Holiday Baking

Baking with my mom and sister is one of my favorite holiday traditions. We usually begin around Thanksgiving and continue throughout December. Since I am in Athens this year we haven't been able to completely fulfill the tradition, but starting next week, the fun will begin again! Here's a peek at a couple goodies that we made for Thanksgiving.

I used a heart-shaped cookie cutter and a knife to make leaves for the top of the pie.

After finishing the weaving and leaves, brush over the pie with an egg wash to ensure a crisp, golden finish!

We used the boxed pie crust mix to make things a bit easier (making crust from scratch can be a bit dodgy!) and found a can of cranberry-apple filling in the seasonal section at a local market. To make the weave top of the pie, simply roll out your second crust and it into strips. If you don't have a roller, you can use a tall glass like we did! Then weave the strips in one by one until the pie is covered. 

The finished product: Cranberry-Apple Pie. Yum!

Next we made pumpkin bars with homemade cream cheese icing. The icing was super easy to make and tasted delicious. These were definitely a hit at Thanksgiving dinner, especially in the bite size bars that we cut them into. The longest part of this treat is the baking time, but everything else is pretty simple.

 

We also made some whip cream for our coffee. Homemade whip cream is one of my favorite things to make, and it is so easy! Just add 8 oz of whipping cream, 1/4 cup sugar, and a capful of vanilla extract and beat. It makes a great addition to a piece of pie, a cup of coffee, or even ice cream!

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