Category Archives: Food Tales

Holiday Baking with the In Crowd–Red Velvet Cupcakes

Red Velvet cupcakes seem to be popping up everywhere, so I just had to make a batch. And…I humbly confess, they’re darn good!

Below is the recipe I used, however, I think I should have made fewer cupcakes as mine did not rise to the top. Did I overbeat or was there not enough batter for 30 cupcakes??? Who knows.  I also used less food coloring, just because the entire bottle seemed like overkill.

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Sugar Cookie Gingerbread Men and Chocolate Crackles

Santa would love Double Chocolate Crackles
Santa would love Double Chocolate Crackles

Baking in Boston

I flew to Boston last weekend to visit my oldest daughter and my youngest grandchild, Jonah-now 20 months old. Abby and I decided to bake Christmas cookies but thought Jonah would like the taste of sugar cookies better than gingerbread. I mixed up the batter and he had his first taste of cookie dough right off the spatula.

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Bizcochitos and Posadas for Christmas

New Mexico’s State Cookie : Bizcochitos

I’ve written about Florida’s Key Lime pie and Massachusett’s Boston Cream pie, both declared their official state’s dessert, but New Mexico was the first to have a state cookie: the bizcochito (bees-ko-CHEE-toh). In 1989, New Mexico lawmakers passed House Bill 406. They didn’t the battle over the adoption, but how to spell the cookie’s name. Several lawmakers of the House floor desired an “s” others a “z” and eventually the stalemate resulted in the cookie’s press credentials as “bizcochito”.

According to my limited  research, the first Christmas celebration in Mexico took place back in 1538, when a Fransican Monk, Fray Pedro de Gante invited the native tribe surrounding the mission to celebrate Christ’s birth. Over the years many pueblo people were converted to Christianity and began to incorporate the holiday customs into their culture.

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