter to help make cookies almost as much as he enjoys eating them.

Even before I had a family of my own, I loved baking for the holidays. When I lived in Jersey City, my friend Allison would come for a weekend baking fest. Allison made bars and truffles while I piped designs on sugar cookies with royal icing. At the end, we divided the lot, and we each carried heavy bags on the PATH to our offices in New York to share with our colleagues.

Christmas baking is all about love and sharingits filled with tradition and comfort.

My mom and I decided to write this book to celebrate that joy. We have assembled these recipes from years of baking at home for our family and friends. Whether youre baking for colleagues, a church bake sale, a big family, or a small circle of friends, we hope youll find a few new favorites to incorporate into your traditions. Have fun, make memories, and enjoy a sweet Christmas!

Laura

LAURAS NOTES ON INGREDIENTS

High-quality ingredients make high-quality desserts. So always buy the best ingredients you can afford. If you can only splurge on a couple ingredients, make them chocolate and vanilla. Theres a huge difference between high-quality chocolate and vanilla and the cheaper versions.

BUTTER

Butter is the base ingredient for most desserts and is vital to baking success. Always use unsalted butter. One can never tell how much salt is in the salted variety, so the only way to control how much salt goes into a recipe is to use unsalted butter. Unsalted butter also works better when browning butter, as salted butter foams more, making it more difficult to see the moment the butter starts to brown.

Butter is best creamed with sugar at room temperature. If you need to bring butter to room temperature quickly, slice it into -inch slices and lay it on a plate or parchment for 10 to 15 minutes. If you do use a microwave, be careful not to let the butter meltrunny or melted butter does not work well in most recipes.

DAIRY

Always use full-fat milk and buttermilk in recipes for best results. Buying local dairy brands will get you the freshest dairy while supporting local farmers. Milk from grass-fed cows is the most natural and is my preference when I can afford it.

EGGS

We raise chickens and ducks that roam and forage in our yard and woods from dawn to dusk. Birds that live natural lives as omnivores produce the best, most vitamin-rich eggs that are perfect for baking. Not everyone has the time or inclination to raise their own birds, but eggs from local producers of pasture-raised hens in your neighborhood or at famers markets are the next best thing. You can also purchase naturally raised eggs in most supermarkets. Look for pasture-raised versus free range or cage free. Avoid eggs that say vegetarian-fed, as the only way to make a hen into a vegetarian is to deny her access to the outdoors. You know you have a good egg when the yolk is much closer to orange than yellow.

Recipes in this book were tested with chicken eggs. If you do happen to have duck eggs, I recommend trying them in cakes. The higher fat content in the yolk of a duck egg gives more rise and flavor to cakes. You can replace one chicken egg with one duck egg as long as its not too much larger than a chicken egg.