Clockwise from top: Gingersnaps, Star Shortbread, Powdered-Sugar Lemon, Oatmeal, Oatmeal with Craisins, and (middle) Lemon-Flower Tarts
Image ©2010 Jason Gift Enevoldsen

Cookies for the Holidays

I baked 5 batches of cookies this week. Yum!

If you think holiday baking is harder with allergies, well, I don’t think it is. What’s hard is store-bought safe food. Here are some of my favorite recipes for the holidays.

Above

Gingersnaps
Shortbread
Powdered-Sugar Lemon Cookies
Oatmeal Cookies (add craisins for festivity)
Lemon-Flower Tarts

Not Pictured

Julekake
Sugar Cookies
Joulupiparkakut – Gingerbread
Powdered-Sugar Mints (wheat free!)
Blondies
Pumpkin Bread
And don’t forget about pie with the filling of your choice

Have a safe and yummy holiday season!

• 2 Sticks Margarine or Butter of your choice
• 1 Cup Sugar
• ½ Tsp Baking soda
• ½ Tsp Vinegar
• 1 ½ Cup Flour

Directions:

Cream the margarine and sugar

Add other ingredients

Form into balls

Roll in sugar

Bake on ungreased cookie sheet

300 degrees – 30 minutes

Julekake
Image © 2010 Jason Gift Enevoldsen

• 1 Cup Oat Milk or Milk of your choice.
• ½ Cup Sugar
• ¼ Cup Lard and Oil or butter substitute of your choice
• 1 Dash Salt
• ¼ Cup Warm water
• 2 packets 1 Pkg. active dry yeast (~1.5 Tbsp)
• ¾ Tsp Cardamom
• 3.5 Cups Flour
• ¼ Cup Raisins
• ¾ Cup Mixed candied fruit

New Directions:

Heat the milk until warm, but not hot – 130F max.

Mix dry American* plain yeast with 1/4 cup warm water. Add a dash of sugar or honey or something for the yeasties to eat.

Pour milk into the room-temperature mixer mixing bowl. Add fat, sugar, cardamom, salt (yes, I put salt in this time – I never do but I’ve been frustrated at this dough so I decided to follow the recipe more closely in some ways). Mix a little – your fat won’t mix in, don’t worry about it. If the yeast is foamy, add it and 2 cups of flour to the mixing bowl. Mix with dough hook until smooth. You want this dough to be as “loose” as possible, while still holding together as a dough.

Sprinkle your raisins and candied fruit with a generous dose of flour, and toss till all are coated lightly. Add these to the mixer.

Continue to add flour as you’re mixing (but wait in between to see the flour get mixed in, and see how the consistency changes while mixing) until you have dough that holds together as a lump, not sticking to the sides of the bowl too much. You should be mixing for about 7 minutes. You may well not use all the 3.5 cups of flour, but you don’t want sticky dough.

Detach all dough from dough hook, transfer to a greased (IMPORTANT) bowl, cover, and let rise in a cozy, warm place until doubled in size – about an hour. Punch down. Rise again until doubled in size – about 2 hours (IMPORTANT, but maybe you can skip this by doing your first rise for 2 hours, I’m not sure yet). Punch down. Form into round buns on a greased or non-stick baking sheet. Let rise again until half again as big – another hour. Brush liberally with oil, bake at 350F degrees for about 25 minutes. Brush with oil while still hot. Cool. Slice and eat.

I FINALLY GOT IT TO WORK! The texture was light and fluffy and AWESOME. Yay! So, the major changes were doubling the yeast, adding a second double-time rise, and rising the dough in a greased bowl.

*I think American yeast is different than Scandinavian yeast. In all these high-fat, “warm the milk”-first doughs I seem to never be able to get them to rise. I follow the recipe diligently, and where it says “doubled in size” mine always comes out 1.25 times in size. In discussions with a Danish baker, we determined that the directions on her package of yeast were quite different from the directions on mine – always calling for the dry yeast to be mixed in with the flour while still dry. The above directions are a modified version based on what we need to do with American yeast, and what I saw watching a Norwegian video about making Julekake.

This is my first attempt at using a dough hook.

We used to get these all the time at a local Scandinavian bakery. Eventually I started having minor reactions to the cross-contamination, and I wanted to share them with my more-sensitive husband. As they’re an integral part of Christmas for me, I had to learn to bake them myself.

I always struggle with not killing my yeast, and with getting them to rise enough.

• 11 ¼ cups powdered sugar (yes, that’s eleven)
• 6 tsp peppermint extract
• Food colorings as desired
• 2 sticks margarine or butter (softened to room temp)
• Candy molds (seasonal shapes)
• superfine sugar

Directions:

Blend softened margarine and 8 ½ cups powdered sugar.

Add peppermint extract and food colorings (split mixture into portions for multiple colors).

Knead in the remaining powdered sugar until consistency allows you to make a “log roll” shape or small balls without cracks.

Cut slices from the log roll, cut slices in 4 pieces, then roll into small balls. Or scoop out teaspoon sized chunks from the mixture and roll into balls.

Dip candy mold in superfine sugar and tap out excess.

Roll balls in superfine sugar, press into mold, unmold onto waxed paper.

Let dry on waxed paper until candies can be lifted without breaking.

Store in covered container.

1

• 1 ¼ Cup Margarine or your favorite Butter substitute
• ¾ Cup Light brown sugar
• ½  Cups Granulated sugar
• 2-3 Tbsp Barrel molasses
• 3 Cups Oatmeal

2

• 1 ½ Cups Flour
• 1 Tsp Baking soda
• 1 Tsp Baking powder
• 1 Tsp Cinnamon
• ½ Tsp Salt
• ¼ Cup Cold water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 365 degrees F.

Mix 1 until fluffy.

