The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays by Ree Drummond

The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays Reviews

• 
  Carmen

  Ree Drummond, in case you are unfamiliar, is a blogess who talks about cooking and family life. She lives on a working ranch and has four kids. Four? Unless she's had more I don't know about.
  
  Anyway, she has a pretty good sense of humor and puts it in her recipes and her intros to this book, which covers recipes for every holiday. She illustrates EVERY SINGLE STEP of a recipe, it's wonderful. If you are a new cook or just a nervous one, this will help you a lot. I don't need it since I am neither new nor nervous in re: cooking/baking - but if you are, this is a godsend!
  
  CHOCOLATE CANDY CANE COOKIES
  Makes 32 Cookies - I don't know WHERE cookbooks get their numbers on yield. I NEVER end up with however many cookies a book claims a recipe makes. o.O I definitely got less than 32 out of this.
  
  1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened.
  1 cup powdered sugar
  1 egg
  2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder - I always have this in the house to make homemade hot chocolate with. Packaged hot chocolate mix is yucky.
  2 and 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour.
  1 teaspoon salt
  Red peppermint candies and green peppermint candies I used Brach's
  4 ounces of almond bark or white baking chocolate - I used white chocolate chips.
  
  1.) Add the butter and powdered sugar to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. I used my hands. Obviously.
  
  2.) Beat them together until the mixture is nice and smooth. - I used my hands.
  
  3.) Mix in the egg and vanilla. - I used my hands.
  
  4.) Add the cocoa powder, flour and salt. If you used salted butter, you can skip the extra salt if you want. Pro tip.
  
  5.) And mix just until the dough comes together. Press a piece of plastic wrap on the surface of the dough and refrigerate it for a couple of hours. I mixed it with my hands. She is cautioning us against over mixing. You just want the ingredients blended, but not to overwork the dough. Because you do not want to get too much air in your cookie dough. Over-mixing will make your cookies hard and tough. I also want to note that I wrapped it in wax paper, not plastic wrap.
  
  At this point, I put the dough in the fridge and went to bed. I completed the recipe the following morning, but Ree thinks you are going to make this in one day, so:
  
  6.) While the dough is chillin' away, unwrap the candies and place them in separate bags.
  
  7.) Grab a rolling pin and release your rage upon the mints. You want to crush them! You want to obliterate them! Just think of all the ways they've wronged you! - See what I mean about her cute sense of humor? LOL
  
  8.) Throw the crushed mints into separate bowls one for red, one for green, and set 'em aside.
  
  9.) When the dough is finished chilling, preheat the oven to 375F. Roll the dough into balls.
  
  10.) Throw the balls onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper or baking mats. - I have NEVER used parchment paper or baking mats. Instead, I greased that sucker with butter.
  
  11.) And flatten them slightly with the bottom of a coffee mug or glass. Bake the cookies for 7 to 9 minutes, or until just set. Remove 'em from the oven and let 'em cool completely. - I found seven and half minutes to be just about perfect, your mileage may vary depending on your oven and its age.
  
  12.) While the cookies cool, melt the almond bark in a double boiler or microwave-safe bowl. Stir until smooth. - I used a double boiler, obviously.
  
  13.) One at a time, dip the cookies halfway into the melted almond bark / white chocolate. Also, personal note, be careful. The cookies sometimes break off in the chocolate. Be gentle and go slow!
  
  14.) And sprinkle the top side generously with crushed mints, holding the cookies over the bowls to catch the excess. You can mix red and green on the same cookie, or you can do some cookies with just red and some with just green. No one can make that decision but you. I dipped the whole white-chocolate-half of the cookie in crushed mints. Not just the top side. Also, these turn out VERY PRETTY and picturesque. I mean, the cookies in general, anyway you make them. They look very festive and pretty. This recipe yields a highly attractive cookie. If appearances matter to you, this is a plus. (Tons of cookies are ugly but extremely yummy.)
  
