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A Very Prairie Christmas Bakebook: Cookies, Candies, Cakes & More: Vintage Baking to Celebrate the Festive Season Kindle Edition
INCLUDES THE NATIONAL POST’S TOP MOST POPULAR RECIPES OF 2023!
The quintessential classic Christmas baking book, with over 120 recipes to celebrate the festive baker in all of us!
A Very Prairie Christmas Bakebook is the only cookbook you will need this season, whether you're from the Prairies or just love Christmas baking. Take it from Karlynn Johnston, the bestselling author of Flapper Pie and a Blue Prairie Sky and The Prairie Table and someone who owns SIX Christmas trees—these goodies are sure to keep your Christmas spirit going all season long.
Inside, you'll find over 120 of the best of the best recipes for filling your family’s homes and bellies with festive cheer, including:
- Traditional family recipes: Inspire memory-making for you and yours with sweets like Traditional Whipped Shortbread, Divinity Candy, and Auntie Darlene’s Dark Whisky Fruitcake.
- Home-grown Prairie desserts: Treats like Millionaire’s Shortbread and Marshmallow Yule Logs warm the soul when the Prairies turn into a winter wonderland.
- The ultimate cookie exchange guide: Pick up tips for hosting and baking the best cookies to swap, like Cherry Snowballs and Gumdrop Cookies.
- Cocktails and punches: Get the Christmas party started with drinks like the Retro Sherbert Party Punch and the Perfect Christmas Crantini.
- Ukrainian Christmas dishes: learn Karlynn’s family's traditional recipes, like Pampushky and Kutia.
Indulge in the chilly season’s slower pace with a glorious, once-a-year baking fest where you pull out all the stops. Whether you’re a fan of Karlynn’s previous books or you’re discovering her vintage charm for the first time, these sweetly dressed pages make it clear that this is the book she was born to write. A Very Prairie Christmas Bakebook is a feast for all senses, for reminiscing in your favorite festive memories and making cherished new ones.
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherAppetite by Random House
- Publication dateOctober 31, 2023
- File size151159 KB
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![The quintessential vintage holiday baking book](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/S/aplus-media-library-service-media/0448ddc4-ea56-43f3-901c-3a6dc49ad8a2.__CR0,0,4042,1250_PT0_SX970_V1___.jpg)
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![Over 120 festive and classic recipes](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/S/aplus-media-library-service-media/8342b39d-89c4-439f-a1d8-0e01dbf8bfd0.__CR0,0,4042,1250_PT0_SX970_V1___.jpg)
Editorial Reviews
Review
"Latest cookbook by Karlynn Johnston is a Christmas gift that keeps on giving. For someone who loves to bake and loves the holidays, this cookbook is definitely for them."—SASKATOON STAR PHOENIX
PRAIRIE FOR KARLYNN JOHNSTON'S PREVIOUS BOOKS
Praise for Flapper Pie and a Blue Prairie Sky
“Flapper Pie and a Blue Prairie Sky is beautiful in a completely organic way, a tribute to the years [Johnston] spent honing the craft of baking and photography, and to her quirky eye for gleaming kitsch. It’s a collection as honest and sincere as the author.”—NATIONAL POST
Praise for The Prairie Table
“Karlynn Johnston is truly a master class in working both sides of modern food culture.”—EDMONTON JOURNAL
About the Author
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
This, my friends, is the cookbook I have been dreaming about writing for years.
I am unabashedly THAT person when it comes to Christmas. I start humming Christmas tunes in October while my Halloween decorations are up. I put up three Christmas trees every year: a 1960s silver aluminum tree, a 1960s green aluminum tree, and one faux fir tree (which my kids insist on), all of which are put up, without fail, the day after Remembrance Day. (Let me confess, I own still another three vintage trees that don’t always get decorated simply because I run out of room.) And as soon as I pack away the Christmas turkey leftovers, I am already dreaming about how I will decorate the house next year and what we will cook up.
