Holiday Bakes & Intentional Procrastination
The big bad capitalistic Krampus stomping around in my brain.
Howdy folks. Just going to begin this by getting a few things off my chest. Who else is feeling a bit resentful towards the clinching side of the holidays known as C-A-P-I-T-A-L-I-S-M? Sure the hustle and bustle whilst the crisp air brushing across your face is somewhat a thrill, but the undeniable truth of how this giant soul sucking machine finds its way to the cerebral party by rubbing its dirty hands in the snack mix bowl, and breaking bottles in the prefrontal lounge is quite the pooper. This time of year should be about intentional slumber, hygge, ubuntu, mepak, fjaka, and my personal favorite- ikagai. Words from around the world with cross-over meaning expressing the notion of simple comforts, community, value, self worth, and the pure joy of doing absolutely nothing. Slowing the fuck down to put it bluntly. I hope this is resonating with you, especially if you live here in the U.S. where the demanding pressure of the C-word can leave one disgruntled. I can continue to blether on and on about this topic, but I wanted to express the point that at times baking for me is simply an act of in the moment joy. Whether it be for creative purposes or to make for friends and family. It’s the act of simple comforts and pushing back that never ending “to-do list” that will always be there in life no matter what you do and where you go. Creating something because it feels good to make it without the monetary strings attached.
I wanted to share with you below a few recipes that I have worked on over the years and that are staple bakes for me this time of year purely for pleasure. With the exception of one recipe in particular that is newly constructed in my repertoire of holiday bakes. Thanks to my kind neighbor for gifting me some of his sourdough starter earlier this fall (I killed mine, RIP), I was able to incorporate some discard into a cookie that pays tribute to a not so commonly desirable treat—the fruitcake. Clear your mind of whatever opinions you may have had on fruitcake. This cookie is delightfully jammy, a little boozy, and a nice balance of cakey and chewy in my opinion.
The other two recipes are staples for me that are also quite versatile. This linzer cookie dough base can be transformed in various ways with whatever inclusions you choose. Sandwiched, dipped, rolled, cut, or turned into a tart crust are all ways to use this dough.
The whole wheat gingerbread bundt doesn’t have to be a bundt at all. I admire it for its grandiose look, but this recipe can be baked into loaves, muffins, sheet cake (think snack cake!) you name it. You can layer it with buttercreams or create a nice holiday trifle loaded with all the seasonal flavors (think eggnog creme patisserie and citrus marmalades!) The world is your cake, layer it how you see fit.
All of my recipes use Barton Springs Mill flour that do ship nation wide, but of course feel free to use whatever flours you have access to. I would suggest using whole wheat pastry flour for the gingerbread cake. For the linzers you can use All-Purpose. For the fruitcake cookie I would suggest both an All-Purpose and a whole grain Rye Flour. I used Red Fife 00 from BSM specifically for its spice-forward notes. Despite it being a hard wheat, it actually creates a tender cookie for its surprisingly soft-like qualities.
SOURDOUGH FRUITCAKE COOKIES
Ingredients:
225g unsalted butter (softened)
200g dark brown sugar
1 large egg (room temp)
200g room temp sourdough discard (unfed, 1:1 hydration ratio)
15g vanilla extract
130g Red Fife 00 flour
6g fine sea salt
6g baking soda
6g ground cinnamon
6g ground ginger
3g ground clove
2g ground mace
Heavy pinch of cardamom
Zest of 2 large oranges (massage into brown sugar)
100g pitted dates (chopped)
100g prunes (chopped)
100g pecans (chopped)
50g candied orange peel (chopped)
Brandy
Confectioner’s sugar
Instructions:
**Optional, but creates a nice boozy flavor that will essentially bake out the alcohol: Soak the dried fruits in brandy overnight. Strain and reserve the brandy liquid.
Massage the orange zest into the brown sugar, then cream with the butter until light and fluffy. Add in the egg, vanilla and sourdough discard. Continue to mix together on medium speed while periodically scraping the sides of the bowl. In a separate bowl combine all of the dry ingredients aside from the dried fruits and pecans. Fold in the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in thirds. Add in the dried fruits and pecans (strain the fruit if soaked overnight) with the final dry addition. Gently fold the dough together until all of the dry ingredients are incorporated. Chill for 30 min. Scoop into 2-inch dough balls and chill the dough balls for at least one hour or freeze for later use. Bake at 350°F for 15-17 min depending on your oven. Allow to cool before brushing on the reserved brandy, then coat generously with confectioner’s sugar for a scraggly look comparable to lebkuchen.
LINZER COOKIE DOUGH BASE
Ingredients:
240g Red Fife 00
100g almond flour (fine)
150g confectioner’s sugar
5g fine sea salt
200g unsalted butter (softened)
2 large egg yolks (room temp)
10g vanilla extract
7g almond extract
Instructions:
Cream together the butter and confectioner’s sugar until smooth. Add the egg yolks, extracts, and sea salt and continue to mix on medium speed until incorporated. Add in the flours, and mix on low until it all comes together. Divide the dough in half, then roll in-between two sheets of parchment until the dough is 1/4 inch thick. Chill the dough for 1 hr before cutting with whatever cookie cutters you like. Bake at 325°F for 12-14 min depending on your oven.
**These will hold their shape even better if placed in the freezer for 20-30min prior to baking.
WHOLE WHEAT GINGERBREAD BUNDT
Ingredients:
265g dark brown sugar
120g molasses (Grandma’s used here)
110g can syrup (Steen’s used here)
160g grapeseed oil
3 large eggs (room temp)
7g vanilla extract
225g full fat buttermilk (room temp)
270g Sonora whole wheat (or whole wheat pastry flour)
6g baking soda
2g baking powder
4g fine sea salt
6g ground cinnamon
6g ground ginger
2g ground cloves
2g ground mace
1g ground nutmeg
Instructions:
Preheat an oven to 350°F. Combine all of the dry ingredients together and set aside. Whisk together (by hand or mixer) the molasses, cane syrup, brown sugar and grapeseed oil until emulsified. Add in the eggs and vanilla extract and continue to whisk. Add in the dry ingredients into thirds, alternating with the buttermilk. Continue to gently whisk until a smooth batter has formed. Pour the batter into a standard bundt pan or divide into 2 9-inch loaf tins. Bake for 45-50 min or until a cake tester/toothpick comes out clean. Cool before dusting with confectioner’s sugar or your favorite simple glaze.
**This will also yield a dozen bakery sized muffins or 24 standard cupcake muffins. Choose your journey on how to bake into whatever vessel you choose!
Enjoy being intentionally slow this time of year. Thanks for reading y’all!