With the holidays coming up, after our time at our desks, a lot of us will spend a good amount of time in the kitchen. There are cookies for Santa to bake, holiday dinners to prepare and so much more! So, when we are not finding you your dream job we will be covered in flour and frosting preparing for the holiday season! With that in mind, TeamBradley decided we would take a step away from work advice and share some of our favorite holiday recipes and why we love them!
First up are Rich and Amy –
Every year Amy makes her family favorite, Pie Crust Cinnamon Roll! It all started with her mom and she kept the tradition from her childhood alive. The recipe itself is kind of in the story, so here it is from Amy herself! “When I was a little girl, part of our holiday season was the yummy smells that came from the kitchen when Mom was making pies. I loved her pies and helping her make them.
She was a wonderful pie maker. When she was done with pumpkin pies and apple pies, she would take the left-over crust and make cinnamon pie crust rolls that the family loved as much as the pies. Mom would put the pieces of left-over pie crust dough together, and then roll it out again. She would then spread melted butter on the crust, and then sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on the melted butter. Next, she would add some pats of butter here and there on top of the cinnamon sugar and then roll up the crust.
The roll is placed on a cooking sheet and baked until golden brown on 350 degrees. Last, she would take the pie crust roll out of the oven and slice it like a loaf of bread. The family would devour the yummy treats before they ever completely cooled.
I reworked my pie crust recipe with almond flour. The pictured cinnamon roll came out a bit softer, then I remember Mom’s looking. I am working to perfect this recipe in a gluten free version. As we are not traveling this holiday seasons – perhaps I will be doing a bit more baking.
* Use your own pie crust recipe. Adapt and have fun maybe add some nuts! “. Sounds pretty good to me Amy! Hoping she brings some up when she’s back visiting us up in Illinois.
Next up is Emily, she loves to make a classic sugar cookie every year! Her family gets together in the kitchen and makes cookies to leave out for Santa and also to eat during the Christmas festivities. They prefer them chewy and soft so they make sure not to over bake them and to top them off they add a little sugar sprinkle. They have been doing this her whole life, sometimes even with extended family. If they didn’t bake cookies, it wouldn’t feel like the holidays.
Recipe:
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp almond extract (optional)
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
Topping
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy
- Add in the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract; beat until combined.
- Add in flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix until just combined
- Roll dough into 1″ balls, and roll in sugar.
- Place on baking sheet. Bake for 10-11 minutes
- Allow to cool and Enjoy!
- Feel free to decorate them if you wish
Last up is Mary Kate, she actually took up baking during 2020 for a new hobby to keep her busy. This year she made a pinwheel cookie, it’s now her new favorite cookie to make. The first run didn’t go so well, rolling them to make them blend the colors isn’t always easy, but it’s fun (and practice makes perfect)! Her daughter Sophia is her sous chef, and her favorite part is rolling the edges in sprinkles for an extra special touch! They love baking together and creating memories that’ll last a life time!
Recipe:
Ingredients
2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 c. (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 c. granulated sugar
1 large egg
3/4 tsp.
almond extract
Red food coloring
Sprinkles
Directions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl using a hand mixer (or in the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment), beat butter and sugar together. Add egg and beat until incorporated, then add extract. Add dry ingredients and beat until just combined.
- Divide dough in half, keeping one half in mixing bowl. Add red food coloring and mix until desired color is reached. Shape each dough into a square that is roughly ½” thick. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
- Place red dough between two sheets of parchment paper and roll into a rectangle that’s about 1/4″ thick. Repeat with white dough. Take top sheet of parchment paper off of each dough. Place red dough on top of white dough, dough sides facing each other. Gently press on top of dough to help seal together.
- Remove top parchment paper and trim sides to match up evenly. Starting on a long side, use the bottom parchment paper to help roll dough tightly in to a log. Roll log on the counter a few times to help seal the edge. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour and up to overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350°. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Place sprinkles on a medium plate. Using a sharp knife, slice cookies 1/2” thick and roll edges in sprinkles. Place on baking sheets 2” apart.
- Bake until edges are set and just starting to turn golden, 10 minutes.
Hope these recipes inspire you to bake some memories of your own! But no matter if you are the baker or the taste tester, TeamBradley hopes you have a wonderful holiday and a terrific New Year. 2020 tested us, but we all came out better for it! Sending joy and happiness to all, see you in 2021 a little wiser and ready to go (possibly with a sugar high)!
