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New Year...Old Favorites! The bustle of holiday shopping and entertaining is over at last—admit it, aren’t you just a little bit relieved? But it’s still cold, dark, and damp outside, even here in California! It’s a good time to stay indoors, snuggle by the fireplace, and enjoy the pleasures of home and family. And there’s no better way to do that than by creating—and enjoying—simple homemade treats. The comfort connection What does “comfort food” mean to you? We’ll bet that “warm,” “sweet,” and “familiar” are part of your definition. Comfort foods often evoke happy childhood memories; they’re usually easy to make but rich in nourishment—both actual and symbolic. With comfort foods, the fun comes from adding something personal to the tradition. Instead of quick-cooking oatmeal, why not try old-fashioned steel-cut oats? Its dense, nutty texture more than compensates for a little extra cooking time. Top each bowl with a generous sprinkling of C&H Dark Brown Sugar—or, for a crunchier taste, C&H Washed Raw Sugar—and some sliced apples for an any-time-of-day breakfast.  Before franchise-store bagels and croissants became an American way of life, every home baker could turn out a week’s worth of coffee cakes without repeating a recipe. Easy to make—often in a single mixing bowl—coffee cake fills your kitchen with irresistible aromas and never fails to delight family and guests. The addition of fruit makes the cake moist, nutritious, and satisfying. Try our delicious Peach Coffee Cake, made with fresh or canned peaches, or our award-winning Apricot Prune Streusel Cake, layered with streusel and baked in a Bundt pan.Don’t forget another humble classic—hot bread pudding—on bitter-cold evenings or after a day of skating or sledding. This old favorite is currently enjoying a comeback, and can be made with many flavor variations. Because you make it with slightly stale bread, it’s a good way to finish off a loaf. A classic Bread and Butter Pudding is rich and flavorful; Caramel Apple Bread Pudding is topped with a delicious caramel sauce made with C&H Golden Brown Sugar and chopped toasted almonds. Serve with mugs of hot cocoa or hot mulled cider for a warming treat. Cut out the cookies! If you loved cutout cookies as a child, now is the time to share that love with your own children. Making the dough is easy; the creativity comes in choosing the shapes and decorating the cookies: hearts for Valentine’s Day, shamrocks for St. Patrick’s Day, bunnies for Easter. Make several batches of dough early in the season and freeze what you don’t use—you’ll be ahead of the game for spring holiday baking.  Our basic Cut-Out Cookie improves on a classic by adding sour cream, spices, and a hint of lemon juice to produce a tender, rich cookie. If you prefer a crisper cookie, try Crisp Cookie Cutouts, flavored with vanilla and almond extract. Chocolate lovers will appreciate our Chocolate Sugar Cookies, made with C&H Powdered Sugar for a silky texture. Easiest of all—no cookie cutters required!—are Brown Sugar Refrigerator Cookies: just shape the dough into a roll, chill, and slice into 1/8" rounds.As for decoration, let your imagination (or your children’s) run wild! A dusting of C&H Powdered Sugar is the easiest adornment. For variety, “paint” each cookie with beaten egg white and sprinkle with colored sugar before baking. Or create a classic hard icing from powdered sugar, shortening, and water (see our Cut-Out Cookie recipe) and pipe it onto the cookies. For the truest colors, choose paste over liquid food coloring. If you don’t have a pastry bag and metal tips, you can fill a zip-lock plastic bag, seal it, and snip off a tiny corner. From our kitchen to yours, best wishes for happy baking and sharing all season long! |
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