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.)

Christmas is coming...

"Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat..." Soon that song will be playing over our speakers as Christmas preparations begin. Decorating, cookie making, buying and wrapping presents... For some, these things have already begun. In fact yesterday I got my first Christmas present order for the year. Twenty loaves made up of a mixture of some of my more special breads will soon be in production - Chocolate Pecan, Julekkake, Pumpkin Pecan... Visiting with the woman ordering, I learned that these loaves, wrapped in festive cellophane, are going to be teacher gifts.

Her call got me thinking. What are some creative ways to wrap bread? Keep reading to see some of my ideas.

Ribbon makes a simple yet elegant wrapping. Even a novice bow tier can make a stunning bow or simple knot with wired ribbon.

Ribbon being put to use again. Here it ties together a bamboo tray and loaf of bread. Ready to serve!

Want to add a little, inexpensive gift? Buy or make a tree ornament and tie it on with curling ribbon. So easy, yet see how special that looks!

Towel: Mom, being a lover of textiles, dreamed up this gift wrap. Here I used some antique lace to secure the towel around a loaf of Chocolate Pecan Bread.

Take gift bags to the next level with a fun cloth bag. No fancy wrapping required!

The Cook, the Baker and the Tray Maker?

A few weeks ago I received some calls from a sweet, elderly lady in our community. 'Could you please bake three Pumpkin Pecan Bread loaves, slice them, and butter 36 pieces for November 17th? And what could I add to it to make a nice afternoon lunch for the weekly senior citizens' get together? Crackers and cheese? Okay.' So this baker, turned consultant/caterer, got busy.

The 17th came and I began slicing and buttering. Then came the challenge. How can I make this bread ready to serve without using one of our own dishes?

Digging out the cardboard-scraps box from my family's treasure closet filled with games, miscellane-ous craft items (most of them as cheap as this cardboard), and other odds and ends, I knew I had my answer. Mixed with a little freezer paper and tape, this cardboard would make the perfect disposable tray.

36 slices of bread ready to go! These maybe don't make the most elegant serving trays, but they definitely work well in a pinch!

Whew! I made it through my first job as baker/consultant/caterer/tray maker.

Autumn French Fare

Today's noon menu: Pumpkin Pecan Bread French Toast

Last fall when Pumpkin Pecan Bread was brand new, two of my faithful customers came up with this food idea independantly. Great minds think alike!

This noon my family finally tried it out for ourselves. My customers were not kidding. It was a spectacular meal. My favorite was drizzling the toast with pure maple syrup, but our home made syrup was tasty on it, too.

Here is the Stowman's staple syrup recipe. My dad would prepare this as a mix in his younger adventuresome days when he went canoeing in the Boundary Waters in northern Minnesota .

Stowman's Table Syrup

1 c. granulated sugar
1 c. light brown sugar
1 c. water
1/2 tsp. maple flavoring

Mix all together in a medium size sauce pan. Place on high heat and bring to a boil. Boil one or two minutes.

Serve warm over French toast, pancakes, waffles, or corn bread. Save the left overs in the refrigerator to be used cold at another meal.