Baking during the holidays has long been a cherished tradition.
One could almost say every culture and every family has something delicious prepared solely for this time of year. However, holiday baking is not always easy.
With precise measurements, many ingredients, large volumes to produce and flour flying all over the kitchen, it can almost be too much to bear.
To make baking easier for all, the SDN caught up with two local bakers.
Troy DeRego, owner of DeRego’s Naturally Fermented Craft Beer Grain Crackers in Starkville, encouraged home bakers to have all their ingredients ready prior to starting their projects.
“Have all your ingredients out in front of you, and measure everything before you start mixing, so you don’t get into the middle of your recipe and realize you’re missing an ingredient,” DeRego said.
DeRego also encouraged having an organized space to make the process easier.
“My biggest tip, and it might not be popular is, clean the kitchen before you start, and that will make it that much easier to clean up after,” DeRego said.
Mary Helen Hawkins, a chef instructor in the Mississippi University for Women Culinary Arts Institute, suggested bakers measure flour by weight, rather than volume and to read every recipe twice to make sure all necessary ingredients and equipment are on hand.
Hawkins also encouraged bakers to make sure their baking soda was still fresh by checking if it reacts with lemon juice or vinegar before use. For baking powder, spoon a little bit into water. If it reacts it’s still good. Hawkins also urged bakers to always preheat their oven.
“It’s not always easy, but it’s always rewarding to invite others to join in the holiday cooking,” DeRego said. “So many people get stressed out over all the baking they have to do. I feel like that’s part of the holiday. Make it a family event. Do it together, you know. Get the stress out of it.”
Hawkins also said it was important to bring family into the kitchen during the holidays.
“I grew up watching my mother prepare wonderful holiday meals filled with incredible desserts and festive cakes,” Hawkins said. “As a child, it almost seemed magical to see the ingredients transformed into works of art that could be eaten. I would watch every movement my mom’s hands made for hours and then beg my mother to let me give it a try.”
She said she had brought her own daughter into the kitchen for the holidays from an early age.
“My daughter Mallory started a family tradition when she was very young baking sugar cookies and preparing hot chocolate topped with Chantilly cream (sweetened whipped cream) and her favorite topping, sprinkles, of course,” Hawkins said.
DeRego also encouraged families to let their children cook during the holidays. He said his nephew wanted to learn how to make DeRego’s Portuguese biscuit recipe.
“We sent the ingredient list on ahead, and they’ll have everything ready,” DeRego said.
“You know, that’s a simple cookie, and that’s an easy, fun thing that anyone can jump in and do. Just find a fun, simple recipe and for kids it is a memorable experience, getting in the kitchen and getting your hands in the food, making stuff up.”
While Hawkins’ Christmas baking memories primarily involve her mother’s cakes, DeRego’s involve a savory FrenchCanadian dish.
“They’re French meat pies coming from Montreal,” DeRego said. “I remember going back, every family sort of had their own version of it. At family get-togethers everyone would have their pie, and see who’s pie got eaten up first. My mother likes to say that my grandmother’s recipe always won that contest. It’s a mixture of ground pork and beef and some cubed potatoes and spices in a regular piecrust. You slice it up, and you can put gravy on it, or we used to sometimes put ketchup on it.”
DeRego said his mother would be making some pies this Christmas, but he would have to miss it since he was spending the holidays elsewhere this year.
He said he seldom baked during the holidays himself since he and his wife often spent the season traveling. However, when he does get the chance to bake, he prefers making savory dishes.
“My wife and I are not big sweet-eaters,” DeRego said. “I don’t do a lot of cookies or anything … Since we don’t eat a lot of sweets, if I’m going to bake, I’m going to bake some other kind of treat for us.”
Hawkins emphasized the importance of creating new family memories and traditions with baking.
“When I think of Christmas it brings such joy to my heart and to my stomach,” Hawkins said. ”It’s the one time a year that we all come together and make every cake, candy and cookie imaginable.”
Santa’s Sugar Cookies
2 cups butter, room temp
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
6 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix dry ingredients and add to butter mixture. Mix well. Chill in large pancake shapes wrapped in parchment or waxed paper for 1 to 2 hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees before baking cookies. Cover baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpats mats to prevent cookies from spreading.
On surface dusted with confectioners' sugar, roll dough to approximately 1/8 inch thick. Use cookie cutters to cut dough into shapes. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until just beginning to turn brown around the edges. This recipe can make up to 5 dozen – 4-6” cookies.
Recipe courtesy of Mary Helen Hawkins.
Red Velvet Cake
3 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons Dutch processed cocoa powder, sifted
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1-ounce bottle red food coloring
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350F. Butter two (-by-2-inch round cake pans, then line the bottoms with parchment and butter it as well.
Lightly dust the pans with flour, tapping the pans on the counter to shake out the excess. Sift together the cake flour, baking soda, and cocoa; set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large mixing bowl, using a handheld mixer), cream the butter, oil, and sugar together on medium-low to medium speed for 5 to 7 minutes, until very pale and thick. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla and mix for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the sifted dry ingredients in thirds, alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Mix for another 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the bowl from the mixer and, using a rubber spatula, incorporate any ingredients hiding at the bottom of the bowl, making sure the batter is completely mixed. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans and gently smooth the tops with a spatula. Tap the pans firmly on the countertop to remove any air bubbles from the batter.
Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center of a cake comes out clean. Let the cakes cool for 15 minutes, then remove from the pans and cool completely on a wire rack.
Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the center of a cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool for 15 minutes, then remove from the pans and cool completely on a wire rack.
To assemble the cake: Level the top of one of the cake layers with a serrated knife so it’s flat, then place it cut side down on a serving plate. Using an offset spatula spread the layer with a big dollop of frosting.
Place the other cake layer top side up on the first layer and frost the top and sides with the remaining frosting, making big swirls with an offset spatula. The cake can be stored wrapped in plastic wrap in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Cream Cheese Frosting
Yield: 5 cups
8 tablespoons butter (1 stick), room temperature
Two 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
5 to 6 cups confectioners’ sugar
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla until smooth and creamy, 3 to 5 minutes. Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar beating until light and fluffy, 5 to 7 minutes.
Recipe from Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook.