Gingerbread Cookies

I have been baking these gingerbread cookies with my family for Christmas forever. It was so fun to make all the different cutouts and decorate them! These gingerbread cookies have the perfect level of spice that pairs well with cocoa or coffee. They will be sure to make your house smell like Christmas time.

Ingredients

  • 1 Cup Brown Sugar
  • 1 Cup Light Molasses
  • 1 Cup Shortening or butter, melted
  • 1 Egg, beaten
  • 1 TSP Ginger
  • 1 TSP Cinnamon
  • 1/2 Cup Hot Water
  • 1 TBSP Baking Soda
  • 5 Cups Flour
  • pinch of salt

Let’s Get Baking

Mix together with a stand or electric mixer (1 cup) brown sugar + (1 Cup) molasses + (1 Cup) melted shortening + beaten egg + (1 tsp) Ginger + (1 tsp) Cinnamon + salt (1/2 cup) hot water and (1 TBSP) baking soda. Mix well.

Add in the flour one cup at a time to make a soft dough. Chill for one to two hours.

Roll out the dough to about 1-2 inch thickness on a floured cutting board and cut with cookie cutters.

Preheat the oven to 350F

Place cutouts on a prepared baking pan and sprinkle on grandulated sugar before baking.

Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Enjoy!

Made with Love,

Hannah

Sourdough Blueberry Lemon Loaf

A friend recently requested a blueberry lemon loaf and I was more than happy to oblige as blueberry + lemon is the supreme combo. I have my tried and true recipe, however, I have been wanting to use my sourdough starter in more recipes and I figured this was the perfect opportunity. Shout out to Idie’s Farm for the guidance on how to make this recipe starter-friendly! I went with the long-fermented option because I wanted that tangy sourdough taste.

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

  • 2 Cups All Purpose Flour
  • 1 TSP Baking Powder
  • 1 TSP Baking Soda
  • 1/2 TSP Salt
  • Zest of 1 Lemon

Wet Ingredients

  • 1 Cup Sourdough Discard or active starter
  • 3/4 Cup Light or Dark Brown Sugar
  • 1/2 Cup Melted Butter
  • 2 Large Eggs
  • Juice of 1 Lemon
  • 1/4 Cup Milk
  • 1 Cup Blueberries

Lemon Glaze

  • 1/4 Cup Powdered Sugar
  • 1 TBSP Lemon Juice

Let’s Get Cooking

Begin the batter 16-18 hours before you plan to bake!

In a large bowl whisk together 2 Cups All Purpose Flour + 1 TSP Baking Powder +1 TSP Baking soda 1/2 TSP Salt + Zest of 1 Lemon.

In another bowl combine 1 Cup Sourdough Discard or active starter + 3/4 Cup Light or Dark Brown Sugar+ 1/2 Cup Melted Butter+ 2 Large Eggs + Juice of 1 Lemon + 1/4 Cup Milk.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until the batter has just come together. Be aware to not over mix. Fold in the blueberries and cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap.

Allow to rise for 4-6 hours, I like to put mine in the oven with the light on. Place dough in the fridge for a second rise overnight or for 12 hrs.

The next day; preheat the oven to 350F.

Give the dough a few good stirs and then pour it into the prepared pan.

Bake for 55-65 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool.

Combine the glaze ingredients and pour over the blueberry loaf.

Slice and enjoy!

Made with Love,
Hannah

Citrus Champagne Bundt Cake

In December my mom went on a Christmas market cruise all throughout France and parts of Europe. In addition to cute and quirky Christmas ornaments, she also brought me this BEAUTIFUL bundt cake mold. The story goes that Marie Antoinette ran into one of these shops because of the rain and used the bundt cake pan as a hat to shield her hair! How true that is, we can speculate but I think it’s such a cute story & you can definitely tell why she chose that shop!

To break in the mold, I wanted to showcase the lovely winter citrus that we have! I followed Tutti-Dolci’s guide for the cake, the only thing I changed was making an orange frosting to drizzle over top. Take note from me and fill your pan only about 3/4 the way full, I went a little overboard and I had some spillage. It’s all good though, it was a delicious mistake!

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 Cups Flour
  • 3/4 TSP Baking Powder
  • 1/4 TSP Baking Soda
  • 1/2 TSP Salt
  • 1 1/2 Cups Sugar
  • 3 TBSP Fresh Citrus Zest, I used oranges but you could use oranges, lemons, grapefruits
  • 10 TBSP Unsalted butter, room temp
  • 2 Eggs, room temp
  • 1 Cup Champagne/Prosecco
  • 1/4 Cup Citrus juice, again your choice
  • 1 TSP Vanilla Extract

Frosting

  • 5 TBSP Orange Juice [use whatever citrus you’re using]
  • 5 TBSP Powdered Sugar

Let’s Get Baking

Preheat your oven to 350F and butter or spray your bundt pan

Combine the flour + baking powder + baking soda + salt in a medium bowl

In a food processor, pulse together sugar + citrus zest and place in a large mixing bowl with butter. Mix together until pale and fluffy. Reduce the speed to slow and add in the eggs one at a time.

Slowly add in the flour until almost incorporated. Add in the champagne + citrus juice + vanilla and mix until combined.

Spoon the batter into the bundt pan and tap the pan sharply to reduce trapped air bubbles.

Bake for 40-44 minutes or until a tester comes back clean. This part absolutely depends on your pan and your oven, since my pan was ceramic, it took closer to 65 minutes.

While baking, combine the frosting ingredients, adding more if needed, and mix well. After allowing the cake to cool, drizzle the cake with frosting and enjoy!

Made with Love,

Hannah

Cooking w/ Friends: Kate’s Cinnamon Swirl Zucchini Bread

Cinnamon is one of my favorite spices in the kitchen. It makes you feel all warm and cozy inside. Though I prefer cooking with friends to be a recipe we made together in the kitchen; I was alongside the baking of this bread via Snapchat. Kate shared this cinnamon swirl zucchini bread with me this past weekend from Shugary Sweets which features a lovely drizzle overtop. Kate mentioned that it is perfect for using up the zucchini in the fridge before it goes bad. She also provided some baking tips, like cutting down the baking time to 50 min. I am grateful for Kate to allow me to use her recipe while I am trying to get back to the real world following my trip.

Ingredients:

For the Bread:

  • 4 Cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 Cups Sugar
  • 2 TSP Baking Powder
  • 1 TSP Baking Soda
  • 1 TSP Salt
  • 2 Cups Shredded Zucchini
  • 2/3 Cup Unsalted Butter, unsalted
  • 1 TBSP Cinnamon
  • 1/2 Cup Milk
  • 4 Large Eggs

Cinnamon Swirl:

  • 1 Cup All Purpose Flour
  • 1 Cup Light Brown Sugar, packed
  • 1 Cup Unsalted Butter, melted
  • 1 TBSP Cinnamon

Glaze:

  • 1 Cup Powdered Sugar
  • 2 TBSP Milk
  • 1 TSP Cinnamon

Let’s Get Bakin’

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Prep two 9in loaf pans with parchment or spray, or just hope for the best.

In a large bowl combine all the ingredients for the bread, stirring until combined well.

In a seperate bowl, combine the cinnamon swirl ingredients until mixed well.

Pour half the bread batter into the pans, then add on top half of the cinnamon swirl batter. With a knife or tooth-pick, gently swirl together the two batters. Repeat this again, swirling the batters together.

While the breads are baking, whisk together the glaze ingredients.

Bake for 50 minutes and let cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan.

Once cool, drizzle the glaze over the bread.

Made with Love,

Hannah