Tag: dessert

Christmas Cookies

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, Topic, Using5 Comments

In one way only, it’s like a box store at my house: the day after Thanksgiving, we’re prepping for Christmas. If Thanksgiving was my grandmother’s holiday, Christmas was Mom’s. As it approached, we dragged box after box of decorations from under the stairs and distributed their contents around the house. Every room was adorned, and multiple trees, including one that brushed the ceiling, sagged under handmade, generations old, and otherwise treasured ornaments. Then the baking began.

When laying out cookies for their chief eater (Dad, aka Santa), my sister and I struggled to limit ourselves to a small plate. Choices included painted cutouts, thumbprints, Berliner kranzer, butter spritz, and gingerbread biscotti. Two that I never fully appreciated until I was older—Vanilla Bean Cookies and Chocolate Rum Balls—are now my annual contribution to the array. I make them after Thanksgiving so that they fully develop their flavors by the big day. Learn to make Vanilla Bean Cookies and Chocolate Rum Balls

Nearly Perfect Pie

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, Dry storage, Topic, Using4 Comments

I had an amazing grandmother. From the time I was 12, Grandma Tiny lived just down the road—where she remained until she died at 104. My sister and I stopped in every day after school. For someone who ate few sweets, she took her grandmotherly duties seriously: the cookie jar was always full (usually of snickerdoodles), and holidays received sugary attention.

Thanksgiving was her party. Every year, the family descended. We extended both pullouts on the dining room table, yet it was so crowded an adult was still relegated to a card table in her sitting room with my sister, cousin, and I. Turkey was the mainstay, but even before I became vegetarian, the rest of the spread dominated my plate. My favorite was “dressing”; the several types couldn’t all fit within the bird and be accurately called “stuffing.” I would douse them with my mom’s homemade cranberry sauce and go back for seconds. But like everyone present, I always left plenty of room for apple pie. Learn to make Nearly Perfect Pie Crust and Apple Crumble Pie

Pumpkin

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, Event, Freezing, Ingredient, UsingLeave a comment

It’s been a week of firsts here at Twice as Tasty. It saw the official launch of workshops on just about any technique, recipe, or topic that is or will be covered by the blog. If you’re intrigued by these recipes but timid about trying them solo, workshops are for you—and your friends; the workshops are designed to be hosted in private kitchens for small groups. The first phase will be in my local corner of Montana. But I love to travel, so contact me if you’re interested in hosting anywhere: Next stop will be Bellingham, WA, and the Puget Sound area at the end of December.

Twice as Tasty also catered its first event, a house concert at the EVK Lounge. From a food standpoint, this was an opportunity to add smell and taste to an already sensual evening, with the scent of baking pumpkin and chocolate wafting through the room midway through the show. Learn to make Roasted Pumpkin Puree and Seeds and Pumpkin–Chocolate Cookies