I love Christmas, decorating the tree, setting up the family advent calendar, planning the menu, baking and decorating the cake. At the weekend I pulled out my Christmas quilts. I made the first one early in my quilting journey having won a jelly roll of these gorgeous Christmas fabrics from Happy Quilting. I was very pleased with this quilt and it is still one of my favourite.
I made a second Christmas quilt using a pattern called Scrappy Friends from Phoebe Moon designs. The pattern originally was for a quilt of 6 blocks finishing at 53 x 73 inches. I added another column to the quilt to make it into a square. There is always an argument as to who has this quilt. I really must make a third Christmas quilt, a task for 2025 maybe.
Snacks are always very welcome when decorating for Christmas . In 2019 I made these spicy raisin bars for the first time. We all liked them and they have become a firm favourite for anytime of year. They really are delicious and a gooey like chocolate brownies. I made a batch at the weekend and they disappeared very quickly! Unfortunately they are quite calorific so I don't cook them very often.
The recipe is by Martha Day from her book Baking
Makes 30
110 g plain flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground all spice
215 g raisins
115 g butter or margarine at room temperature
100 g sugar
2 eggs
165 g molasses
55 g walnuts, chopped.
1. Preheat a 350 F/180 C / Gas 4 oven.
Line a 13 x 9 in (33 x 23 cm) tin with grease proof paper and grease
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder and spices.
3. Place the raisins in another bowl and toss with a few teaspoons of the flour mixture
4. With an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, then the molasses. Stir in the flour mixture, raisins and walnuts.
5. Spread evenly in the tin. Bake until just set, 15 - 18 minutes. Let it cool in the tin before cutting into bars
Makes 30
110 g plain flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground all spice
215 g raisins
115 g butter or margarine at room temperature
100 g sugar
2 eggs
165 g molasses
55 g walnuts, chopped.
1. Preheat a 350 F/180 C / Gas 4 oven.
Line a 13 x 9 in (33 x 23 cm) tin with grease proof paper and grease
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder and spices.
3. Place the raisins in another bowl and toss with a few teaspoons of the flour mixture
4. With an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, then the molasses. Stir in the flour mixture, raisins and walnuts.
5. Spread evenly in the tin. Bake until just set, 15 - 18 minutes. Let it cool in the tin before cutting into bars
I made this Christmas pillow for a blog hop several years ago and we still use it . My grandson was very taken with it. He wanted to take it home and have in his bedroom. I will add making a Christmas pillow for him to my 2025 to do list.
Do go and visit the other blogs taking part. Here is the schedule. I can't wait for Thursday evening, when I finish work for the week and I'll have time to visit everyone,
December 2
December 5
Lyndsey
Lovely Christmas quilts you have on display and the pillow is cute.
ReplyDeleteThose cookies do look delicious!
Maria lifeontheblock
Such lovely Christmas projects, thanks for sharing and the recipe too.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful quilts and pillow! Those raisin bars look delicious!! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful Christmas quilts you shared and I love the pillow too! Those raisin bars sound wonderful. It's the holidays, calories don't count, right? LOL!! Thanks for playing with us for all these years. Have a wonderful holiday season.
ReplyDeleteGreat quilt and pillow.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful quilts and pillow. The raisin bars sound delicious!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your quilts!!! I can certainly understand why you like the jelly roll one! It's great!
ReplyDeleteThe raisin bars sound very tempting!!!
LJ here. Your quilts are marvelous. Yep, you need to make another Christmas quilt. Your grandson, too, would enjoy helping to make the pillow. The recipe is interesting and spicey. I wonder if I can use those spices in my boxed mix; I'll give it a try.
ReplyDeletePretty quilts and pillow. The raisin bars looks tasty too.
ReplyDeleteSuch beautiful Christmas quilts, Lyndsey. I love them both and the puppy on the quilt is so cute! Your bar recipe looks and sounds really good, though the calories should not be counted at Christmas. The pillow is one I made, too. I've taken a picture of it with my grandkids almost every Christmas. You've been a part of my blog life for so long! Thank you for the wonderful memories. xo
ReplyDeleteThose Christmas quilts are just gorgeous!! Have a wonderful Christmas! xx
ReplyDelete