Bread-making frenzy

Due to all those medical bills, I'll be doing a home-made Christmas for all this year.  So, this week-end was the beginning of the baking frenzy.  Started off with loaves of a savory cheese bread from Dorie Greenspan's Around My French Table.  Made one with cheddar cheese, chives and a teaspoon of dill; the second was feta and sun-dried tomato.  The cheddar was a bit moister than the feta but both had good flavor.  I think they'd be good toasted (maybe with a bit of goat cheese or dip)-- kind of a mix between a cracker and a bread.

Also made Orangette's Ginger & Chocolate Chip Banana Bread which is extraordinary.  I now keep candied ginger on hand just for this bread.  Also had two persimmons that were ripe so I searched the web for an easy recipe and found this one at Joy the Baker's site.  I used some of the ginger I stuck in the freezer.  The bread is more of a batter than a dough after you mix it but it rises up nicely and the taste is delicious.  Very, very gingery.  The bread holds together well and isn't too crumbly.

Finally, made the first batch of biscotti:  a dried cherry and chocolate recipe I found at Food Network (see here).  I didn't have any almond extract but I found a mini bottle of Godiva liqueur in the spice drawer so I used a teaspoon and a half of that instead.  Mom & I only ate two of the end pieces but it was extraordinary!  Am going to have to make several more batches (and pick up some more of the liqueur at Bev' Mo!).  Reviews all stated that the cookies were a little dry and hard, so I only baked them 8 minutes on each side for the second baking. They came out perfectly:  soft enough to bite into without cracking a tooth but still firm enough for dunking.

Now all that's left is to make the Spicy, Salty Nuts from Dorie's book (it's one of the Friday's with Dorie recipes for December) and some Moose Crunch (chocolate caramel popcorn).  I think my holiday gift plates are going to be a hit!