christmas

Santa’s White Christmas Cookies (and a sneak peek at my book launch party!)

Santa's White Christmas Cookies by Wood and Spoon blog. These are chewy white chocolate cookies scented with coconut and espresso powder, inspired by Barnie's White Christmas Coffee. These coffee lover's cookies are a great dessert to serve at Christmas and holiday cookie exchanges. Find out how to make these simple easy Christmas cookies on thewoodandspoon.com

Y’all, I can hardly believe it: just ONE MORE WEEK until Her Daily Bread is released into the wild and onto coffee tables everywhere. Excuse me while I lose my mind and squeal (!!!) If you hadn’t heard (and how could you not? I feel like I’ve been jabbering on about this for months!), my first book is being published on December 14th, and I am so thrilled to get it into your hands. For now, I’m excited to share a few photos from the book launch party we hosted last week (as well as these Santa’s White Christmas Cookies!) with you today.

The Launch Party(!!)

Last Friday, we hosted a launch party in our little town of Selma to celebrate the pending release of HDB. What started as an invite list of a few close family and friends quickly expanded to include all sorts of fabulous women that I have grown to love and admire. One of my favorite things about small towns like Selma is that they are endlessly supportive of their neighbors. I found this event was no exception. At one point, just a few minutes before the party started, I looked around to see 30-or so women lighting candles, plating desserts, and freshening up flowers, everyone scurrying around and lending a hand to make sure everything was as beautiful as I envisioned. Truly, I felt so loved. The shared joy for this book felt so tangible. It’s a great picture of what love in a community of good humans looks like.

While Her Daily Bread is incredibly personal, the writing of the book was collaborative from the start. Most of the stories and recipes included in its pages aren’t exclusively mine to tell; they’re moments and bitesthat were first experienced alongside of people who have generously fed into my life for years. With just a few days left until the book is officially released, I hope you’ll consider continuing the collaborative effort. Buy a copy, and if something fills your heart (or belly!) in a unique or wonderful way, pass it on. Share a copy of the book, a nibble of food from one of the recipes, or an encouraging word to a friend. Everyone has a seat at the table, and I’m so excited that you’ve found your way to mine. For more information on the book, including pre-order incentive information and ordering links, you can click here!

Santa’s White Christmas Cookies

While I’m in full-on book mode, I know most of you are gearing up for Christmas. With that, I wanted to share a yummy new cookie recipe that I think will be perfect for cookie exchanges and Christmassy desserts: these Santa’s white Christmas cookies.

Santa's White Christmas Cookies by Wood and Spoon blog. These are chewy white chocolate cookies scented with coconut and espresso powder, inspired by Barnie's White Christmas Coffee. These coffee lover's cookies are a great dessert to serve at Christmas and holiday cookie exchanges. Find out how to make these simple easy Christmas cookies on thewoodandspoon.com

I grew up frequenting the Barnie’s Coffee shop at the mall with my Mom. Although I didn’t partake in the coffee at the time, I loved the smell of the shop, particularly around the holidays when their special blend, Santa’s White Christmas, was available for purchase. These cookies are a tribute to those flavors: espresso, white chocolate, and just a little hint of coconut. Truly, they are delightful!

Santa's White Christmas Cookies by Wood and Spoon blog. These are chewy white chocolate cookies scented with coconut and espresso powder, inspired by Barnie's White Christmas Coffee. These coffee lover's cookies are a great dessert to serve at Christmas and holiday cookie exchanges. Find out how to make these simple easy Christmas cookies on thewoodandspoon.com
Santa's White Christmas Cookies by Wood and Spoon blog. These are chewy white chocolate cookies scented with coconut and espresso powder, inspired by Barnie's White Christmas Coffee. These coffee lover's cookies are a great dessert to serve at Christmas and holiday cookie exchanges. Find out how to make these simple easy Christmas cookies on thewoodandspoon.com

These Santa’s white Christmas cookies are fancied-up with a little coffee-flavored icing, and take incredibly with a cup of coffee or a glass of milk. If you’re planning to bake in the coming weeks, I hope you’ll consider popping this yummy coffee-scented dough into your ovens. These cookies make for a yummy treat for coffee and chocolate lovers alike! Happy Wednesday and Happy Baking!

If you like these Santa’a White Christmas Cookies you should check out:

Espresso White Chocolate Chunk Cookies
White Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Cookies
White Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
Toffee Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies
Mocha Cookies

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Santa’s White Christmas Cookies

These Santa’s White Christmas Cookies are chewy white chocolate cookies scented with espresso and coconut!

