Christmas Baking

“On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me: six Geese a Laying, five Golden Rings, four Calling Birds, three French Hens, two Turtle Doves, and a Partridge in a Pear Tree.” – Frederic Austin

Many people associate delicious baked goods with Christmas. People start baking and preparing weeks in advance making sure that they get all of the Christmas favourites baked and ready for the big day. I'm not quite at that point where I do lots of Christmas baking yet. I make a special dessert for Christmas dinner (it varies each year) and I make chocolate chip cookies each Christmas Eve that we would always lay out for Santa. Nicole’s family on the other hand has a big Christmas party each year and they bake lots of yummy sweets in advance. She’s going to share a few of those very delicious and popular sweet treats this week.

Hope you enjoy,

Samantha


Hi! Nicole here...just sharing some of my favourite Christmas recipes.

*This first cookie is a Christmas classic…Shortbread! This is my Nana’s recipe and my dad makes it every Christmas. Sometimes he just makes them plain, but often he will lightly sprinkle them with sugar sprinkles before baking, or after they have cooled he will dip them in chocolate.

Shortbread Cookies

Ingredients:     - 1 lb. butter

                        - 1 cup berry sugar

                        - Scant 4 cups flour

Directions:       1. Cream butter thoroughly. Cream in berry sugar. Add flour a little at a time.

2. Turn out on floured board and knead lightly. Make long rolls. Refrigerate overnight.

3. Slice into cookies or roll and use cookie cutters.

4. Bake at 300°F in a convection oven for 22 minutes (adjust time accordingly for a conventional oven).

*This next recipe would be wonderful any time of year, but it came from a Christmas edition of Martha Stewart Living, and has become one of my family’s favourite Christmas cookies. It’s deliciously sweet, yet the coarse salt means it’s salty too…which may not sound good, but trust me…it’s amazing!

Chocolate Thumbprints

Ingredients:     - 2 cups all-purpose flour

                        - 1 cup plus 1 Tbsp. unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa power

                        - 2 tsp. coarse salt

                        - 8 ounces unsalted butter, softened

                        - 1⅓ cups sugar, plus more for rolling

                        - 2 large egg yolks

                        - 2 Tbsp. heavy cream

                        - 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

                        Chocolate and Vanilla-Bean Ganache

Directions:       1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Sift flour, cocoa powder, and salt into a small bowl. Cream butter and sugar with a mixer until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to medium, and add yolks, cream and vanilla. Scrape sides of bowl. Beat in flour mixture until just combined.

2. Roll balls using 2 teaspoons of dough for each, and roll each in sugar. Place 1 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. With the handle of a widen spoon, press gently in the centre of each to create an indentation Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are just set, about 10 minutes (9 min in convection oven). If indentations loose definition, press centres again. Let cool slightly on baking sheets. Transfer cookies to wire racks and let cool.

3. Spoon warm ganache into centre of each cookie. Let stand until firm, about 15 minutes.

Chocolate Vanilla-Bean Ganache

Ingredients:     - ⅓ cup honey

                        - ⅓ cup heavy cream

                        - ½ vanilla bean, split an scraped, pod reserved

                        - 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate (preferably 61% cacao), finely chopped

                        - 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into pieces and softened

Directions:       1. Combine honey, cream, and vanilla seeds and pod in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, and cook, stirring until honey dissolves. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand for 20 minutes.

                        2. Place chocolate in a food processor. Return cream mixture to a simmer, then strain through a fine sieve. Discard solids. Pour cream mixture over chocolate, and let stand for 1 minute. Process until smooth. Add butter, and contimue to process, scraping down sides occasionally, until butter is incorporated. Let cool slightly, and then use immediately. (Makes just enough for the Chocolate Thumbprints).

*This last recipe is a quick and easy Christmas treat, and makes a great, edible, gift as well!

White Chocolate Candy Cane Fudge

Ingredients:     - ¼ cup butter

                        - 4 cups marshmallows

                        - 1 cup cream

                        - 2 cups sugar

                        - pinch of salt

                        - 3 cups white chocolate chips

                        - crushed candy cane

Directions:       1. Melt butter, marshmallows, cream, sugar and salt in a saucepan. Simmer, stirring, for 5 minutes.

                        2. Remove from heat and stir in the chocolate chips until smooth.

                        3. Spread in a foil-lined 9x13 inch pan and top with crushed candy canes. Let cool; cut into squares

                        **For extra candy cane flavour, try adding ~Tbsp. of crushed candy cane to the mixture while simmering.

I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as I do!