I will never say 2020 has flown by, but now it feels like we are in a sprint to the finish line. Work exploded after Thanksgiving, I don’t know how I’m going to do my Christmas shopping when I can’t go shopping, and I’m still trying to convince myself to put up our tree this year. Maybe hosting our virtual December Coffee Date with Deborah will put me in the holiday spirit.
Our 2019 Christmas Tree for inspiration!
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Delicious December Coffee Date
If we were having coffee, I would tell you that while I’m not yet in the Christmas spirit, I have been in the mood for baking, which is what makes this December Coffee Date so delicious.
If we were having coffee, I would ask if you had a nice Thanksgiving. I would tell you that, yes, I made my pain-in-the-ass apple pie recipe, although I had to take a few shortcuts. I started it Wednesday night, having forgotten about the cooling and chilling steps. I cut those in half, and still had to stay up past my bedtime while it baked.
I started the apple pie so late because I made a pecan pie first. I used this recipe from the Karo (corn syrup) website, and it was seriously the best pecan pie I’ve ever had.
I noticed it called for twice the pecans as other recipes, so maybe that made the difference. It was still very sweet, but also too good to resist.
If we were having coffee, I would tell you about a great apple cake I made a few weeks ago. With no butter in the batter (just eggs), it came together quickly and had a light, fluffy consistency.
Check out the recipe here.
If we were having coffee, I would tell you that instead of cancelling our annual Christmas cookie bake-a-thon, my friends and I are going to do a bake-a-long on Zoom, and then exchange our cookies at the end of the day. So 2020, I know!
I made a test batch of my ginger spice cookies already. 😉
If we were having coffee, I would ask if you have any plans for Christmas. We decided our daughter shouldn’t fly home this year, and we won’t be going anywhere ourselves. My son and his wife might go skiing, which would make it a very quiet Christmas for us.
What’s on your holiday wish list?
![The Ultimate Coffee Date](http://got2run4me.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Ultimate-Coffee-Date.png" "The Ultimate Coffee Date")
I had to go and check the pain-in-the-ass recipe and now I know why it’s a pain in the ass! A lot of work, but it looks delicious.
Our family meets together over Zoom regularly, so that is what we will do over the holidays, too. What’s your guess how long it will take to get back to “normal”?
The pie is delicious, which is why I suffer through all those steps. ;-). My family hasn’t Zoomed, but at least my daughter will FaceTime.
I think if we can get vaccinated by spring/summer, things could get back to “normal” then.
I’ve been wanting to do more baking this season! I’ve made 2 apple pies so far but would like to experiment some more! 😛 That apple cake looks amazing! I like the idea of that bake-a-long! I’m doing something like that with my friend (but no exchanges since we’re on opposite coasts).
If you have a few hours, you should try this pie recipe — it really is delicious!
I love the idea of a Bake Along! Great way to adapt to the circumstances and still have fun. I used to have an annual holiday Bake Off. My mom, two sisters and 4 nieces would come and we’d do all the holiday baking. Your pies look amazing! Well worth the PIA!
That’s a crowd in the kitchen, although we’ve had almost that many for our bake-a-thon. At least this year we won’t have to take turns with the oven!
I might’ve gained 20 lbs just looking at all your baked goods! I did make an apple crisp for Thanksgiving, which Mr. Judy seemed to have enjoyed — or at least he never says no when I offer it. It was a low key Thanksgiving, and that was fine.
I’m not surprised you took your cookie marathon to Zoom! It’s better than nothing, right?
Being Jewish, the holidays are not a big deal. Hannukah starts soon, but we no longer exchange gifts. Although I might have something for the next Coffee Date about that. 🙂
I love apple crisp! Really I love all apple recipes. We shouldn’t exchange gifts, but my husband is a good gift-giver, so I have to try too!
I think we’re good gift givers to ourselves. I did do a good job with amr. Judy’s birthday, if I say so myself.
I haven’t done any baking yet. It’s going to be just my husband, me, and the boys for Christmas this year, so I’m scaling back. Still have to do a lot of shopping, but I shop online. Next week, I’m on it!
I struggle with on-line shopping unless I know exactly what I want to get. I am clicking on a lot of Facebooks ads to compensate for my inability to browse in local shops.
Wow you sure have been baking up a storm! The apple cake looks really good. Bummer on your cookie baking party-I know you really love doing it every year. great idea to bake together virtually and then exchange. Not the same but nice distraction. Good luck w your decorating! Looking forward to seeing a photo. Can;t wait until we can have a real coffee date again
And hot yoga …. I so miss that!
I have never attempted a pecan pie, but now I’m inspired! I was wondering about your cookie baking extravaganza, so I’m glad you found a way to make it 2020 compliable 😉
If you make one, definitely use 3 cups of pecans instead of 1.5. 😉
Your post is making me hungry. I used bake a lot more esp when the kids were home. Just the hubby & me, I buy.
This is probably the first year, I never made the apple pie. I bought the apples twice. We just ate them lol
I love any apple dessert. But pies are my favorite.
LOL, that’s how I feel about berry desserts — I’m good with just the berries. I love apples too, but they do bake up nice!
You are quite the baker. Those pies look tasty. I didn’t have any homemade pies but my mom makes the pumpkin dump cake that’s yummy.
Thanks! That cake sounds intriguing!
Oh my gosh everything looks so good! While I love to cook, my husband is the baker in our house. He made a pecan pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving that was one of his best!
I love your bake-a-long idea – great way to keep your tradition going!
Oh, pecan-pumpkin sounds so good. Maybe I’ll tackle that next year.
It looks like my comment didn’t post – I got a frowning robot looking face instead of seeing my comment. LOL
Anyway, I said that your pies and cake look amazing and then rambled on about how quiet our Thanksgiving was, but hope Christmas will be a little livelier.
Have a great weekend and thanks for the linkup!
Our Christmas will be less lively — not that Thanksgiving was lively! I think we ar hunkering down again for a while.
Those pies look yummy! I baked a crustless pumpkin pie (because I forgot to get crust and I don’t do crust from scratch) and an apple crisp. Both were tasty, but I don’t enjoy baking, so I’m thankful my mom is making ALL the Christmas cookies this year.
Oh, that’s funny. To top off all my baking, I made all-butter pie crusts from scratch because my son is a crust snob — it does taste better than the Pillsbury I usually get away with. 😉
Wow! Your baking skills are impressive. I am going to try the apple cake recipe. Thanks for sharing! I wasn’t going to bake Christmas cookies this year, but my oldest son guilted me into it. He said my grandson would be scarred for life if his Mimi didn’t send him cookies. How could I resist? 🙂
Yeah, that’s how I ended up making two pies on Thanksgiving Eve. That Mom/Grandmom guilt is real! The cake is pretty easy. I was worried there wasn’t enough batter, but it baked up perfectly.
Oh, girl. I love me some pie.
Christmas will be played by ear. As it stands, we will see my parents, outside and socially distanced, but nothing is set in stone. It can’t be. 🙁
Hopefully no matter what outdoor visits will be OK. It’s hard to keep your distance though.
We’re planning to do our usual cookie party over zoom… I volunteered to run cookies to people if I don’t have to bake – LOL. I’m the worst baker. Other friends are doing a run and exchange of pre-packaged cookies.
Oh, that’s too funny!