  • Author: Kate Wood
  • Prep Time: 10
  • Cook Time: 10
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 36 Cookies
  • Category: Cookies

Ingredients

For the cookies:

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • ¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons instant coffee or espresso granules
  • 21/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 11/4 teaspoons salt
  • 1 cup caramel baking chips
  • 1 cup white chocolate baking chips
  • 1 cup sweetened coconut flakes

For the drizzle (Optional):

  • ½ cup powdered sugar
  • ¾ teaspoon instant coffee or espresso granules
  • 21/2 tablespoons heavy cream, plus more as needed.

Instructions

To prepare the cookies:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line two baking sheets with pieces of parchment paper. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter, sugar, and brown sugar on medium speed together until smooth. Add the vanilla and eggs, stirring on low until smooth. Scrape the sides of the bowl and add in the flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir on low just until combined. Add the baking chips and coconut and stir. Scrape the sides of the bowl and fold in any unincorporated bits. Cover and chill the dough briefly if it appears too soft.
  3. Use a medium cookie scoop or a spoon to portion out 1 tablespoon sized mounds of dough. Roll to smooth in your hands and space balls of dough out 2” apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake until the edges are set and the tops are beginning to bronze, about 10 minutes. Allow to cool briefly prior to drizzling or enjoying.

To prepare the drizzle (optional):

  1. Combine all of the ingredients with a whisk in a small bowl. Drizzle or pipe onto cookies, adding more cream as needed to get to the desired consisitency.

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Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies

Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies recipe by Kate Wood of The Wood and Spoon blog. These are an old fashioned recipe handed down to me for soft and fluffy cutout Christmas cookies. These cookies hold their shape well and are perfect for decorating with buttercream style frosting. Host a cookie exchange or decorating party with these cookies that look great with sprinkles and other piped frosting. Find the recipe and how to for these holiday favorites on thewoodandspoon.com

After today, you and I will have very few secrets. The recipe I’m sharing this morning is nearest and dearest to my heart and is one that I’ve been savoring for years- my Mimi’s frosted sugar cookies.

Mimi’s Cookies

Every Christmas, for as long as I can remember, my Mimi would make these frosted sugar cookies. Sometimes I’d join her at the counter to watch her roll out dough. Tediously, she’d flour her surface, then the rolling pin. I’d tinker with her copper cookie cutters while she trimmed the dough and placed the shapes on cookie sheets. While the kitchen warmed from the heat of the oven and the scent of butter and vanilla, I’d pick at remnants of dough, nibbling on whatever was stuck to the beaters and the bowl.

Soft Frosted Cutout Cookies recipe by Kate Wood of The Wood and Spoon blog. These are an old fashioned recipe handed down to me for soft and fluffy cutout Christmas cookies. These cookies hold their shape well and are perfect for decorating with buttercream style frosting. Host a cookie exchange or decorating party with these cookies that look great with sprinkles and other piped frosting. Find the recipe and how to for these holiday favorites on thewoodandspoon.com

We’d then gather around the table, some of us eagerly and others by the hair, as racks of bare cookies were placed in front of us. Bowls of  green, red, yellow, and white frosting came next, and we’d all dive in with our butter knives to begin frosting. The thirty minutes that followed is a blur of sprinkles and licked fingers, and by the time all of the cookies were frosted, the icing was gone, having been replaced with full bellies and stained hands. We’d nibble on cookies from the freezer for weeks, each one a savoring of the Christmas season and our time together.

Soft Frosted Cutout Cookies recipe by Kate Wood of The Wood and Spoon blog. These are an old fashioned recipe handed down to me for soft and fluffy cutout Christmas cookies. These cookies hold their shape well and are perfect for decorating with buttercream style frosting. Host a cookie exchange or decorating party with these cookies that look great with sprinkles and other piped frosting. Find the recipe and how to for these holiday favorites on thewoodandspoon.com

Continuing the Traditions

Now, as an adult, I make these frosted sugar cookies for my own family. I think about the time and the effort it takes, and I remember the years when no one wanted to frost cookies because we were all so involved in our own thing. Still, every year, Mimi made cookies, and I have to believe it had less to do with her sweet tooth and more to do with a desire to create something meaningful for her family. That small act, the baking and frosting of cookies, somehow became apart of our Christmas season, and it’s all because of Mimi.

Soft Frosted Cutout Cookies recipe by Kate Wood of The Wood and Spoon blog. These are an old fashioned recipe handed down to me for soft and fluffy cutout Christmas cookies. These cookies hold their shape well and are perfect for decorating with buttercream style frosting. Host a cookie exchange or decorating party with these cookies that look great with sprinkles and other piped frosting. Find the recipe and how to for these holiday favorites on thewoodandspoon.com

What is the sum of the small acts of love that we share with others? I wonder if, when we get to the later years of our lives, we’ll be able to look back on those tiny things and recognize the difference they made in our families. Will we recall something simple, like a recipe for frosted sugar cookies, and be able to recognize the joy it inspired in the lives around us?

Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies recipe by Kate Wood of The Wood and Spoon blog. These are an old fashioned recipe handed down to me for soft and fluffy cutout Christmas cookies. These cookies hold their shape well and are perfect for decorating with buttercream style frosting. Host a cookie exchange or decorating party with these cookies that look great with sprinkles and other piped frosting. Find the recipe and how to for these holiday favorites on thewoodandspoon.com

“It’s the small things that culminate to a life overflowing with abundance.”

To the mothers and fathers and Mimis and neighbors who sew into the lives of the people around you, I want you to know that it makes a difference. Your effort, particularly at this time of year, means something. It has the potential to deeply impact lives when done so from a spirit of love. Small acts, like a batch of cookies and a few moments around the table, can mark someone so profoundly that, years later, they are moved to tears from the overwhelming sense of love and gratitude that those moments offered their lives. I take comfort knowing that daily acts for my own children may be filling their tanks with love. Maybe it’s the small things that culminate to a life overflowing with abundance.

Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies recipe by Kate Wood of The Wood and Spoon blog. These are an old fashioned recipe handed down to me for soft and fluffy cutout Christmas cookies. These cookies hold their shape well and are perfect for decorating with buttercream style frosting. Host a cookie exchange or decorating party with these cookies that look great with sprinkles and other piped frosting. Find the recipe and how to for these holiday favorites on thewoodandspoon.com

You may already have a favorite Christmas cookie. If you don’t, I invite you to enjoy these frosted sugar cookies with your own family. While not perfect or the prettiest or frilliest or most impressive, these frosted sugar cookies are delicious, and will be a recipe that your people won’t be able to keep their hands off of. Promise.

Making the Cookies

To make them, we start with the dough. Butter and sugar cream together before eggs, vanilla, and the dry ingredients add in. Once the dough comes together, wrap it in plastic and chill. When you’re ready to bake the cookies, use a floured rolling pin to smooth the dough into a 1/8-1/4″ thick slab. Next, begin to cut out shapes with medium-sized cookie cutters. When your sheet pan is full, place it in the oven until the cookies are barely puffed.

Soft Frosted Cutout Cookies recipe by Kate Wood of The Wood and Spoon blog. These are an old fashioned recipe handed down to me for soft and fluffy cutout Christmas cookies. These cookies hold their shape well and are perfect for decorating with buttercream style frosting. Host a cookie exchange or decorating party with these cookies that look great with sprinkles and other piped frosting. Find the recipe and how to for these holiday favorites on thewoodandspoon.com

This recipe for frosted sugar cookies makes a boatload- nearly 4 dozen. You’ll need friends to help you frost them, so invite all of your favorites over, okay? The frosting for these cookies is similar to a buttercream- the perfect match to the cookies. I use gel food coloring to dye the icing and work at frosting them with a simple butter knife; you can use whatever tools suit you best. Just have a blast while making them, okay?

Soft Frosted Cutout Cookies recipe by Kate Wood of The Wood and Spoon blog. These are an old fashioned recipe handed down to me for soft and fluffy cutout Christmas cookies. These cookies hold their shape well and are perfect for decorating with buttercream style frosting. Host a cookie exchange or decorating party with these cookies that look great with sprinkles and other piped frosting. Find the recipe and how to for these holiday favorites on thewoodandspoon.com

If you like these frosted sugar cookies, be sure to check out:

Lavender Vanilla Bean Cookies with Gold Splatter Tutorial

Painted Sugar Cookies

Brown Sugar Shortbread Cookies

Funfetti Cookies

Trail Mix Cookies 

Candied Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies

These soft frosted sugar cookies are light and fluffy, perfect for cutout holiday cookies. The frosting is a creamy buttercream that can be spread and sprinkled!

  • Author: Kate Wood
  • Prep Time: 60
  • Cook Time: 30
  • Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
  • Yield: 36

Ingredients

For the cookies:

  • 1 cup (230 gm) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 2 cups (400 gm) sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 5 cups (650 gm) flour
  • 11/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
  • 11/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • Pinch of salt

 

For the frosting:

  • 6 tablespoons (85 gm) unsalted butter
  • 1 pound confectioner’s sugar
  • 1 large pasteurized egg
  • 11/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • Pinch of salt
  • Milk

Instructions

To prepare the cookies:

  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl, combine the butter and sugar, creaming on medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, vanilla, and milk, and stir to combine for an additional 30 seconds. Scrape the sides of the bowl.
  2. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix slowly until well incorporated. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
  3. Divide the dough into two flat rounds and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour or up to 3 days.
  4. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare two pans by lining them with a sheet of parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Generously flour a work surface and roll one round of dough out to 1/8-1/4” thick using a floured rolling pin. Use medium-sized cookie cutters to cut out shapes of dough and place them 2” apart on the prepared pans. Place the whole pan in the freezer for 5 minutes (or fridge for 10) to set the shaped dough and then bake in the oven for about 10 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are well-set. Allow to cool on the pan briefly and then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely. Repeat this process with the remaining dough. Try not to get the dough too-floured or overworked as this can change the texture of the cookies. If your dough gets too warm or sticky, place back in the fridge to chill a bit.

 

To prepare the frosting:

  1. In a large bowl, combine the butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, and salt, mixing until well combined. Add milk by the tablespoon until the frosting is thick but smooth, similar to the consistency of a thick cake buttercream. Use gel food coloring to dye the frosting and a knife to spread the frosting on the cookie. Enjoy!

Notes

  • Parchment paper isn’t necessary but helps the cookies keep their shape.
  • Pasteurized eggs are key for enjoying this frosting safely! Admittedly, I’ve prepared the frosting without pasteurized eggs a million times without any “trouble,” but to be food safe, you’ll want to get them anyways.
  • The frosting recipe makes a modest amount. If you want to have generously frosted cookies or quite a bit of extra to play with, double to recipe to be safe.

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Orange Cardamom Rolls

Orange Cardamom Rolls recipe by The Wood and Spoon Blog by Kate Wood. Recipe adapted from food52. Simple twists of dough filled with cardamom, orange zest, and cinnamon. These are topped with a cream cheese icing/ frosting / glaze. These can be re warmed and made ahead. These Buns are easy to twist and I'll show you how to roll them on thewoodandspoon.com . Breakfast idea, brunch idea, Christmas breakfast, holiday breakfast, cinnamon rolls buns, recipes using cardamom.

So what’s on your Christmas list? A bike? A record player? New running shoes or a spiralizer? Maybe you’re ready to test the murky waters of mom jeans and lace-up shirts, or perhaps you’re simply looking to expand your collection of baking essentials.

Christmas in our house has changed quite a bit since we’ve had babies. My shopping time this year was spent hunting for water resistant bibs and hooded towels big enough to cover the hind parts of my extra fluffy toddler. Gone are the days where I would shop out my lengthy list of J.Crew sweaters and concert tickets and Kate Spade totes. This year, I didn’t need or ask for anything specific, but for fun, I decided to make up a wish list of random intangibles- my grown up Christmas list. These are items that are in no way achievable, but still super fun to dream about. Don’t judge me, but feel free to make up your own as we go along. 

Orange Cardamom Rolls

MY GROWN UP CHRISTMAS LIST

  1. Sleep.- and not just a night of 8 or 9 solid hours either. I want a week’s worth of sleep completely undisturbed from the baby monitor or my husband tossing about next to me. I want to lay in bed in the morning for an extra hour or two and not think about unloading the dryer or going to work or whether or not I’m going to start leaking milk from every orifice of my body. Basically I want permission to sleep and be lazy.

  2. Bake with Ina Garten and Taylor Swift. Have I talked about this dream too much already? In my wildest fantasies, I’m chilling in the Hamptons, drinking French wine with Jeffery. Taylor is in the corner wearing a cat sweater and playing the “1989” album. She tells me all about what happened with Harry Styles and invites me to spend the next July 4th at her place in Rhode Island. Later, Ina teaches me how to roast chicken and we laugh at the peasants who can’t afford Nielsen-Massey vanilla. Is that obnoxious? Sorry. 
  3. Hair. Did you know that pregnancy hormones do weird things? Did you know sometimes hormones can cause you to lose hair? Did you know that sometimes all of that hair loss is focused in one specific area in your hairline and that it can even make you kinda look like you’re balding? Well, if Santa doesn’t bring me some hair or at least a phone number for Beyonce’s wig person, I’m going to be in serious trouble.
  4. I’m not sure what it’s called, but I want that disease where you can eat a lot and never have to work out. I want to eat chips and drink beer and put extra frosting on my cookies and not worry about that annoying pillow of fat that hangs out where my butt meets the back of my thigh. I don’t want to do another box jump or lunge, but I also want to be considered for Blake Lively’s body double if she ever films a sequel to “The Shallows.” Is that too much to ask?
  5. Adele’s singing skills. I want people to hear her voice on the radio and be like, “Hmm, I’m not sure, but that actually might be Kate Wood.” 
  6. Take a DeLorean time hop back to 1985 and watch a Queen concert. Maybe I could pick up my husband (he would have been in Kindergarten at the time) and he could go with me? That’s a weird item for a wish list, isn’t it? Don’t judge. 
  7. Orange cardamom rolls.

