December, 2018

? ? Merry Christmas to all my fans and friends and all the best for 2019. ? ?

For my Christmas dinner I make everything I can in advance and pumpkin pie is a natural because it has to cool and be refrigerated to serve cold anyway. My easy recipe uses an oil crust and I made it with cold pressed avocado oil. The filling is a breeze using canned pumpkin and low fat canned milk so it’s light and low fat. Now you won’t feel too guilty about the whipped cream!

When I make homemade stuffing from scratch, I really mean from scratch. I baked a loaf of white bread yesterday and today I’m drying it into cubes for my simple bread stuffing. This stuffing gets more raves than my turkey! Making things in advance really takes the pressure off of big holiday dinners so today and I’m drying the bread and making the stuffing too. I’ll just reheat it before serving.

There are too many temptations during the holidays! Sweets are everywhere but they don’t all have to be bad for you. My sugar cookies use half the butter, are low in sugar and you can make them using part whole wheat pastry flour. And by the way, I can not tell the difference between the all purpose flour version and the whole wheat version.

Everyone loves these cookies so I make a lot. That’s why I usually use a cookie press because I need lots of cookies and it’s just faster. They’re not as pretty as the cutouts but they taste just as good. One of the best things about these sugar cookies is they keep well and travel well so they are perfect to give as gifts with no worry that they won’t be fresh.  They also freeze well.

Either cutouts or cookie pressed, why not make Christmas cookies a little healthier for everyone? Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

I’ve had a craving for soft oatmeal raisin cookies lately and never knew how to make them. My oatmeal cookies are always crisp so I decided to try making soft and chewy ones. It was easy. They turned out really well with several different variations.

My recipe works three different ways:

1) Made with only butter.

2) Made with half butter, half oil.

3) Made with only oil.

But here’s the surprise. I did a blind taste test (with my husband’s help) and I could not tell the difference between any of them. All of the cookies, made with butter, oil, or a mix of both, tasted the same to me. So if you’re like me and try to avoid butter, make them with oil. I use cold pressed avocado oil. If you prefer butter, use only butter. If you’re undecided, use a 1/2 and 1/2 mixture of each. I think you’ll like them no matter what but keep in mind that they are large cookies because that keeps them soft, and also do not over bake them. If you bake them until they are too brown and golden, they may not be soft. But they’ll still taste good, though.

Oh, and one more thing: You can skip the raisins and use chocolate chips instead. (Do I hear applause??) Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

My thanks to everyone who takes time to send a photo. It’s even better if you say where are from. Please send your photo to: YourPhotos@JennyCanCook.com

OLIVIA (from the UK) MADE MY BLUEBERRY COFFEE CAKE

“Hi Jenny, usually my dad sends in my stuff. But I can do it now. I made your Blueberry Coffee cake. And it was really good! i had to use your substitution for ‘buttermilk’  but you couldn’t tell the difference. Thanks from the UK.”

~ Olivia, it makes me so happy to see you (at only 12 years old!) be such a good baker. Thank you for sharing your journey and photos. And Merry Christmas to you and your dad. ~ jenny

GREG MADE MY NO KNEAD BREAD

“Good afternoon! Saw your video in my YouTube feed about a week ago. Had to try it! It looked so easy and it was!!! Like you, I LOVE bread also. It turned out EXACTLY as you said! LOVE IT! Thank you for making things simple. I’m not afraid to try cooking and baking anymore thanks to your simplified recipes! Happy Holidays!”

~ It’s nice to know my recipes are giving you confidence. Happy Holidays back to you. ~ jenny

DAVID MADE MY CABBAGE ROLLS

“Thought you might get a laugh here. They taste terrific. A Local place here, Bobs Produce had Large Kraut Cabbage they called it (7-8lbs)…As you can see they are very large..I got 10 total..  I make cabbage soup weekly ,often so I used up remaining cabbage in that… I might try adding a can of tomatoes along with the Puree next time, Green Chile’s, Red Pepper..”

~ Wow! It looks like one cabbage roll would serve four people! Great photo, thank you.  ~ jenny

SAM (in North Carolina) MADE MY NO KNEAD RYE BREAD

“I made a double recipe of No-Knead Rye Bread, baked in a Lodge cast iron Dutch oven.”

~ Thanks for your photo. It’s helpful to know it can be doubled.  ~ jenny

“FIALHO38” MADE MY NO KNEAD CRUSTY ROLLS

“Hi Jenny. Thank you so much for the wonderful  “No Knead Crusty Rolls” recipe. As you see in my photos I made also some Baguette style  from the same dough. Just delicious. We all love it !!”

~ I never thought of making baguettes but I will definitely try it. Thank you.  ~ jenny

MEISTER MADE MY 2-HOUR FASTEST NO KNEAD BREAD

“I used regular yeast and it looks/tastes delicious.”

~ I love your chalk board idea and thanks for the lovely photo.  ~ jenny

JULIE MADE MY CINNAMON ROLLS

“Cinnamon Rolls…with a whipped cream cheese frosting. They were awesome. Thank you!”

~ Thank you for the photo. That’s a great frosting idea.  ~ jenny

EVELYN MADE MY FASTER NO KNEAD BREAD

“Hi Jenny, Love all your recipes! They work! My favorite is the pan pizza. Delicious!”

~ What a great photo – thank you! I’m making pan pizza right now.  ~ jenny

EFISIA MADE MY CINNAMON ROLLS

~ Picture-perfect cinnamon rolls – thank you for your photo.  ~ jenny

TABITHA MADE MY BUTTERMILK BISCUITS

~ Scrambled eggs and biscuits – that’s the same combo I make too. Thank you.  ~ jenny

JOE (from Colorado) MADE MY NO KNEAD BREAD

“My first attempt at this terrific recipe. Thanks for sharing your experience with all of us. Can’t wait to bake more of your stuff. – Joe in Aurora, Colorado.”

~ Thank you for the photo and congrats on your first loaf (of many more to come, I know).  ~ jenny

MARIE MADE MY NO KNEAD BREAD

“Thanks so much Jenny for your easy to follow no knead bread recipe.  I’ve baked it several times and each time it’s getting better.  My husband really enjoys it.”

~ Thank you. What a great way to start off the month. Your crust looks perfect.  ~ jenny