Post Punk Kitchen Forum

so, i have been in my kitchen all day making rumballs, apricot balls and marzipan-centered choc truffles...including making my own sweetened condensed milk. and i was wondering what baking madness every one else here is up too? i've hit the week before xmas and feel suddenly compulsed to shower the world in goodies. probably in part because we are spending the big day with a big group of un-accomodating omnis and i want us to feel special and totes like we're not missing out. so, who else has gone on a kitchen freak-out session today?

I don't really celebrate the holidays, nor am I a baker, but I do feel compelled to make baked goodies for people this time of year!

yesterday we had an office dessert potluck, and I made these Peanut Butter Blondies from the PPK blog for the first time, and they were kind of a hit. Most of them were eaten, but there were 934039483094 desserts. I don't anyone brought anything that got 100% eaten.

They were really yummy, and pantry friendly. Next time I will add crushed pretzels and/or chocolate chips.

My partner has to work next week, and I have some days off, so I will make some stuff for his office for sure. They all love my bannana/zuchinni bread, which I have not made in a while. I also have a dentist appt. next week, and those poor gals work round the clock at the end of the year. I will (as I usually do) bring in some muffins or something for them.

Might do tamales on christmas eve/christmas day too. That is pretty much a frenzy of cooking. Might make an eggnog cheesecake.

It's not really cooking, but we have barrels that we age our own rum, whiskey and tequilla in, and we bought some bottles to put them in and give them as gifts in case we get invited to a party, or we need a quick gift. They have aged nicely, and I am making some funny labels to go on them.

I made three kinds of cookies today to send to my son in Montreal (one of his friends is driving up tomorrow). Chocolate almond biscotti, ginger sparklers and snickerdoodles that turned out too flat but taste good.

I bought rum and graham crumbs to make rum balls for a solstice party on Friday. What do you put in yours, m.d.?

I have been driving a neighbour who broke his foot and his mom made me first a cake and then some cookies "for you, for you, not your son" (she is not fluent in English). I didn't have the heart to tell her I would not be eating them.

oh my god. today i totally flaked on it- a friend i wasn't expecting to see til next week announced that she had a gift for me TODAY if i could stop by. I've been on a deadline working on a translation and had no time to bake. I went to the fruit store and bought her stuff I know she wouldn't normally buy herself (organic strawberries, lychees, beautiful grapes), but then had to promise to make her cookies next week. I'm off the hook for today but think I might be screwed. I also need to bake serious amounts of crepe to bring with us this weekend (we'll stay at relatives' over the holiday) but I have a full workday tomorrow and a half day on Friday. Possibly more translations on top of that. Gulp.
Still not even sure what I'm making yet....
SCREWED, I TELL YOU!!

Hey, I know hindsight is 20/20, but those blondies I mentioned above are an awesome last minute project. I had everything in my pantry, and it took me like 10 minutes to make, and 22 minutes to bake. I bet you even have all that stuff where you live, there are no weird ingredients

This comes from the girl who takes 90 minutes to make cookies. I am bakingly challanged.

I'm doing all my baking on Saturday - I'm making granola nut clusters and crispy peanut butter chocolate chip cookies (GF) from OSG, chocolate dipped macaroons from VCIYCJ, banoffee pie from VPITS, homemade Vegan Bailey's from OSG, and apple cider from Healthful Pursuit - looking forward to it!

oh awesome, they look fantastic, how have i been on this forum so long without seeing that recipe before?
[of course, i am out of PB, but i am going to be lazy and buy some tomorrow, so that looks good]
the mountain of translations is done. maybe tomorrow night i will bake.

I went crazy on Monday making all kinds of treats that I gave out as teachers' gifts the next day at my kids' school. There was gingerbread popcorn, vanilla peanut-coconut fudge, and peppermint bark and mint/cacao nib brownie bites. Then I began two different cheeses from Artisan Vegan Cheeses that will be ready for the holidays!

homemade sweetened condensed milk, vita brits (i don't know what americans call them, i know english people call them weet-a-bix) cocoa, chopped mixed dried fruit, rum...i think that's it.

I am cooking baking tonight for presents for my workmates. I was gonna make one batch but my workmate keeps dropping hints about the chocolate pb pillows so I'm making those and something else for another colleague who doesn't eat peanut butter.

I'm also making candy cane brownies for our christmas lunch at work tomorrow.

Then Monday I'll do the christmas baking and I'm making a cake (haven't decided flavour yet) and gingerbread cupcakes from VCTOTW.

I’m not going as crazy as some years prior but so far I’ve made a double batch of gingerbread granola, 25 dozen mini cupcakes, a batch of Twigs and Berries (the recipe in Vegan Food Gifts), Irish Crème, homemade vanilla, 10 cupcakes in jars and two salads for a potluck today. This weekend I’m baking a bunch of cookies and making some flavored nut butters.

Last week I made about 200 cookies. Chocolate chip cookies, double chocolate cookies, mince pie cookies, gingerbread men and sugar cookies. They're all bagged for gifts.

I've made well over 100 cookies this afternoon. Plus some speculoos chocolates/candies. Basically just speculoos spead rolled into balls and dipped in melted chocolate. Was going to make some fudge or something, but I don't think I'll get around to it, as I'm busy now pretty much every day running up to Christmas.

I've made lots so far! I get the same compulsion as you, madam, I make lots so us vegans (me, my husband and brother) don't feel left out. That way, we have an assortment of goodies like everyone else.
I've made chai snickerdoodles, peanut butter pillows, fruit cake, candied spiced nuts so far. This weekend I'm making two pies (not sure what kinds yet), sanctuary chip dip, chickpea cutlets and something else I'm forgetting.

Oh, and I've had two potlucks so far, and I made pizza rolls for one and pesto pinwheels for another.

I've made some stuff for potlucks so far this season: rosewater semolina date squares and avocada salsa stuffed potatoes a couple of weeks ago for my condo potluck and my work potluck just today took a couple of days of beforehand preparation (lol...I'm crazy like that but I love my colleagues and wanted to express my lurve through cooking yummy things for them) what with making the rice and tofu ahead and so I can make the stirfry the morning of. Yesterday, I spent the morning making cookies (chocolate mint melties from E,D&BV) and chocolate chip cookies (from Dreena's book Vive Le Vegan) and today I didn't even work at all because I spent the morning on completing the stirfry and then taking it to the potluck, potlucking with my colleagues and I was just too pooped when I got home by late afternoon from my cookin' and potluckin' that I dint even work today (and I never "don't work" for nothin'). I have another gathering on December 23 (I'll be takin' her easy and I think I'm making mushroom phyllo appetizer pastries for that from, I think it's in Chloe's book) and then Christmas Eve I'll spend making cookies and my own meal so I can spend the following day with my family. Whew! After recharging all this evening and skipping my paid work entirely today, I think I'll be ready for my next cookin' bout by tomorrow!

I'm opting out this year and it feels great. Normally I kill myself baking a dozen different things, but this year I just do not have the energy.

I kind of bake like this all year. It's just easier to get rid of in the office ;)

today i made:
mex choc snickerdoodles
VWAV peanut butter cookies (waaaaay crumbly)
mexican wedding cookies (double batch)
anise almond biscotti
choco chip (happy vegan recipe)

i baked half and froze half for next week, when i need to do all this again. god help me. i wanted to make ginger cookies but was, shockingly, out of ginger!!!
similarly, forgot to (was too tired to) make tofu so that i could make the chocomousse pie.

i am so frigging exhausted. (cancelled a class today and stayed home and baked all afternoon.)