Orange Cardamom RollsOrange Cardamom Rolls

Yeah, yeah, that list is ridiculous and unrealistic. But! You can totally achieve that last item. Because today, I’m sharing this recipe for orange cardamom rolls. 

This recipe was adapted from Posie Harwood who writes a number of terrifically inspired posts both for her blog and on behalf of Food52. Her cardamom rolls have been on my radar for a while, and when I finally had a chance to make them a few weeks ago, I was tremendously pleased with the results. Out of the oven, these orange cardamom rolls are fluffy, fragrant, and perfect with a cup of coffee. I topped them with an orange zest glaze which sweetens up the knots of dough and makes them irresistible to look at. 

These orange cardamom rolls start out similar to cinnamon rolls– a yeast dough sweetened with sugar and moistened up with eggs and butter. The dough rises for a short time before a cinnamon sugar schmear is slathered all over and folded inside the rolled out sheets of dough. A few loops and twists transforms thin slices of dough into pillowed swirls of soft and chewy bread that tastes as delicious straight from the oven as they do heated up the next morning.

Orange cardamom rolls look elegant, and feel special- a perfect treat to wrap up for someone you love or to serve to family and guests on Christmas morning. I photographed these rolls on a cake stand because they were so beautiful and what is a birthday without a cake of some sort! So HBD, Jesus! This one’s for you!

Orange Cardamom Rolls

I hope you all have a merry week celebrating Christmas or just spending time with your family and friends. Make these orange cardamom rolls for Christmas breakfast and maybe even take time to come up with your own grown up Christmas list. I hope you all won’t completely judge me for mine, but if you happen to have any resources to make my wishes come true, you know who to call. Kidding…. but really. 

 

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Orange Cardamom Rolls

These orange cardamom rolls are fluffy knots of sweetened dough, lightly spiced with cardamom and a cinnamon sugar filling, and topped with a zesty orange glaze.

  • Author: Kate Wood
  • Prep Time: 90
  • Cook Time: 30
  • Total Time: 2 hours
  • Yield: 24

Ingredients

For the dough

  • 1cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 12 ounces evaporated milk
  • 2 teaspoons coarse salt
  • 1/4 cup warm water
  • 4 1/2 teaspoons (2 packages) active dry yeast
  • 7 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened but not melted
  • 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup sugar

For the glaze

  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cream or whole milk
  • Zest of 1 medium orange

Instructions

To prepare the dough

  1. Combine the sugar, cardamom, butter, evaporated milk, and salt in a medium sized saucepan, and, stirring occasionally, heat over medium heat until the butter has just barely melted. Remove from the burner and allow to cool to warm.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and allow to dissolve. You can gently stir it after a few minutes if not all of the yeast has been dissolved. Once dissolved, add 3 cups of flour, the sour cream, eggs, and warm butter mixture to the yeast. Stir until well combined and then begin to the remaining flour while mixing on low speed. You may only need about 6-1/2 cups of flour total, or as much as 7-1/2 cups, but add it until the dough is able to pull away from the walls of the stand mixer. It will still be quite sticky, even sticking to unfloured fingers quite easily, but be sure to not add too much flour as this can make the rolls tough. Switch to the dough hook and knead the dough for 4 minutes on medium speed.
  3. Grease a large bowl with cooking spray, butter, or oil, and place the dough in there, covered tightly with plastic wrap. Allow it to rest for about 1-1/2 hours, or until the dough has doubled in size. If the dough is not growing after about an hour, be sure your bowl is in a warm, draft-free spot in your kitchen.
  4. Once doubled in size, prepare the cinnamon filling by combining the butter, cinnamon, and sugar in a small bowl by smooshing it into a paste with the back of a fork or a rubber spatula. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare 2 sheet pans lined with parchment paper.
  5. Sprinkling a good bit of flour on your work surface for rolling the dough and then remove half of the dough from the bowl. Roll it out into a rectangle approximately 9″x20″, adding small bits of flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking to the surface or the pin. Spread half of the filling evenly on the dough leaving a 1″ border around the perimeter of the rectangle. Fold the dough in half lengthwise to form a 9″x10″ square and roll or pat it out to thin the folded dough a bit. Using a sharp knife, cut 1/2″ strips of dough (approximately 12 total). Take one strip of dough and wrap it around your index and middle finger twice. Remove the double loop from your fingers and tuck both ends of the dough back through the center loop to form a bit of a twisted knot. Place each knot on the prepared sheet about two inches apart, being sure to keep the loose ends on the underside of the bun. Repeat this entire process with the second half of dough and then cover both sheet pans with plastic wrap to rest for about 15 minutes. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool while you prepare the glaze.