Add molasses to 1.

Stir 2 together, add to 1.

Roll into 2 ½ inch rolls: cut cookies

Bake 11 minutes. If you like soft cookies bake more like 8 minutes, and store in a Ziploc bag as soon as cool.

Let cool a few minutes before removing from the cookie sheet.

Dry

• 2 Cups Sifted all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Ground cloves
• 1 tsp Ground ginger
• 1 tsp Ground cinnamon
• 3 tsp Baking soda
• ½ Cup Canola oil

Wet

• 1 Cup Sugar
• ¼  Cup Light molasses
• 1-2 Tbsp Water
• Granulated sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. Sift dry ingredients
3. Cream wet ingredients
4. Stir dry mixture into wet/creamed ingredients
5. Shape dough into 1 ½ in balls.
6. Roll balls in sugar
7. Place on un-greased cookie sheet 3 inches apart and flatten
8. Bake 8-10 minutes (if you want them soft, pull them out while they’re still puffy. If you want them hard wait until they deflate).

• 1.5 Cups Sugar
• 1/2 Cup Olive Oil
• 2 Fake Eggs (I’m willing to bet you could leave them out completely)
• 1/3 Cup Water
• 1/2 a Can Pumpkin Puree (7.5 oz or 3/4 Cup)
• 2 Tsp Ground Roasted Ginger
• Lots of Cinnamon
• 1 Tsp Ground Cloves
• 1 3/4 Cups Flour
• 1 Tsp Baking Soda
• 1/2 Tsp Baking Powder

Directions:

Combine sugar, oil and eggs, mix smooth. Add water.

Mix in pumpkin, ginger, allspice cinnamon, and clove.

Combine flour, baking soda and powder.

Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture and blend, but only until all ingredients are mixed.

Bake at 350F in a 9×5 loaf pan until toothpick comes out clean, about 1 hour.

Glaze when cool.

• 1.5 Cup Warm Tap Water
• 1 Package Yeast
• 4 ½ – 5 Cups Flour
• ½ Cup Olive Oil
• 1/8 Cup Sugar
• 1 Tsp Salt

Directions:

Proof the yeast in the water.

Add 2 cups of flour, the sugar, oil, and salt. Mix well. Add 1 cup of flour, mix. It should start coming away from the sides of the bowl.

With the 4th cup of flour flour your hands and the kneading surface. Knead in a little at a time, adding enough to keep the flour from sticking to your hands. Knead very well – develop the glutens – the dough should be elastic,

When the dough is no longer sticky hold the heel of your hand in the dough for 10 seconds. If you can pull it away without sticking it’s right. This whole process should take 5-10 minutes.

Oil a 2-quart bowl, and roll the dough around in the bowl till it’s coated all over. Let the dough rise 30-45 minutes – until doubled in size. Punch it down. (Let it rise again if you want – Jenn thinks it should rise for 2 hours.).

Shape it and let it rise again for 5-10 minutes in shape. Fold the edges over to make the pizza crust

Pre-bake the crust on top rack for 10 minutes, then bake with the toppings for 5-10 minutes.

• Soy sauce = Maggi Seasoning (no soy, but wheat) never bothers my mild soy allergy.
• Soy sauce = Two friends recommend San-J Wheat-Free Tamari (I’ve never used it – you know, the soy). Another friend recommends Bragg’s Liquid Aminos

• Fish sauce = add a 1inchx2inch piece of cooked salmon (or raw if you’re making soup anyway)
• Fish sauce = add a 1inchx2inch piece of smoked salmon works too
• Fish sauce = (I know the above don’t help you if you have a fish allergy – for you I’d add a good dollop of salt, or perhaps some seaweed if that works) You might even try beef bouillon

• sesame oil = canola oil with a touch of Maggi or “soy sauce”
• sesame oil = canola oil with some spice added, try a grind or two of white pepper to get that “Asian spice flavor”, or a bit of Fenugreek to add the richness of sesame

• “seasoned” rice wine vinegar = usually is seasoned with sugar and salt. Judge for yourself whether it is worth the risk, we have no trouble with it
• rice wine vinegar = white vinegar or apple cider vinegar with a little sugar

• bean sprouts = julienned broccoli stems (crazy, right?!)

• Shiso leaf = peppermint leaf or basil leaf (it isn’t at all the same, but sometimes random weird ideas work)

• bean noodles = rice noodles

• 2 boxes beef broth
• ¼ lb salmon (fresh or smoked, not lox)
• 2 lbs steak
• ginger (cut in thin coins)
• 5 pearl onions
• 2 Tbsp Maggi* (or soy sauce, or wheat-free soy sauce)

Bits to add

• rice stick noodles
• cilantro, shredded
• red basil or thai basil – leaves picked off stems
• scallions, small pieces
• lime wedges
• broccoli stems, cut thin (like for a slaw, we buy them precut)
• Sriracha* (red hot sauce)

Directions:

Add onions, ginger, steak, salmon (whole), Maggi, and beef broth. Bring to a boil, simmer 1 ½-2 hours until steak is tender and cooked through. KEEP COVERED, you’re not boiling it down. (Salmon will have disintegrated completely, but that doesn’t matter).

Soak rice noodles in hot water 10-15 minutes. Boil noodles for 1 minute, strain and rinse in cool water immediately.

After broth is done, cut steak in very thin strips – crossgrain if possible.

(*Listed Sriracha ingredients: Chili, Sugar, Salt, Garlic, Distilled Vinegar, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Bisulfate As Preservatives, and Xanthan Gum.)

(**Listed Maggi ingredients: Water, salt, wheat gluten, wheat, and less than 2% of wheat bran, sugar, acetic acid, artificial flavor, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, dextrose, caramel color)

Related posts: my standard Asian-food cooking substitutes.