Usher in the holiday baking season with these simple, soft, and tender eggnog cookies! Laced with fragrant nutmeg and real eggnog, these are a great contender for this year’s cookie tin or holiday dessert. Continue reading “Eggnog Cookies” » LEGGI TUTTO
These festive tree-topped mousse cakes are wrapped in a red striped sponge and filled with pink peppermint mousse. Decorate them with your favorite holiday sprinkles.
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree
How lovely are thy … sprinkles?
I couldn’t resist. I had a lot of fun making these cakes, and they are created using one of my favorite pastry techniques. Stencil paste is a pastry medium made with egg whites that you can whip up at home. Just tint it a fun color and then use it to pipe or stencil designs onto a silpat or parchment paper.
For these cakes, I spread the stencil paste on a silicone baking mat and used a cake comb to create striped designs in the paste. Some of my lines were a little wavy, but the cakes turned out cute anyway!
The paste is chilled until it stiffens, and then sponge cake is spread evenly on top.
After a quick bake in the oven, the sheet of sponge cake is turned out to reveal the design. Then you can cut it or roll the cake according to your inspiration or design.
For this project I cut lengths of sponge to fit inside 3″ pastry rings, and then filled each of them with delicious pink peppermint mousse.
After the mousse is chilled, the cakes are topped with a layer of snowy white buttercream, and then topped with a sugar cone. With just a little baker’s magic (green food color and a piping tip) the sugar cone becomes an evergreen tree.
Gold and white sugar pearls made beautiful mini baubles for decorating, as did some super teeny tiny candy canes – I just love those!
You can find the recipe and more instructions for these little cuties over at Food Network.com – and I’ll link it below, too! Also, be sure to check out the video I shot of the creation of these cakes, right here.
Peppermint Stripe Mousse Cakes on FoodNetwork.com
link Peppermint Stripe Mousse Cakes By Heather Baird Published: Thursday, December 17, 2020Thursday, December 17, 2020Peppermint Stripe Mousse Cakes Recipe LEGGI TUTTO
Forgot about holiday gifts because your brain was elsewhere? Great news—one of the handy things about the pandemic shifting everything online is how it favors procrastinators. Last-minute gift buyers, the world is now your oyster!
When even Amazon two-day delivery is not going to fit in the picture, here’s an assortment of instantly-deliverable gifts online for the cooks, foodies, and eaters in your life. It’s like you’re Santa, stuffing goodies in their holiday inbox.
And hey, we’d be remiss to mention our Simply Recipes Meal Plans! Think of them as digital stocking stuffers. From Global Cuisines to Dinner in a Flash, we’ve got you covered!
Still don’t see what you’re looking for? You can’t go wrong with a gift card to a favorite local restaurant. Independent restaurants are suffering now, so a gift card is not only thoughtful to the recipient, but to the business.
And here’s one gift you can give that’s free. Ask your favorite cook what they’ve been making lately. There are few things cooks love more than getting a chance to tell you about their passion. LEGGI TUTTO
1 Preheat oven and prepare pan: Preheat an oven to 350°F. Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking pan lightly with cooking oil.
Line the pan with parchment paper, making sure about 1-inch of paper overhangs the long side of the pan. You will use the overhang to lift the bars out of the pan later.
2 Cream the butter, sugar, and spices: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, place the butter, brown sugar, vanilla extract, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, salt, and baking soda. With the mixer on medium-high, cream the ingredients together until the mixture forms a paste and clings to the side of the bowl, about 2 minutes.
3 Scrape, add molasses and egg, and mix: Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the side of the bowl and add the molasses and egg. Mix until incorporated, about 30 seconds on medium speed.
4 Scrape down the bowl: Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl again. Add the flour. Slowly mix, at low speed, until the dry ingredients are absorbed. You may need to scrape the sides of the bowl down halfway through to make sure all the ingredients are incorporated. The dough should be the consistency of thick and stiff frosting.
5 Transfer dough to the prepared pan: Scrape the dough into the prepared baking pan and spread the dough out evenly with a butter knife or small offset spatula.
6 Bake: Transfer the baking dish to the oven and bake for 16 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the pan comes out clean.
7 Cool the bars: Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool completely on a wire rack until it is at room temperature, about 2 hours. While the bars are cooling, take the cream cheese and butter out of the fridge to come to room temperature.
