"O holy Child of Bethlehem!

Descend to us, we pray;

Cast out our sin, and enter in;

Be born in us today.

We hear the Christmas angels

The great glad tidings tell;

O come to us, abide with us,

Our Lord Emmanuel."

~Phillips Brooks from "O Little Town of Bethlehem"

Bethlehem: The "house of bread." A place that satisfied hungry stomachs.
Jesus: The "Bread of Life." The satisfier of all spiritual hunger.
Our hearts: Little "Bethlehems" - houses of the Bread of Life when we ask Him to "cast out our sin, and enter in."

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Looking Back

In today's age of stuff-overload, Christmas shopping has become a hard and dreaded task. "What in the world does ______ need?" plagues our thoughts as we roam store isles, page through catalogues, and surf the net. At the end of a frustrating day of shopping, we realize once again that the answer to the question is "nothing."

But wait, there is one thing all people need - food. Baked goods make a welcome and usable gift. Since I am a baker, this isn't something I often receive, but on the rare occasions I do (or someone else in my family does), oh what a treat! I think the reason a gift of food is so special is three fold. 1. Variety is added to the family table. 2. Hungry tummies are satisfied. 3. A meal during the fast paced Christmas season is saved!

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I received a large order of bread that is going to be given as teacher gifts this season. Already I have baked and frozen some of these loaves. Still on my to-bake list is Julekakke (pronounced "you-li-kaka"). What is Julekakke? Let me show you.

Christmas 2007 - Julekakke, julekakke, and more julekakke! This traditional Scandinavian Christmas bread has grown to be a popular item among my customers. Bright red and green candied cherries, golden raisins, and deliciously sweet candied pineapple are packed into the rich and sweet dough. It is made festive with cherry "poinsettias" atop powdered sugar frosting.

I have good memories of Mom making this special treat for our Christmas celebrations. Before bringing it to the table, Mom would cut the loaf and then frost it. My mouth waters as I remember the flavor of the slightly warm bread with soft and fresh frosting which always had the tendency to slide off onto my fingers. I have tried my best to share this experience with my customers, but some of those little details become impossible when baking for the masses. Perhaps what I wish I could share the most is the enjoyment of eating a slice of julekakke with the knowledge that it was made lovingly by a mother who cares enough to make something special for her family. Then again maybe I can share this. My customers, with a certain glow in their eyes, often tell me of how their mother or grandmother would make julekakke when they were growing up. Maybe, just maybe my loaves can take them back in their memories to those special times. If nothing else hopefully they can enjoy the product of my time and care. Mom's example of doing things well has been my teacher these last twenty some years.

As you can see, Julekakke was a hot item last Christmas. Also on the "Christmas 2007 hot item list" was...

...Brownie Supreme - rich chocolate brownies with fudge like homemade frosting.

Here is another wrapping idea. Cut cardboard to the size you need, then cover it with Christmas wrapping paper. Here I wrapped each brownie individually to keep them extra fresh and make a nice to-go treat. Put all in a bread bag or clear cellophane and tie with a twisty. Add curling ribbon to match the wrapping paper.

Gourmet Gifts Made Easy

Clockwise from bottom clear bowl: Aromatic Coffee & Cheese Spread, Favorite Jam Spread, Peanut Butter Lover's Cream Cheese Spread, Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese Spread with maple syrup, Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese Spread without maple syrup.

I promised my customers more Christmas gift ideas. This time instead of wrapping ideas I have some spread recipes perfect for making your gift extra special. You could either mix up one of these delicious spreads to put alongside your gift of bread or simply copy the recipe onto a pretty recipe card to stick in with the loaf.

For months I have been dreaming of flavored cream cheese spreads atop Chocolate Pecan Bread. With the onset of winter, thus no farmers' markets filling every minute of my life, I was able to do some recipe research online. The spreads you see in the pictures are the result. After much taste testing my family and I have come up with some favorite bread/spread combinations. See each recipe for our comments.

Peanut Butter Lover's Cream Cheese Spread

The blue ribbon winner! This can be eaten on any bread, but nothing could beat a generous slab of Chocolate Pecan Bread smothered with this spread.

1 c. peanut butter (creamy or chunky)

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

Using an electric mixer beat until smooth.

I found this to make a very clumpy, dry mass. It may have been this way because I was using our favorite natural peanut butter (only ground peanuts and salt). Whatever the cause, these are the additions I made to get a desirable smooth texture plus a sweeter flavor since our peanut butter has no added sugar:

2 T. + 2 tsp. powdered sugar

4 oz. (1/2 c.) butter

Aromatic Coffee & Cheese Spread

Ahhh! The rich and comforting flavors of coffee and chocolate. Definitaly a spread for Chocolate Pecan Bread. Even Mom and Maren who are not coffee drinkers didn't mind a bit of this one.

6 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/4 c. powdered sugar

1/2 tsp. instant coffee granules (or up to 1 tsp. for more flavor; may need to add more hot water)

1/2 tsp. hot water

In a small bowl beat cream cheese and sugar. Dilute coffee granules in hot water. Add coffee to cream cheese mixture until it is light and fluffy.

Favorite Jam Spread
This one got mixed reviews. The general consensous, though, was that it needed more jam flavor, especially if served on Chocolate Pecan Bread. I personally enjoyed the spread on French Batard, one of my signiture artisan breads.

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

8 oz. butter, softened

4-6 T. jam, any kind (I ended up using much more homemade cherry jam for more flavor. It still wasn't as cherry flavored as I would have liked, so I would try adding even more and eliminating all or part of the butter to keep it from getting too soft.)

Cream together the cream cheese and butter (if using) until well mixed. Add jam to your taste. Do not overmix or it will separate.

Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese Spread

I originally made this one to try on Pumpkin Pecan Bread. While very good I still prefer this bread with just a little butter. A la French Batard this taste bud pleasing spread made a very yummy treat! Maren gave the spread with maple syrup the highest rating, while Hannah voted for no syrup. What's your vote?

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

3 T. brown sugar

2 T. pure maple syrup (optional for a sweeter spread)

1/4 c. canned pumpkin

1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. vanilla

In a small bowl beat cream cheese, sugar, and syrup (if using) until creamy. Add pumpkin, spices, and vanilla and beat until smooth. Refrigerate for at least an hour. (It will be softer if using maple syrup.)