I’ve always wondered if my love of the holiday season stems from our notoriously, bone-chillingly cold winters on the Canadian Prairies, with copious amounts of snowfall that astonish people who don’t live here and seemingly never end for those of us who do. If we are lucky, the snow holds off until the kids have enjoyed Halloween, but when I was a kid, trick-or-treating involved costumes pulled over my snowsuit! Christmas becomes a wonderful bright spot in our long winter and, if you’re like me, can be stretched out for a solid two months of decorations, lights, and entertainment. Ukrainian Christmas celebrations don’t begin until January 6th, so we wait until after that to take everything down.
During our cold Prairie winters, our pace of life slows down, whether we want it to or not. Our attention shifts from the outdoors to the indoors. Outside activities lessen, as even the most diehard skaters, skiers, and snowshoers stay inside when the mercury dips below –30°C. Occasionally, we get snow days from work and school. Outings at the lake turn into board games around the table. Mowing the lawn turns into shoveling the sidewalks and hurrying back inside as soon as you can.
But it can be lovely. With that change of pace can come more time to bake and cook. And the food—oh, the food that we have only during the holiday season! The glorious, once-a-year baking fest where we pull out all the stops.
From the middle of November onward, I take great joy in planning, baking, and freezing goodies for Christmas. Even though it’s the busiest time of year for my website (my website traffic quadruples during the holidays, with everyone wanting recipes), I truly live for every moment of holiday baking as soon as those first few flakes of snow fall until Ukrainian Christmas on January 7th. (Then I am so done with all the baking and cooking, and survive simply on soup until spring.)
You will see some recipes here that also appeared in one of my first two books, Flapper Pie and a Blue Prairie Sky and The Prairie Table. There are some treats, like my quintessential Traditional Whipped Shortbread and my Thin & Chewy Snickerdoodles, that simply could NOT be left out of a baking book that is all about Christmas on the Prairies. So if you have my other books, first of all, thank you! Second, forgive the repeat recipes, but rest assured that it’s recipes like these, which reflect baking on the Prairies perfectly, that make this the perfect cookbook to gift to loved ones and pass down to your kids. Plus, there’s over 120 recipes in this book, giving you so many new ones to enjoy! (In fact, I have so many cookie recipes, they fill two chapters!)
Mr. Kitchen Magpie (aka my husband, Mike) once again gets the closing chapter, full of punches and libations. He took on the task of creating a safe eggnog that cooks the egg yolk and can be enjoyed by everyone— which can, of course, be made adults-only with a splash of rum. The Cranberry Bourbon Sour is a seasonal favorite of ours. And do you remember ice cream punches at holiday parties as a kid? I haven’t seen them in decades, so I think it’s time to bring them back! We’ve also included one of those: the Retro Sherbet Party Punch. Just thinking of that tangy sherbet floating on top of a sweet punch makes my mouth water!
I have given my all to this book to make sure that I’ve captured the best of the best when it comes to our holiday baking classics here on the Canadian Prairies. Even though this book is bursting with oodles of cakes, cookies, dainties, puddings, and dessert salads, I have an ever-present nagging urge to add just one more recipe to make it perfect. I could have included a solid 250 recipes if I had really run wild! (That’s right, this is me reined in.) I’ve curated what I feel are the best of the best, what my family and I love to fill our home (and bellies) with.
I hope this book becomes the first one you pull out every year when starting your Christmas baking. I hope you find some new favorites and rediscover some forgotten treats you haven’t made in years. And most of all, I hope you all have a very merry Christmas and happy holidays!