To prepare the glaze

  1. Using a whisk, combine all ingredients in a medium sides bowl, stirring until it is uniform in consistency. You can warm it for about 10 seconds in the microwave to make a more pourable glaze, or add a teaspoon or two of cream to thin it out. Drizzle the glaze over your warm or cooled rolls and enjoy!

Notes

 

  • Rolls are best eaten on the day they’re made but will keep up to three days. Rolls are best eaten slightly warm.
  • The glaze prepared as the recipe has written will set up to be slightly firm at room temperature. If you add more liquid to it it is likely the glaze will remain sticky and wet even after sitting for some time.

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Recipe Adapted From: Posie Harwood

Ginger Molasses Bundt Cakes

Ginger Molasses Bundt Cakes Recipe by The Wood and Spoon Blog by Kate Wood. Simple, one bowl recipe of flavorful and warmly scented cakes sweetened with molasses and spices including cinnamon and ginger. There is a simple white chocolate frosting glaze icing on top. you can modify these mini bundt cakes to be larger bundt cakes or even use a loaf pan, a round cake pan, or a square baking dish. Find the recipe and other fall / winter/ holiday recipes on thewoodandspoon.com

Guys, I gotta tell you, I’m feeling so merry that I could burst. All the gift wrapping and carols and tinsel and Charlie Brown Christmas has got me feeling more festive than Mrs. Claus herself. I’ve eaten more peppermint bark and cookies than I can admit without a small amount of shame, but honestly, who cares? IT’S CHRISTMAS! If you haven’t gotten in the holiday spirit yet, just hang in there, because everyone is bound to catch the fever at some point. And if you’ve hit a mental block or dead end in your Christmas shopping already, keep reading because I have got some terrific tips for you!

These past few weeks I’ve gotten a lot of questions from friends and followers about what type of tools an aspiring baker might need. There’s so much available in stores that sometimes it’s hard to pick out which items are necessary and reliable. So I have compiled a Christmas list for you, or for the aspiring home bakers in your life, of tools and kitchen supplies that you can count on to get the job done. These are items and brands that I have in my home and rely on every week, and while not all are essential, they’re all super fun and useful. You can check out the links for these items at the bottom of this post!Christmas List Gift Guide for Baker

And if you haven’t maxed out your tolerable intake level of gingerbread and other holiday spiced foods, I have these little ginger molasses bundt cakes for you too! I had been looking for a ginger cake recipe for some time and finally found one from David Lebovitz that I was quite fond of.  I wanted these cakes to have a more mild ginger flavor and not be so heavily spiced that people who weren’t as fond of ginger could enjoy them as well. I think these are spot on.

Ginger Molasses Bundt CakesGinger Molasses Bundt Cakes

These ginger molasses bundt cakes are fluffy and moist, with warm flavors of molasses and brown sugar throughout. I used jarred ginger to help keep the prep time for this recipe under 10 minutes, but fresh ginger would be a home run here too. If you prefer a more strongly ginger flavored cake, you can add up to two more tablespoons of ginger to give them an extra zesty boost. The cakes are topped with a white chocolate glaze that sweetens them up a bit and make them look like little snow topped mountains. (Insert heart eyes).Ginger Molasses Bundt Cakes

Because most people don’t have a mini bundt pan laying around, you can also make mini muffins or an 8″ cake out of this recipe. I personally prefer the mini muffins to a large cake, but who I am to tell you what to do? 

Stay tuned for more Christmas cheer from this gal over the next few weeks, and please give these ginger molasses cakes a shot! If you have any questions about the Christmas wish list, drop me a line below in the comments section and I will do my best to answer them. Cheers to all and to all a good night!

Ginger Molasses Bundt Cakes

 

Christmas List Gift Guide for Baker

  1. Cake Pans
  2. Double Oven Mitt
  3. Parchment Paper and Rounds
  4. Cookie Scoops
  5. Stand Mixer
  6. Measuring Cups and Spoons
  7. Cake Turntable
  8. Dorie’s Cookies and Baking Bible
  9. Wooden Spoons
  10. Apron
  11. Cake Stand
  12. Offset Spatula
  13. Sheet Pan

 

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Ginger Molasses Bundt cakes

These ginger molasses bundt cakes and moist and fluffy cakes, fragrant from spicy ginger and cinnamon, and sweetened up by a white chocolate glaze.