  15.) Lay the cookies, sprinkle side up, on a parchment paper or a baking mat and allow them to set completely. I laid them on wax paper.
  
  16.) Serve them with a few whole mints on the side. You'll absolutely love these.
  
  NOTE: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days before delivering, or in the freezer in storage bags for up to 3 months.
  
  VARIATIONS:
  - Dip in Christmas-colored sprinkles instead of peppermints.
  - Use different colors of candy melts (red, green, etc) instead of white chocolate.
  - Roll out the cookies and cut candy cane shaped cookies. Dip half the cookies and coat them in candy.
  
  
  VERDICT: These are great because
  a.) They taste good.
  b.) They look AMAZING and will impress your family and friends.
  c.) The base cookies - the chocolate ones - are actually not that sweet and if you have someone in the family/friends who is dieting and/or watching their sugar intake, you can EASILY set aside some of the base cookies for them to enjoy plain. I did this, and it was appreciated by those who don't want tons of sugar for whatever reason. Then you have the chocolatified and candy-coated ones for everyone else. :)
  
  Even though this sounds like a lot of work, I found these easy and fun to make. It wasn't annoying, tiring, or frustrating. Good job! At least 30 different people at these cookies, and - even though people lie to save your feelings - the rate at which cookies disappear is a good indication of if they are good or not. These flew out of the tins. Success!
• 
  Carol

  4 stars. 🍩🍦🍪🍨
  I LOVE reading Cookbooks. 🧡
  Stories involving food preparation and recipes are beyond delightful reading as far as I am concerned, not quite on a par with eating said delicious food but an exquisitely joyful experience nonetheless.
  
  Ree Drummond is a woman that I have always enjoyed and admired as it is self-evident to me that cooking for family and friends is not only her passion but is also a great source of pleasure and enjoyment for this blogger and cookbook author..... I really do love that.
  
  "A Year of Holidays" starts with New Year's Day recipes and concludes on New Year's Eve .
  It also includes the following.....
  THE BIG GAME
  VALENTINE'S DAY
  EASTER
  CINCO DE MAYO
  MOTHER'S DAY
  FATHER'S DAY
  FOURTH OF JULY
  HALLOWEEN
  THANKSGIVING
  CHRISTMAS
  
  As somebody that enjoys Holiday cooking or baking myself, this was definitely an interesting read.
  Holidays do tend to be very traditional events however and for most people that often means the same dishes served every year with very little variation but I am always intrigued to see what is the staple dishes in other people's households.
  So while I am always going to make set dishes like Gingerbread cake at Christmas for example I am always happy to add new items to my repertoire and Ree certainly does have some fun recipes here that I would absolute like to try. There are also some that are not really to my personal taste, for example the Valentine's Day selections.....while her Red Velvet Pancakes sound divine ....none of the candy recipes really hold any appeal.
  
  Overall not only is this a gorgeous read aided by her photographic step by step instructions and amusing anecdotes but it is a book that I would definitely use. Her Cinco De Maya recipes especially made my mouth water. Yummy!!!!
  (There really is no bad time for good Mexican fare in my opinion. )
• 
  Kara Thomas

  I love reading cookbooks. I know this isn't a novel or anything, but the way she writes the introduction to each section and then each of the recipes, and then the captions to all her photos, etc. Well, they make it really fun. Plus she lives on a ranch in the middle of nowhere, so I know her food isn't going to require a lot of fancy ingredients that I can't find or that are too expensive. She makes me want to create an abundance of food that my family will devour and she makes me laugh due to the fact that I feel like we are the same kind of geek. Good stuff!
• 
  False

  I loathe this woman. She presents herself...I should say markets herself as just a down home mother home schooling her children, serving old-fashioned down home meals. In truth her husband's family is one of the richest and largest land holding in Oklahoma, she has a full staff, her children never seem to be schooled (they are always out in the field with their father,) and on more than one occasion she's been accused, accurately, of stealing-plagiarizing from church cookbooks....some anti-Ree's have show where the recipes have come from. Go to The Marlboro Woman.com to read the truth. In the meantime, her empire grows. I didn't buy this. I secured it from a library. The food is still a sludge of unhealthy eating: full of fat and starch and sugar. I can't believe her family eats any of this. They would all be obese.
• 
  Naomi

  Definitely not my favorite by this author. I think there will be a very small handful that I actually pull out of the book. Not sure why, as they looked interesting, but not enough to tickle my fancy enough to make them or that I think would fly by my brood.
  