Love, Karlynn
Product details
- ASIN : B0BTL3NPYX
- Publisher : Appetite by Random House (October 31, 2023)
- Publication date : October 31, 2023
- Language : English
- File size : 151159 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 288 pages
- Page numbers source ISBN : 0525611487
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,460,368 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #73 in Canadian Cooking
- #711 in Holiday Cooking (Kindle Store)
- #1,190 in Christmas Cooking
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
![Karlynn Johnston](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71z5wS9o5GL._SY600_.jpg)
Full-time professional blogger, baker and recipe maker, Karlynn Johnston can usually be found fluffing her culinary feathers on her award-winning website, The Kitchen Magpie. When she's not there, she's busy avoiding her deadlines by sneaking away to eat at her favourite Edmonton restaurants, finding a new bourbon cocktail to drink or playing on social media. Flapper Pie and a Blue Prairie Sky is her first cookbook.
You can follow Karlynn's adventures on her website www.thekitchenmagpie.com .
Customer reviews
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- Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2025One of the best cookbooks. I am not a great baker, but all of these recipes turn out! Easy to make, great taste! I have all her cookbooks and can’t wait for the next
- Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2024Will be the perfect stocking stuffer for my recipient who loves to bake
- Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2023"A Very Prairie Christmas Bakebook" by Karlynn Johnston is full of nostalgic charm on each page, including Atomic Age Christmas decorations (aluminum trees!), ornaments and period bakeware and serveware. The over 120 recipes are firmly rooted in 1950s holiday nostalgia, and you'll find a lot of recipes that use gumdrops, candied fruit, and marshmallows. You'll find multiple variations of shortbread, spritz cookies, sugar cookies and gingerbread. as well as candy (brittles, pralines, caramels, honeycomb candy), bar cookies, slices, fruitcakes and icebox cakes, molded Jello salads, fluffs, and steamed puddings.
As a fan of MCM (Mid-Century Modern) and vintage cookbooks, I'd really been looking forward to this release. I love baking from vintage Betty Crocker cookie books as I grew up on chocolate-filled snowballs and candy cane cookies, so there are loads of new ideas here for this year. I've bookmarked the maple shortbread meltaways, brown butter chocolate chip cookies, gingerbread spritz, peppermint candy chocolate cookies, and chocolate-covered cherries already and plan on making several of these for our upcoming Christmas cookie exchange at work. As someone of Polish heritage, I also appreciated the inclusion of Ukrainian Christmas recipes like kutia and khrustyky (we have them too!) and would have loved to see a few more Ukrainian recipes in the mix!
Overall, this is a delightful baking book for fans of 1950s nostalgia that perfectly captures the holiday spirit of decades past for modern kitchens. Happy holidays and happy baking!
- Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2024I love all things Christmas but THIS is hands down one of my favorite Christmas Baking Cookbooks I have ever owned (and I have a ton of them)!! Not only does it evoke a nostalgic feeling from the beautiful photo styling, the recipes bring back classic Christmas memories and help create new ones with recipes I have never seen before! Don’t hesitate to purchase this! You won’t regret it!!
- Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2024The recipes and images bring up nostalgia for the past. Practical and beautiful. A lot of fun recipes for the whole family.
- Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2024A great down home Christmas recipe book. I shared with friends, and ordered 2 more for Christmas presents.
- Reviewed in the United States on July 30, 2024What’s not to like about Christmas treats?
- Reviewed in the United States on February 2, 2024If you’re into vintage baking, is this ever the book for you. Everything I’ve made has been delicious and worth making a gain. Book is beautifully laid out and will be in my go to pile for years to come.
Top reviews from other countries
- KrisReviewed in Canada on April 29, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars Best Christmas baking recipes, offering lots of nostalgic treats
For something that happens only once a year, I spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about cookie boxes. The holidays are a time for wheeling out the recipes that don’t get made at any other time during the year and, I know when I hand over a box of cookies in December, the recipient better feel that Christmas spirit and an oatmeal cookie ain’t going to cut it. Luckily this year, Appetite by Random House sent me a copy of Karlynn Johnston’s (aka The Kitchen Magpie – find my review of The Prairie Table here) A Very Prairie Christmas Bakebook, so I made the bold move to choose all the recipes I would make from this book.