  • Author: Kate Wood
  • Prep Time: 30
  • Cook Time: 60
  • Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
  • Yield: 6

Ingredients

For the cakes

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 3 tablespoons fresh minced ginger (See Notes)
  • 1/2 cup mild molasses
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup canola oil
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 egg, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 11/4 cup flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon cloves

For the glaze

  • 3/4 cup white chocolate chips
  • 4 tablespoons heavy cream
  • 3/4 cup confectioner’s sugar, sifted

Instructions

To prepare the cakes

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Combine the vanilla, ginger, molasses, sugars, and oil in a large bowl, stirring together until evenly mixed.
  3. Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan. Once boiling, carefully add the baking soda and stir to mix in.
  4. Add the baking soda and water mixture to the bowl with the sugars and stir to combine. Add in the dry ingredients and stir just until combined.
  5. Grease (I use baking spray with flour) a 6 cake mini bundt pan and evenly disperse the batter in each cake pan. Place in the preheated oven and bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Allow to cool in the pan for about 20 minutes and then invert the cakes on to a cooling rack to continue cooling.

To prepare the frosting

  1. Once the cakes are cooled, prepare the frosting.
  2. Over a double boiler set on low heat, melt the chocolate chips with the heavy cream. Do no let the water get too hot as this will cause the chocolate to seize up. Instead, allow the chocolate to begin melting and move on and off the heat as needed in order for the chips to just barely melt. Do not increase the heat above low or allow the bowl to get too hot. Once melted, allow the chocolate to cool slightly and then whisk in the sifted confectioner’s sugar. Stir until combined and the drizzle over the cooled cakes. If the frosting is too stiff, you can heat slightly in the microwave about 15 seconds or add additional heavy cream, 1 teaspoon at a time.

Notes

  • Notes: I used minced ginger from a jar, but if you have fresh ginger on hand that would be lovely as well.
  • This recipe can also be prepared in mini muffin tins. Adjust bake time to about 15 minutes. Recipe makes about 30 mini muffins or 1- 8″ cake.

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Recipe Adapted From: David Lebovitz

Peppermint Bark Icebox Cake

Peppermint Bark Icebox Cake Recipe by The Wood and Spoon Blog by kate Wood. This is a perfect make ahead Christmas / holiday / winter dessert made with Williams-sonoma peppermint bark. The chocolate cookies are like chocolate wafers and are made with hot cocoa mix. The filling is a mascarpone cheese whipped cream mixture that holds its shape as a frosting and helps to keep the cookies soft. the whole thing is topped by white chocolate and semisweet chocolate peppermint bark. Make this impressive layer layered dessert for you friends or next dinner party. Recipe at thewoodandspoon.com

Peppermint Bark Icebox Cake

Can you just feel the excitement? Surely it’s not just me. At our house, the tree is up and our stockings are hung. I’ve already made an unnecessary amount of Christmas cookies and my kitchen smells like a cinnamon stick/ fir tree hybrid. My Christmas socks are back in rotation, and I’m about one Mariah Carey song away from my husband refusing to ride in the car with me anymore. Surely this holiday cheer isn’t reserved just for me- IT’S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR!

This time of year always elicits a number of merry memories and feels for me, and as I grow older, I find myself trying to cultivate that same wonder and excitement for my own family. I want my babies to grow up on the sounds and smells and sights that make this time of year so rich. Fires crackling in the fireplace. Christmas lights glowing on street lamps at night. Cookies and milk and Nat King Cole. Candlelight services and that babe in a manger and the jittery excitement that makes sleep impossible on Christmas Eve. This time of year is filled with so many opportunities to love people and make memories, and it’s just one of the million things I can’t wait to share with my children as they grow up.

Peppermint Bark Icebox Cake

Growing up, there were always a few Christmas staples that I looked forward to every December, including Williams-Sonoma Peppermint Bark. I can close my eyes and distinctly remember those trips to the mall to pick up a tin or two to take home and pick at for the next few weeks days. To this day, it’s the go-to gift for my grandfathers each year and it’s a favorite to share as hostess gifts at holiday parties.  Williams-Sonoma Peppermint Bark is iconic, unmatched in quality and taste, and it’s one of those Christmas favorites that I know my kids will grow up on as well.

Ok, so now that you know how much I heart Peppermint Bark, let me tell you how excited I am to be partnering with Williams-Sonoma and TheFeedFeed to bring you today’s recipe. Literally, unless Ina Garten herself knocked on my door and asked me to help her and Taylor Swift make roast chicken and chocolate cake for Jeffery, I could not be more excited. Even as we speak, there’s fireworks and explosions going off in my heart and I can hardly even type because I can’t keep from throwing out some jazz hands. (!!!)

