Last Holiday post, I promise!

Yes, I know the holidays are over, but I received an email a few weeks ago from a friend who is always baking with her kids and posting the pictures on Facebook.  (Love it!)  Anyway, I asked her to send pictures and maybe a little story about her Christmas baking and guess what?  She sent some!

Lisa says, “I’ve come into more error than success in my trials this season. But we now have snickerdoodles down to a science – Thanks to a recipe from America’s Test Kitchen – our family favorite.” (Mine too!)

Snickerdoodles
1 ¾ cup sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
2 ½ cups flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 stick of butter, softened
½ cup vegetable shortening
2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Combine ¼ cup sugar with cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside. Whisk together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
Beat butter, shortening and remaining 1 ½ cup sugar in a large bowl. Add eggs. Add flour mixture. Roll 2 tbsp of dough into a ball and roll in the cinnamon/sugar mixture. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

“I think we will make the chocolate pretzels for any and every occasion since they are so kid friendly for beginning chefs.”  (I made these for Madison’s Valentine’s Day treat at school last year and they were a HUGE hit.  Two thumbs up!)

“I still have battles with the English toffee. Sometimes I get it and sometimes I don’t. I thought having a good candy thermometer would be my secret weapon in making a consistent toffee but I am finding so many variables affect the outcome. But even the bad batches taste good – how can butter and sugar create something awful?” (I totally agree)

“Have you ever made Alton Brown’s recipe for Peanut butter fudge? It’s divine, but not a true fudge. I made it with Nutella instead of peanut butter and it was amazing. I’ve always had to mess with the amounts of powdered sugar I use based on the creaminess of the peanut butter – Skippy and Old Fashioned peanut butter never produce the same results. But that’s what I get for making fudge in 4 minutes in the microwave.”