Holiday baking

[ElizabethB]

The house smells great. I am baking holiday breads - pumpkin bread, banana nut bread and zucchini bread. I am baking some regular sized loaves but many mini loaves. After cooling they are being wrapped and frozen for holiday giving. Family, friends and neighbors love these little gifts. Great for the unexpected holiday visitor.

OHHMM - SMELLS SO GOOD

[rainbowgardener]

Very nice. I will be starting soon. One of the things I like to do for my gift baskets is biscotti, because it keeps for awhile. I do lavender biscotti (sometimes lavender/almond, lavender/honey, etc), spiced biscotti, etc. Also lavender chocolate brownies. This year I plan to branch in to candy making as well. Time to get started soon!

[ElizabethB]

I would love your biscotti rececipe. Don't think I've ever tried lavender biscotti.

[lorax]

I've been at this for two months solid now. My bakery fridge is full of Nova Scotia black fruitcakes, aging away, and the freezer is full of pumpkin for breads and pies. I'm doing cookies today.

[gumbo2176]

I usually bake breads and chocolate chip cookies to give out as gifts. My mailman has a jones for my cookies and I make sure to give him a couple dozen every year. By the way, those cookies are much larger than the store bought by almost double.

My wife likes to make chocolate candies and has a few dozen different molds in various seasonal designs.

She'll take a few cookies, some chocolates and a mini bread for a gift to each of the ladies in the office.

[rainbowgardener]

I would love your biscotti rececipe. Don't think I've ever tried lavender biscotti.

I've used several different ones. Just google lavender biscotti!

I think this is the one I used most:

http://livinghomegrown.com/2008/10/lavender-biscot.html

Since I love lavender, I usually go a little more generous on the amount of it.

[ElizabethB]

Thanks Rainbow

Will try and let you know. Still checking the mail excited

[prettygurl]

This holiday season is scrapped for me. Keep posting. I love to live through others' adventures.

[rainbowgardener]

Made the lavender biscotti from the above recipe yesterday, for a gift basket I was taking to a Christmas party. Wow, they smell wonderful baking! Of course we had to eat a couple and saved some for other gift baskets.

So someone got a little basket with a jar of homemade chrysanthemum flower jelly, a little canister of herbal tea from my garden and a packet of lavender biscotti. I think the best present there!

[rainbowgardener]

Stayed up last night and made hazelnut and apricot rochers, chocolate truffles, and sugar plums. Wrapped them individually and stuffed them in to little canisters. Assembled a couple more gift baskets.

What little Christmas shopping I do is done. Now it is all just assembling, wrapping, cooking, baking, mailing, and house cleaning. I may yet make a little more hand cream and a couple more batches of lavender biscotti. Out of town company starts descending Friday!

[ElizabethB]

Rainbow - sent a PM but think the forum may be interested as well. I can not get my paws on good lavender. Considering some savory biscotti - basil and parmesan reggiano and dill and parmesan reggiano. How long will it keep? How do I store it from now until Christmas? Is it too early to cook? The savory biscotti would be a great foil to my breads. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

[rainbowgardener]

I grow lots of lavender, so I always have it. Giving some of my lavender fragrance oil away this year, I have too much!

Yes, the point of making biscotti (vs other baked goods) is that they keep so well. Store them in air tight container (tupper ware or metal tins) with layers of wax paper or parchment in between and they will easily keep for a month, probably more. Do NOT refrigerate!

Never tried savory biscotti. To me it sounds just a little odd, the savory with the crunchy, but I'm sure if I tried it, I could be won over.

[ElizabethB]

Thanks Rainbow - since I have so many sweets with my breads I thought a savory biscotti would be a nice foil. Good to know that I can start cooking now and have good taste for Christmas.

Thanks bunches.

[rainbowgardener]

Rainbow - sent a PM but think the forum may be interested as well. Thanks

I didn't get a PM since the sunchokes one.... not that it matters, since apparently you put the info here.

[ElizabethB]

Ow well - must be that glass of wine. Thank you bunches Rainbow.