Peppermint Bark Icebox CakePeppermint Bark Icebox Cake

This is a peppermint bark icebox cake. Made with layers of hot cocoa cookies, peppermint and mascarpone whipped cream, and little crumbles of peppermint bark, this icebox cake is a dessert that will make all your days merry and bright. The lightly sweetened cream is rich in flavor and delicate in texture, making it a perfect match for the thin and crispy cocoa cookies. I used hot cocoa mix to produce the wafer thin cookies, and their chocolaty, slightly salty flavor is just to die for in this cake. The star of the show is the peppermint bark, which adds a creamy crunch to every bite and makes this a visually stunning and festive cake.
Peppermint Bark Icebox CakePeppermint Bark Icebox Cake

The cookies for this peppermint bark icebox cake can be made and stored in the freezer up to a couple of weeks in advance. In a pinch, you can substitute store bought chocolate wafers, but don’t underestimate the sweet and salty goodness you’ll miss out on with the homemade version. The cream, which takes only a few minutes to whip together, helps to soften the cookies as it refrigerates over night, so that when you’re finally ready to slice into the cake, the layers are creamy and cake-like, punctuated by the crunchy bits of peppermint bark.

I wouldn’t change a thing in the world about this recipe, unless I could insert a mandatory cup of coffee and background music of the “Christmas Vacation” theme song. This peppermint bark icebox cake is a delicious reminder of why this is the most wonderful time of the year, and I know you won’t regret making it. Give it a try and let me know what you think! Oh, and P.S., when you go pick up your peppermint bark, do yourself a favor and buy and extra tin… or four. Whatever. Do what you gotta do.

Peppermint Bark Icebox CakePeppermint Bark Icebox Cake

All of my gratitude, hugs, high fives, and holiday blessings to Williams-Sonoma and my friends at Feedfeed for inviting me to be apart of the #barkyeah campaign. It’s an honor to promote a product that has played such a delicious role in my Christmas traditions and I’m thrilled to share it with everyone!

Peppermint Bark Icebox Cake

*This post is sponsored by Williams-Sonoma and Feedfeed, but as always, all opinions are my own.

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Peppermint Bark Icebox Cake

This peppermint bark icebox cake features layers of hot chocolate wafer cookies and peppermint mascarpone cream, and is sprinkled with small bits of Williams-Sonoma peppermint bark.

  • Author: Kate Wood
  • Prep Time: 60
  • Cook Time: 30
  • Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients

For the cookies

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 11/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup hot cocoa mix
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

For the icebox cake

  • 16 ounces mascarpone cheese, room temperature
  • 3 cups heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 pound of peppermint bark, finely chopped.

Instructions

To prepare the cookies

  1. Beat together the butter and sugar until well combined, about 1 minute. Add the egg and vanilla and beat again until thoroughly combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the flour, hot cocoa mix, salt, and baking powder. Stir on low until well combined.
  2. On a clean surface, pat the dough out into a flat, round disk. Allow to chill in the fridge until firm, about 30 minutes.
  3. When ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. On a clean surface with a heavy dusting of cocoa powder, roll out the dough until 1/8” thick. If the dough feels too sticky, allow to chill a bit more in the fridge or add more cocoa powder to your surface or rolling pin. Cut 2-1/2″ round cookies out of the dough with a biscuit or cookie cutter. Place 1-1/2″ apart on the cookie sheet and bake in the oven about 10 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature prior to using in the icebox cake.

To prepare the icebox cake

  1. Add the mascarpone cheese, cream, sugar, and extract to the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on low for a minute to combine and then slowly increase the speed, whipping just until stiff peaks form.
  2. Prepare an 9″ springform pan by spreading 3 tablespoons of cream on the bottom of the pan. To begin forming your cake, arrange one layer of cookies over top of the cream, breaking the cookies as needed to fill in large gaps. Spread 1/5 of the cream (a heaping 3/4 cup the mixture) evenly over top of the cookies. Sprinkle a small handful (approximately 1/5) of the peppermint bark over top of the cream. Repeat this process 3 more times, stacking layers of cookie, cream, and bark. Add one final layer of cookies and the remaining cream to the top of the cake, smoothing out the top until flat and even. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, or at least 12 hours, to allow the cookies to soften and the flavors to blend together.
  3. When ready to eat, decorate with any remaining peppermint bark, or even Williams-Sonoma Peppermint Snow. Slice and serve chilled.

Notes

 

  • For a taller cake, use a smaller (7″-8″) springform pan, lining the sides with a tall sheet of acetate which will serve as extended sides to the pan. You’ll end up making about 6 layers of cake using this method.
  • In a pinch, store bought chocolate wafers can be used instead of the cookies. You’ll need approximately 18 ounces of wafers.

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Share a photo and tag us — we can't wait to see what you've made!