Christmas in July!
Jul. 26th, 2011 05:00 amIt's that time of year, folks! The time when families come together that can't get away during the school/work/winter months, and when I bring out a warm recipe just for "the holidays!"
Well, it sounds nice, right? I mean, it wasn't necessarily my plan, but it sure does SOUND like a great idea. I once visited some extended family in a gorgeous Adobe-style home, and I remember most that they were celebrating 'Christmas in July.' I'd never heard of such things at the tender age of 11, but they assured me it was the only time of year they could all get away to meet. Hey, any time I see a Christmas tree bedecked with presents, I'm willing to believe WHATEVER YOU SAY!
And so, I present you with a lovely piece of Christmas bread on this hot July day. I promise your tastebuds will thank you for the seasonal mistake. ;-)

(If nothing else, my pals in Australia appreciate this timely winter recipe, right?!)
After you drag your dripping self out of the pool, you sit back in a cabana chair. If you're like me, sitting still is a rarity, and instead of relaxing thoughts, you're hit with ideas at mind-whizzing speed. In one particular case, it was, "What should I make with the leftover pie filling?" ... followed by, "How should I use up the leftover sour cream?" Next up, "Hey, I wonder if I can use 'em both at the SAME TIME?"
Fast-forward to typing ingredients at AllRecipes.com, and finding this recipe among the yielded results. It sounded perfect, but I was ever-so-stumped. When/where was I to use the sour cream, egg, sugar, and almond extract? Was I supposed to combine it with the pie filling? Was I just too dumb to make this bread??
So I asked friends for advice. Almost unanimously, my friends suggested they would combine with the pie filling. I was all set to bake, yet something distracted me, and I'm forever thankful for it. In the time where I was away, my friend Miriam suggested that the recipe sounded like a German pastry she'd made several times before, and that I was to combine the sour cream, etc. and DRIZZLE it over the pie filling. She even researched further and found the same recipe (by the same baker!) on a different website here!
Hooray! The day was saved, and so was my Christmas Bread! I don't know why I didn't think to look further for the same recipe elsewhere, but I wasn't surprised in the least that it showed up at Taste of Home. Me & ToH are practically best friends, after all. We work together every night in the kitchen, and sometimes even more often! ;-)
( Recipe and more pictures. )
Well, it sounds nice, right? I mean, it wasn't necessarily my plan, but it sure does SOUND like a great idea. I once visited some extended family in a gorgeous Adobe-style home, and I remember most that they were celebrating 'Christmas in July.' I'd never heard of such things at the tender age of 11, but they assured me it was the only time of year they could all get away to meet. Hey, any time I see a Christmas tree bedecked with presents, I'm willing to believe WHATEVER YOU SAY!
And so, I present you with a lovely piece of Christmas bread on this hot July day. I promise your tastebuds will thank you for the seasonal mistake. ;-)

(If nothing else, my pals in Australia appreciate this timely winter recipe, right?!)
After you drag your dripping self out of the pool, you sit back in a cabana chair. If you're like me, sitting still is a rarity, and instead of relaxing thoughts, you're hit with ideas at mind-whizzing speed. In one particular case, it was, "What should I make with the leftover pie filling?" ... followed by, "How should I use up the leftover sour cream?" Next up, "Hey, I wonder if I can use 'em both at the SAME TIME?"
Fast-forward to typing ingredients at AllRecipes.com, and finding this recipe among the yielded results. It sounded perfect, but I was ever-so-stumped. When/where was I to use the sour cream, egg, sugar, and almond extract? Was I supposed to combine it with the pie filling? Was I just too dumb to make this bread??
So I asked friends for advice. Almost unanimously, my friends suggested they would combine with the pie filling. I was all set to bake, yet something distracted me, and I'm forever thankful for it. In the time where I was away, my friend Miriam suggested that the recipe sounded like a German pastry she'd made several times before, and that I was to combine the sour cream, etc. and DRIZZLE it over the pie filling. She even researched further and found the same recipe (by the same baker!) on a different website here!
Hooray! The day was saved, and so was my Christmas Bread! I don't know why I didn't think to look further for the same recipe elsewhere, but I wasn't surprised in the least that it showed up at Taste of Home. Me & ToH are practically best friends, after all. We work together every night in the kitchen, and sometimes even more often! ;-)
( Recipe and more pictures. )