Holiday Baking Plans?? Updated-New Tea Co

  Good Morning and it's Cyber Monday as well-if you shop online (which I do more of since moving more rural to the lake) We do not live close to any large stores except for a smaller Wal Mart-that's it.

 I finished up with the baking of the fruitcakes last week. I use a very old English version recipe which is a dark fruitcake with just enough cake batter to hold it all together. My gluten free version turned out really nice this year-I had also mixed in dried fruits with the glazed fruits. Mine needs to age in the back of the refrigerator, but the wheat flour version is stored in containers in buckets-wrapped with brandy soaked cheesecloth-in a cool place.  I got these cakes baked much later this year.

 I was brought up cooking and baking everything from scratch-and after all these years I still continue to do that. Probably about 10 years ago at least we stopped going out to eat in restaurants. With our health concerns-me gluten free, and Larry heart and diabetic food concerns, we just needed to stop dining out-too expensive for one, and those dining out foods most always are full of too much salt, sugar, and not healthy ingredients. Really don't miss eating out at all.

  Since retirement especially, I have baked up loads of cookies and other holiday treats and gifted most all of it to friends and neighbors.  Gave me an excuse to make candies and lots of Christmas treats, which I have always enjoyed doing.  This year I decided not to do much of that. I will gift our good neighbor- just down from us on the lake-with hand dipped chocolates and chocolate popcorn though. Mary Lovesssss anything chocolate. Mary and her husband are always there for us if we need help with anything.

  I always have enjoyed baking cut out cookies-as I have a huge cookie cutter collection, but I may not do that this year. Thinking of trying out a few new recipes this year for our holiday baking. 

   I ran into a recipe online from Williamsburg for large soft molasses cookies-those sound amazing as we both love gingerbread. recipe here and photo from site   

I also found a group on Facebook that shares mostly older holiday cookie recipes There I ran into someone looking for a 1960's pineapple cookie recipe. Curious I searched and found this one  We love pineapple so I may make those, read the whole article as she makes suggestions like using butter instead of shortening.       Growing up my Mom always baked with margarine-ugh-being raised on a farm I never understood that-she said butter was too expensive. When I was older and left home, I never bought margarine or used it again

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Writing this post, yes I am thinking I will need to bake up a few cut out cookies-those are always fun for me to bake and make this time of year more festive.

  Will you be baking for the holidays? 

 I have always found baking and cooking rewarding and too fun as well.

Update: this time of year lately, I enjoy searching out new teas to try, or if one pops up in my feed somehow I check it out.  Harney & Sons has a lovely list of teas with pretty tins and not overly expensive-usually the tins are too expensive for me. They have a sale right now and free shipping with any size order. free shipping is a must for me.

  This is one I purchased-with white tea