  I will admit that I absolutely love the layout for RD books. Even the most novice chef could do RD recipes due to her step by step layout.
• 
  Gina

  Beautiful cookbook with full color photography. Each recipe and step in the recipe is meticulously explained and photographed making this a great cookbook for new cooks. I would absolutely gift this just as I received this as a gift. I didn't make a bad recipe. I found many of them repetitive - more filler than needed - and good but not outstanding. i.e. The steak and gravy recipe and a few of the desserts. I think the best recipe out of this collection is the Chipotle Chicken Chili. It is the best chicken chili recipe I've ever tried. I also thought the Blackberry Sangria and the pasta salad recipe were notable.
  Why not more stars? A significant number of the photographs, stories, and recipes are recycled from prior published cookbooks. If you already own any of her other cookbooks, there just isn't much new here except for the order and focus on the holidays. Most of the recipes are available for free online. I liked this cookbook and it contains several recipes I'll make again, but also many I won't. 3 stars overall.
• 
  Lisa

  I like to read cookbooks and I usually like the Pioneer Woman (her stories, recipes, photos) but for some reason this one irritated me. There weren't a lot of new ideas, most seemed recycled from earlier books, and the sequencing of the recipe pictures just annoyed me (instead of reading left-to-right her blurbs read top-to-bottom and then across - which kept confusing me)! Glad I borrowed from the library first (two months on wait-list!) and didn't buy it for the holidays as originally planned :)
• 
  Lisa

  I usually enjoy her books and always like the pictures but this time I just didn't care for the recipes.
• 
  Joy

  This is a beautifully photographed book with step-by-step instructions. However, I didn't find that many recipes I would like to try.
• 
  Lori Elliott (semi-hiatus)

  Great simple recipes with pictures of each step!!! Would be great gift for a new cook!!!
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  Sara

  I love reading cookbooks! I'm definitely going to try a lot of these recipes.
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  Colleen

  Amazing - her book got me drooling and wishing I could cook like her. So off to Amazon I went to get her books and imitate her skill to make the holidays, and lots of days, hopefully better eating.
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  Alisha

  
  
  
  
  
  
  Ree Drummond has a lot of great ideas and I love all of the pictures.
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  Denise

  I was not sure if I would want to purchase this book. The first cookbook? Loved it! The second one? Not as much. This one? I didn't purchase it, I checked it out from the library. And now nothing I make for dinner or treats for my family looks remotely good.
  
  This cookbook is five stars. Six. A classic that will begin new family traditions.
  
  Ree makes the book extra personal with photos from her own past Christmas cards...and all the other photos she always uses.
  
  And as one who thrives on photos of how to cook, I think you again for all the help you offered in this book to help me make extra special food for my growing family.
• 
  Beth E

  The recipes in this book look amazing and inspire ambition in my heart.
  The only exception is the egg salad, which is weird to me. Clearly I hold grudges against anyone who does not utilize my mother's egg salad recipe, which is the One True Recipe. I did not know this about myself. Don't mess with the egg salad, people!
  The cookbook pictures are all lovely.
  What really makes me love this cookbook, though, is the number of times it made me laugh out loud.
  Check it out!
  
