2023 Holiday Recipe Recap
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And with a snap of the finger and the jingle of a sleigh bell, Christmas is over! It’s gone as quickly as it comes, but I do love this time of year. So much prep for Christmas dinners and desserts, but the satisfaction when everything comes out delicious is the best.
While I hosted Thanksgiving, I did not host anything for Christmas this year, but I wanted to share the recipes I used to bring to my various holiday get-togethers. Bringing any kind of contribution to a party or gathering is always a good idea, and only enhances the celebrations. For this year, I’m sharing four recipes:
Gluten Free Cinnamon Swirl Bread
Gingerbread Bundt Cake
Boughs of Holly Cupcakes
Small-Batch Cranberry Jam
The great thing about all of these is that they can be used as a starting point and be adjusted to be made any time of year!
First up is the GF Cinnamon Swirl Bread. This was a pivot from my original plan of making GF cinnamon rolls for my office potluck; that dough did not want to do its dough thing, and this recipe is always reliable. I used King Arthur Baking Gluten Free All-Purpose Flour and you would never know! I’ve used a few GF flours, but I honestly find this one to be the best.
Ingredients:
For the swirl:
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tbs cinnamon
For the bread:
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 large egg
1 cup milk
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1/2 tsp vanilla
Method:
In a small bowl, whisk the sugars and cinnamon together and set aside.
Preheat your oven to 350° and grease a 9”x5” loaf pan.
In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center of the bowl.
In another bowl, beat the egg and then add the milk, butter, and vanilla. Stir until combined, and transfer to the well of the flour mixture. Stir until just combined.
Pour half of the batter into the prepped pan and then sprinkle half of the cinnamon mixture on top. Pour the remaining batter over the cinnamon layer, and top with the rest of the cinnamon mix.
Use a table knife or spatula to draw lines through the batter to swirl the batter and cinnamon together.
Bake for 50-60 minutes or until browned and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for at least 10 minutes in the pan before turning it out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
Gingerbread Bundt Cake
I posted this on our Instagram feed, but it deserves a permanent place here too! I’ve had this house-shaped bundt pan for two years but was always too nervous to use it. Bundt pans and I don’t always get along, partly because of my impatience to turn cakes out. I’m happy to say I’ve gotten much better at it and the end result of this one is proof! With a little help from a whole lot of butter to grease the heck out of that pan.
Ingredients:
Original recipe found on Frosting & Fettuccine I’ve tweaked some things and did not make it with the maple glaze.
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 oil - Original recipe calls for vegetable oil, I used olive oil.
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 3/4 cup King Arthur Baking All-Purpose Flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp allspice
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup molasses
3/4 cup buttermilk
Method:
Preheat oven to 350° and heavily grease your bundt pan with butter. If you’re using something like the house-shaped pan I used or another intricate design, be sure to get butter into all those tight spaces!
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and brown sugar at medium speed for about 2 minutes.
Add the olive oil and mix again until combined. Add the eggs in one at a time, mixing in between at medium speed.
Add vanilla and mix again for 30 seconds
In a separate bowl, mix the flour, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a measuring cup, add the molasses and buttermilk
In the mixer bowl, alternate adding the dry and wet ingredients by thirds, ending with the dry mix. Mix on low-medium speed until combined.
Pour batter into prepared bundt pan and bake for 45 minutes. When it’s done, the cake should be set and the sides pulling away from the pan.
Let the cake cool in the pan for 15-20 minutes before turning it out on cooling rack to cool completely.
Optional: once cooled, decorate with icing or your preferred glaze.
One of my personal goals is to get better at piping, so I also took this as an opportunity to practice a little bit.
Boughs of Holly Cupcakes
The main event of my holiday contributions! Christmas Eve is the biggest gathering in my family’s holiday season, so I always try to up my game when I bring something there. Since I had already made a bundt cake, gingerbread cookies and cinnamon swirl bread, I opted for cupcakes. I went with a simple vanilla cupcake with vanilla buttercream since not everyone enjoys the stronger flavors, like gingerbread. The original recipe is from Food Network and I would definitely use it again. I am also including the buttercream recipe I used.
Ingredients (makes 12 cupcakes):
For the cupcakes:
1 1/2 cups King Arthur Baking All-Purpose Flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter, melted
2 tsps vanilla extract
1/2 cup of milk
For the buttercream:
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsps vanilla extract
2 tbs milk
For topping:
Rosemary sprigs cut in half or in thirds, depending on the size.
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries
3/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup of water
Method:
Preheat oven to 350° and line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. In the bowl of a stand mixer or using a hand mixer, beat the eggs and sugar until light and foamy, about 2 minutes. While beating the eggs, gradually pour in the melted butter and vanilla.
While on low speed, add half the flour mix, followed by all of the milk. Add the remaining flour and mix until just combined. Divide the batter evenly in prepared muffin tin.
Bake until toothpick comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes, rotating half-way through. Let cupcakes cool in the tin for about 10 minutes, and then transfer to wire rack to finish cooling.
While the cupcakes are baking/cooling, you can work on the cranberries. In a medium saucepan combine 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup sugar. Bring to a boil and let simmer on low for 3 minutes.
Stir in cranberries to fully coat in the syrup, then remove from heat and stir for 1 minute.
Remove cranberries with a slotted spoon and transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet to dry for 1 hour. Once dry, roll the cranberries in the remaining sugar to coat.
For the buttercream, cream butter with a hand or stand mixer until smooth and fluffy. Gradually add the powdered sugar until fully combined, then add the vanilla extract. Add the milk and beat for an additional 3-5 minutes, and add more sugar if needed to reach the right consistency.
To decorate:
Pipe or frost buttercream onto cupcakes. Sprinkle a little granulated sugar on each one (to look like snow!)
Place 2-3 sugared cranberries on each cupcake, and add 2-3 rosemary sprigs to each to look like holly leaves. The number of cranberries and sprigs will depend on the size of your cupcakes.
Last but not least, Small-Batch Cranberry Jam
Because what else do you do with the leftover cranberries from the cupcakes?!
Ingredients:
1 cup fresh cranberries
3 tbs of sugar
1/4 cup of water
4 tbs of orange juice
1/4 tsp of orange zest
1/8 tsp cinnamon
Method:
Place all ingredients in a 1-quart saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve sugar
Reduce heat to a simmer and stir frequently. Continue cooking until the cranberries are tender and pop open. Smash cranberries with a spoon once they’ve popped to break them down a bit more, and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and cool before transferring to a jar or a bowl.
I wish you all the tasty recipes for your holiday season, and a happy new year!
Enjoy,
-S