Christmas Bake-your-face-off Part II

Yesterday was our last group training session of the 2011 season and I took the liberty of sending everyone off with sweet memories! They worked their butts off yesterday so these treats were well-deserved folks :)

My friend Mé came over yesterday and helped me make these two recipes.... It reminded me that the only thing better than baking is baking with friends!

Thanks Mé xxxooo

Chewy Gingersnaps


3/4 cup soft butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp salt

Roll into a big ball and refrigerate the whole thing for an hour (or just keep the dough in the fridge and bake individual cookies when you want them so they're always fresh!).

Roll into 1'' balls and roll them into sugar (optional) and place on cookie sheet. Squish em down a bit with either a fork or your thumb.

Bake at 350F for 10min

Enjoy-Mmmmmmm


Pumpkin Nut Bread


1 cup fresh or canned pumpkin
2 cups flour (Whole or mix of both... whatever you prefer)
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
1 cup chopped nuts or raisins (I use walnuts if I'm using nuts!)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg

Put the batter into a nice big bread pan and bake at 350F for about 45min

Enjoy with nice hot gingerbread latte - aMAZing!!!!

Christmas Bake-your-face-off!!!

I like to Bake... A LOT! And Christmas time is no exception to this and at a time when people are racking their brains to find that ''prefect'' gift I simply give the gift of ''Deliciousness"!!! 

No one doesn't love home baked goods... Not the store bought, preservative-filled packaged stuff, NO.... The good, honest and imperfect-but-delicious tokens of my kitchen's affection! So this week I will blog a new favorite recipe of mine (and my Grandma's) for you to try, eat and gift... If you can manage to not eat them all!!! 

Enjoy xo

First thing EVERY Christmas morning needs is Cinnamon bun.. I would also settle for another gooey, sweet bread-like thing but my fav is cinnamon buns and this is the recipe I love:

Ooey Gooey Cinnamon Buns

Dough:

1 cup Milk

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp vanilla

1 tsp salt

- Place all of these ingredients in a pot and warm them on low heat! 

5 cups of flour (I always put in 1/4 whole wheat flour per cup of white flour!) 

1 pkg of yeast (I use quick rise)

4 eggs

- Put half the flour and yeast in a bowl, add warm liquid to that and mix. Add eggs 1 at a time whisking the whole time. Then switch to a big spoon and add the remaining flour slowly. You'll need to finish the dough off with some good ol' kneeding. 

Let rise 1 hour in warm area! 

Filling:

1/2 cup butter (room temp) 

1 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp cinnamon 

- Mix together and add any dried or fresh fruit your heart desires! I like walnuts, raisins or fresh granny smith apples... You're the boss!!! 

Making the buns:

Roll out the dough into a rectangular shape - the thinner the dough the more layers you'll have and less dense the dough will be, it's up to you the thickness you make them but I like bread-y fluffy buns so I leave it at least .75cm thick! 

Spread the filling then add the optional fruit / nuts you if you wish then roll it up (this should be obvious but you want to start rolling from the longest side so you end up with a long, skinny log!). Then you cut it into whatever size you want your buns (I go for 2.5'' or so!) 

At this time Preheat the oven to 350F and let the buns rise for another half hour while the oven warms. 

Bake for 30-35 minutes

Let them cool for about an hour then flip the pan so that all that ooey gooey-ness doesn't stick to the pan and sticks to the buns instead! 

Enjoy with a delicious Americano on Xmas morning, preferably while still in your pajamas!!!! 

 

An exciting new venture!!!

Tune in to this Blog for all things Triathlon related!!! We'll use is to update you on events, races, rides and runs all the things we'll get up to during this upcoming training season! We look forward to telling stories of hard workouts, fun and sometimes debaucherous events (St. Paddy's day, Hmmmm?!!?) and generally all the things Switching Gears Tri Club do to stay fit, have fun and rip it up on race day! We look forward to enlightening you, meeting you and maybe even training with you :)
Coach Lynne!