Maybe you’re wondering why I’m so taken with Johnston’s book? While flipping through the pages, I was hit with a deep sense of nostalgia – these are the recipes of my childhood. When we would pile into the family car, we would make the rounds and visit our friends and relatives during the holiday season. And, at these visits we would be offered the most plentiful trays of gorgeous cookies, candies, dainties, and treats. These are the feelings and memories I want to invoke with my holiday boxes, and I adore Johnston’s attitude too! For her, living in that beautiful prairie city of Edmonton, the winter brings a time when people slow down and keep cozy indoors. It’s also a time to enjoy “the food that we only have during the holiday season! The glorious, once-a-year baking fest where we pull out all the stops.” (1)
In case you’re wondering, A Very Prairie Christmas Bakebook is more than just cookies! The 120 recipes are organized into 8 chapters: 1) Shortbread and Sugar Cookies, 2) Gingerbread & Festively Filled Cookies, 3) Candies, 4) Confections, 5) Dainties, Bars & Slices, 6) Cakes, Dessert Salads & Puddings, 7) Icings, Frostings, Sauces & Garnishes, and 8) Cocktails & Punches. Over these chapters, Johnston offers everything to make your holidays warm and festive (there’s even an extra section on Ukrainian Christmas Favourites – recipes that speak to Johnston’s Ukrainian heritage). For those of you who are new to The Kitchen Magpie universe, Johnston is a prolific collector of vintage and retro, which is also beautifully showcased throughout the book.
What I appreciate about these recipes is that they accomplish a lot without home bakers selling their souls to the Bulk Barn. Ingredients are used sparingly but to good advantage. And, out of the nine recipes I made, I didn’t have to source anything from the internet. No expensive “specialty” ingredients either. The other thing that I noticed about the recipes I chose is that the processes for making the treats was simple and succinct – the recipes I used weren’t stretched over multiple pages. With modern recipes, it seems like the authors expect people to bake cookies that will be eaten almost immediately, whereas Johnston tells home bakers that many of the goods can be frozen (up to 3 months in some cases). This is helpful if you can’t bake everything in one go. In my case, I took one Sunday and made 9 recipes! With previous boxes, it took me as long as 3 days to complete all the baking (doughs often needed to be chilled over night, etc). So, I am sitting here, middle of December with all my baking done and my holiday boxes delivered.
I can tell you right now that it was difficult to choose what to make because everything looked so wonderful! I made sure to go with some obvious classics: the Traditional Whipped Shortbread and the Gingerbread Press Cookies. I love that the shortbread cookies are topped with glace cherries – this is something I remember from childhood. The have such a beautiful light texture – I’m thinking that Santa would appreciate having these on his cookie plate this year. Then there’s the gingerbread – I’m not sure I could enjoy this time of year without making them! While the recipe for the press cookies requires the use of a spritz cookie extruder, Johnston also gives directions in case you don’t have one. I’ve already heard back from a friend that these are “THE BEST” gingerbread cookies they’ve had.
There’s something about using everyday ingredients such as saltine crackers or cornflakes and turning it into a holiday star. Just ask my neighbour – The Saltine Toffee Bark is to die for (and I’m fairly certain she didn’t share with her kids – no shade because I would keep it to myself too). Saltine crackers are layered with buttery toffee and chocolate – I garnished mine with roasted nuts, festive sprinkles, and flakey sea salt. And, if you’re looking for a great gluten free recipe to add to your repertoire, then give the Chocolate Meringue Corn Cereal Cookies a try. A whipped, vanilla-infused meringue batter is mixed with cornflakes, chocolate chips, and flaked coconut, then topped with a halved glace cherry. Once baked, this crispy cookie is a fantastic addition to any cookie platter.
