McGee Holiday Traditions | Family Baking
03 November 2023 –
Join the McGee family ladies—Shea, her kids, and her mother, TamTam—for some festive baking.
One of the ways Shea and her family welcome the holiday season is by welcoming her mom, affectionately known as TamTam, into the kitchen. Growing up, the time-honored tradition of baking as a family was a special one for Shea. Here’s an excerpt from her book, The Art of Home.
“When I was growing up, Sundays after church were for baking. My mom would pull out a binder of recipes taken from Southern Living that were scribbled on note cards and stuck in sheet protectors caked with flour and little droplets of butter. I’d sit on the counter and sneak brown sugar and wait for my turn to use the mixer,” Shea notes. “I now share this same ritual with my daughters, plopping them up on the island, eating too much cookie dough, and rotating whose turn it is to measure and pour. By the time we pull our Sunday treat out of the oven, we’re usually so full from snacking that we just pick at the dessert.”
Watch the webisode below for more McGee holiday traditions and get the recipe for Slice & Bake Thumbprint Cookies to start a baking tradition all your own.
“When I was growing up, Sundays after church were for baking.”
Ingredients
1 CUP UNSALTED BUTTER, ROOM TEMPERATURE
3/4 CUP GRANULATED SUGAR
2 LARGE EGGS
1/2 TEASPOON KOSHER SALT
3 CUPS ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR
1/2 CUP TURBINADO SUGAR OR CHOPPED NUTS (OPTIONAL)*
1/2 CUP JAM OR SPREAD**
Method
01
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and granulated sugar on a medium-high speed until light and airy, about 3-4 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until combined between each addition, then add the salt and flour. Beat to incorporate the flour until combined, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl as needed. Be careful not to overmix.
02
Divide the dough into four equal parts, then turn onto a lightly floured surface. Roll each into a log approximately 12-imaches long and 1-inch thick. Sprinkle the sugar and/or chopped nuts in a 12-inch line across the surface, parallel to each log of dough. Gently roll each log through the sugar or nuts, lightly pressing so it adheres to the dough. Transfer each log to a parchment-lined cookie sheet, spacing them at 2 inches apart. Use the handle of a spoon or a dowel approximately 1/2-inch in diameter to create an indentation the length of each log of dough. Press until the indentation creates a trough halfway to the bottom.
03
Now, fill each tough with the jam or spread, using about 2 tablespoons per log of dough. Add the spread to a plastic sandwich bag, trimming a small hole on the tip to create a piping bag. Pipe the spread into each trough, using enough pressure to fill it edge-to-edge and to the brim.
04
Transfer the cookies to the oven and bake for 25-28 minutes, or until the dough is lightly golden at the edges and the jam or spread is starting to bubble. Remove from the oven and gently transfer each log to a cutting board. Immediately slice into pieces about 1-inch thick on a slight diagonal. Allow to cool, then enjoy!
*These additions are completely optional but add a playful layer of flavour and texture to the cookies-plus, its beautiful. We recommend turbinado sugar or chopped pine nuts, hazelnuts, or whole sesame seeds
**The flavour of jam is completely up to you. Our favourites include fig preserves, apricot jam or Nutella.
You May Also Like