• 
  Kathryn

  I just think
  Ree Drummond is such a likeable person. I thoroughly enjoy her Food Channel show. Sometimes her recipes are a bit too spicey for us, but that is easily rectified. This is another great book of hers.
• 
  Julie

  I love reading cookbooks (and knitting books too) and Ree's books are so enjoyable to read. She makes me sense the pleasure she takes in preparing food for friends and family, and what is more enjoyable at the holidays!
• 
  Anke

  Another great addition to Ms. Drummond's cookbooks!
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  Jaclyn

  Amazing cookbook! Love Ree!
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  Kim

  Meh, this cookbook was nothing to write home about. I know the majority are on her website, so skip buying the book and check out her blog!
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  Nice book
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  Heather

  It took me a while to figure out a rating because I love every Pioneer Woman recipe I've ever tried. Her chocolate pie is heaven. Her French toast casserole is heaven with syrup on top. But her cookbooks make me nuts, which is why I checked this one out rather than buying it.
  
  I find that a little of her schtick goes a long way, and it's the same schtick in recipe after recipe. I get it: you're a fun, scatty person who gets so carried away by your love of food that you go on at hyperbolic, circuitous lengths to explain how this is the greatest recipe ever, just trust you. And every story involves hiding in a closet with cheese dip and getting bigger pants. (Have you ever noticed how it's more acceptable to describe weight gain in terms of wider hips? No one ever writes that they ended up with a double chin or fingers their wedding ring won't fit on any more or a belly that hangs over their belt. Wide hips: the classy way to get fat.) Which was a very Pioneer Woman-like digression. I'm afraid she's contagious.
  
  I think it's telling that she includes Lucille Ball on the list of things she likes. Lucille Ball also played a scatty red head given to hiding in closets, and of course in real life she was tough as nails and ran production studio like one of the more competent Roman emperors. You don't end up with a Walmart cookware empire of your own by hiding in closets with cheese dip.
  
  I find the layout of the cookbook very unappealing. Each page is so busy -- lots of little pictures (presumably based on the original blog?) of obvious steps in the cooking process. Yes, if I'm trying to learn to braid pastry, I'd like step-by-step photos. How to pour canned tomatoes in the pot? Not so much. And then so many photos of her ranch, her kids, her critters. Really, this is less of a cookbook and more of a lifestyle book. The baby cow with the bottle was super cute and I'm sure her niece is really nice, but I DON'T CARE. And you have to care way more than I do about Ree Drummond to enjoy this book, as a book, rather than as a place to get a great recipe for French toast.
• 
  Jessica

  I love the Pioneer Woman's food, so this cookbook doesn't disappoint. I've had this cookbook for a few years since it came out, but only just now got around to really reading through it. I like that it's divided up by holidays instead of the traditional appetizers, entrees, etc. I also really like that each recipe has LOTS of color pictures of each step of the recipe. That way you can make sure as you're going that it's looking like it's supposed to. There are definitely lots of these recipes I'd like to try. If you're a fan of the Pioneer Woman definitely check this one out.
• 
  Jean

  I have been a follower of Ree since the day she first appeared on the Food Network. Her entertaining writing from her blog/website would make the Internet rounds so I was already familiar with The Pioneer Woman. This delightful title is another in a line of books she has authored and is a joy to thumb through. I read cookbooks (especially by this author) like a novel and this one does not disappoint.
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  Pam

  I always know that if I follow a Ree Drummond recipe, it is GOING TO TASTE GOOD! That being said, of all her cookbooks this one is more a party planner than a recipe collection. Don't get me wrong, lots of recipes, but basic white American holiday fare: Burgers/Turkey/Pie. Granted, some on them have cute decorating twists, so more of a way to arrange parties.
  
  HOWEVER, I will be trying the coffee granita with the perfect cream scones, and the brussels with cranberries!
• 
  Diana

  Every year I make pumpkin pie from scratch, this year I did the PW pumpkin pie and they did not last at all. Ive tried a few of her recipes and everything has been amazing. There are pictures for you to follow along so you know what its supposed to look like. She makes it easy to read and to follow along.