My daughter preferred the candy-based cookies – the Peppermint Candy Chocolate Cookies, Gumdrop Cookies, and the Chocolate-Kissed Snowball Cookies. I like the gumdrop cookies because they remind me of my best friend Kate who originally introduced these cookies to me (for those unfamiliar with gumdrops, they’re smaller-sized bits of jujubes). My daughter marvelled at the chocolate cookies topped with the peppermint kisses because she wondered how they didn’t melt in the oven (the secret is to add the kisses once the cookies are immediately out of the oven). Even plain chocolate kisses get some love when they are stuffed inside buttery cookie dough that contains finely chopped toasted hazelnuts.
No cookie box or holiday treat platter could be complete without some fudge or some type of marshmallow-laced slice. I went with Peanut Butter Fudge and the Marshmallow Yule Log. Both recipes are no bake/made on the stovetop and are quick to make. I tend to shy away from fudge recipes because, like Johnston, I’ve had a few seize up on me. But with Johnston’s “foolproof” method (this recipe uses a jar of marshmallow fluff), the Peanut Butter Fudge turned out with the perfect texture. And, all it took for me to try the yule log recipe was that, unlike most versions, Johnston’s version omitted the use of raw egg yolk! As you can see from the photo, once sliced, the rainbow marshmallows give such a festive holiday effect.
I am so pleased to add A Very Prairie Christmas Bakebook to my shelf because it’s one that I’m already looking forward to using again next year (and all the years after that). Johnston’s book so perfectly hits on that vintage holiday vibe while bringing all the nostalgia from the Christmases I enjoyed as a kid. Festive and celebratory, this is exactly the book I needed this holiday season.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Appetite by Random House for providing me with a free, review copy of this book. I did not receive monetary compensation for my review. I loved this book so much I purchased a copy to gift.
KrisBest Christmas baking recipes, offering lots of nostalgic treats
Reviewed in Canada on April 29, 2024
Maybe you’re wondering why I’m so taken with Johnston’s book? While flipping through the pages, I was hit with a deep sense of nostalgia – these are the recipes of my childhood. When we would pile into the family car, we would make the rounds and visit our friends and relatives during the holiday season. And, at these visits we would be offered the most plentiful trays of gorgeous cookies, candies, dainties, and treats. These are the feelings and memories I want to invoke with my holiday boxes, and I adore Johnston’s attitude too! For her, living in that beautiful prairie city of Edmonton, the winter brings a time when people slow down and keep cozy indoors. It’s also a time to enjoy “the food that we only have during the holiday season! The glorious, once-a-year baking fest where we pull out all the stops.” (1)
In case you’re wondering, A Very Prairie Christmas Bakebook is more than just cookies! The 120 recipes are organized into 8 chapters: 1) Shortbread and Sugar Cookies, 2) Gingerbread & Festively Filled Cookies, 3) Candies, 4) Confections, 5) Dainties, Bars & Slices, 6) Cakes, Dessert Salads & Puddings, 7) Icings, Frostings, Sauces & Garnishes, and 8) Cocktails & Punches. Over these chapters, Johnston offers everything to make your holidays warm and festive (there’s even an extra section on Ukrainian Christmas Favourites – recipes that speak to Johnston’s Ukrainian heritage). For those of you who are new to The Kitchen Magpie universe, Johnston is a prolific collector of vintage and retro, which is also beautifully showcased throughout the book.
What I appreciate about these recipes is that they accomplish a lot without home bakers selling their souls to the Bulk Barn. Ingredients are used sparingly but to good advantage. And, out of the nine recipes I made, I didn’t have to source anything from the internet. No expensive “specialty” ingredients either. The other thing that I noticed about the recipes I chose is that the processes for making the treats was simple and succinct – the recipes I used weren’t stretched over multiple pages. With modern recipes, it seems like the authors expect people to bake cookies that will be eaten almost immediately, whereas Johnston tells home bakers that many of the goods can be frozen (up to 3 months in some cases). This is helpful if you can’t bake everything in one go. In my case, I took one Sunday and made 9 recipes! With previous boxes, it took me as long as 3 days to complete all the baking (doughs often needed to be chilled over night, etc). So, I am sitting here, middle of December with all my baking done and my holiday boxes delivered.
I can tell you right now that it was difficult to choose what to make because everything looked so wonderful! I made sure to go with some obvious classics: the Traditional Whipped Shortbread and the Gingerbread Press Cookies. I love that the shortbread cookies are topped with glace cherries – this is something I remember from childhood. The have such a beautiful light texture – I’m thinking that Santa would appreciate having these on his cookie plate this year. Then there’s the gingerbread – I’m not sure I could enjoy this time of year without making them! While the recipe for the press cookies requires the use of a spritz cookie extruder, Johnston also gives directions in case you don’t have one. I’ve already heard back from a friend that these are “THE BEST” gingerbread cookies they’ve had.
There’s something about using everyday ingredients such as saltine crackers or cornflakes and turning it into a holiday star. Just ask my neighbour – The Saltine Toffee Bark is to die for (and I’m fairly certain she didn’t share with her kids – no shade because I would keep it to myself too). Saltine crackers are layered with buttery toffee and chocolate – I garnished mine with roasted nuts, festive sprinkles, and flakey sea salt. And, if you’re looking for a great gluten free recipe to add to your repertoire, then give the Chocolate Meringue Corn Cereal Cookies a try. A whipped, vanilla-infused meringue batter is mixed with cornflakes, chocolate chips, and flaked coconut, then topped with a halved glace cherry. Once baked, this crispy cookie is a fantastic addition to any cookie platter.
My daughter preferred the candy-based cookies – the Peppermint Candy Chocolate Cookies, Gumdrop Cookies, and the Chocolate-Kissed Snowball Cookies. I like the gumdrop cookies because they remind me of my best friend Kate who originally introduced these cookies to me (for those unfamiliar with gumdrops, they’re smaller-sized bits of jujubes). My daughter marvelled at the chocolate cookies topped with the peppermint kisses because she wondered how they didn’t melt in the oven (the secret is to add the kisses once the cookies are immediately out of the oven). Even plain chocolate kisses get some love when they are stuffed inside buttery cookie dough that contains finely chopped toasted hazelnuts.
No cookie box or holiday treat platter could be complete without some fudge or some type of marshmallow-laced slice. I went with Peanut Butter Fudge and the Marshmallow Yule Log. Both recipes are no bake/made on the stovetop and are quick to make. I tend to shy away from fudge recipes because, like Johnston, I’ve had a few seize up on me. But with Johnston’s “foolproof” method (this recipe uses a jar of marshmallow fluff), the Peanut Butter Fudge turned out with the perfect texture. And, all it took for me to try the yule log recipe was that, unlike most versions, Johnston’s version omitted the use of raw egg yolk! As you can see from the photo, once sliced, the rainbow marshmallows give such a festive holiday effect.
I am so pleased to add A Very Prairie Christmas Bakebook to my shelf because it’s one that I’m already looking forward to using again next year (and all the years after that). Johnston’s book so perfectly hits on that vintage holiday vibe while bringing all the nostalgia from the Christmases I enjoyed as a kid. Festive and celebratory, this is exactly the book I needed this holiday season.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Appetite by Random House for providing me with a free, review copy of this book. I did not receive monetary compensation for my review. I loved this book so much I purchased a copy to gift.
Images in this review
- Amazon CustomerReviewed in Canada on December 8, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars Review
Delightful, colourful book full of charming holiday recipes. I’m glad I bought it, and I bought a second one as a gift for a newly wed.
- LynneReviewed in Canada on November 7, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars Great recipes!
Love the quality of the book. Has great pictures which I think is important in a cook book. Good and fun old fashioned recipes.
- CathyReviewed in Canada on November 23, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful old school recipes
The recipes make big batches and they are the classic favorites.. I will actually order the hard copy just so I have it always.. thank you
- DeidreReviewed in Canada on August 3, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Canadian recipes!
I recognize so many of the recipes from my childhood. Tried and true! This book will be well-used , not just for Christmas, but for any time of the year.