8 Make the frosting: Once the bars are cool, make the frosting by placing the cream cheese and butter in a clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Cream together on medium-high speed until the butter and cream cheeses are well blended and there are no more lumps, about 1 minute.
Scape down the sides of the bowl and add vanilla and salt and mix for 30 seconds to incorporate. Again, scrape down the sides and add the powdered sugar. Mix on low speed until the sugar is absorbed and the frosting is thick and smooth.
9 Frost the cookies: Frost the top of the cookie bars generously.
10 Chill and cut the bars: If you want clean lines for presentation purposes, place the frosted uncut bars, uncovered, in the fridge to chill for 1 hour. Once the bars have chilled, use the parchment sling to lift them from the pan and place them on the cutting board. Use a large sharp knife and press straight down, rather than dragging the knife through the bars. Wipe the knife blade after each cut.
If you want to skip the refrigerator chill step, you can cut the bars after they’ve cooled on the counter. The lines just might not be as sharp.
11 Serve: Arrange the bars on a platter, top with sprinkles if desired, and serve. Store leftovers covered in the fridge for up to 3 days. LEGGI TUTTO
This classic southern candy has a cream center infused with real Kentucky bourbon, and enrobed in smooth chocolate. It’s a perfect gift for the bourbon connoisseur on your list!
This is yet another retro southern candy that I’d never tried – until now! The centers hold a cream filling that is packed with bourbon flavor and they’re sandwiched between two pecan halves. Chocolate-dipped and drizzled, they are ready for the holidays and a place on your favorite silver candy tray.
I’ve always heard these referred to as Kentucky Colonels, but some people call them bourbon balls. In my neck of the woods (TN), a bourbon ball is a completely different confection of packed cookie crumbs mixed with chocolate, honey, and bourbon (see my 5 Minute Bourbon Ball recipe here). It just goes to show you how diverse southern food culture can be – it’s so wonderful to explore!
The ingredients list is short, so use the best of each you can find, however, any Kentucky bourbon will be wonderful in this recipe. I used a bottle of Four Roses single barrel left over from a wedding cake I made in October. But less costly brands such as Wild Turkey 101 will taste just fine, too.
After they’re set, these candies stay boozy for quite a while! They will mellow over time, so they can be made a few days in advance.
One batch of this candy can be divided to make several gifts. They are very rich and have a tongue-tingling bite! Four or six, boxed or packaged in a cellophane bag is the right amount to give considering their potency. Kentucky Colonel Candies[Click for Printable Version]
Yields 18-20 candies1/4 cup (57 grams) butter
4 cups (455 grams) confectioners’ sugar
1/3 cup (80 ml) Kentucky bourbon
36-40 pecan halves
2 cups (12 oz.) semisweet chocolate morsels
1 tablespoon vegetable shorteningMelt butter on the stovetop on medium heat, or in the microwave for about 20 seconds until just melted. In a medium sized mixing bowl, pour butter into the confectioners’ sugar, along with the bourbon and stir together until the mixture forms a dough. Portion mixture with a small cookie scoop (4 teaspoon capacity) and form into balls, then press a pecan half into the bottom and top of each ball (in other words, sandwich the ball between two pecans). Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Chill for 8 hours, or overnight.Melt chocolate and shortening together in a saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat, and carefully dip bottom half of each candy in chocolate one at a time. Place each candy on a baking sheet lined with parchment to cool.Place 2-3 tablespoons of melted chocolate in a small zip top bag. Snip a tiny hole in one corner of the bag. Drizzle melted chocolate over the tops of the candies. Let candies cool and set at least 30 minutes before serving or packaging. Store in an airtight container.
Note: Yield size can be increased by rolling smaller portions of the cream filling, just make sure to have enough pecans and chocolate on hand to accommodate the amount.
link Kentucky Colonel Candy By Heather Baird Published: Wednesday, December 16, 2020Wednesday, December 16, 2020Kentucky Colonels Candy Recipe LEGGI TUTTO
These elegant mini trifles have big holiday flavor! Layers of rum-soaked cake and spiked vanilla bean custard are layered in small glasses and topped with fluffy whipped cream.
No matter what size your guest list is this year, it always helps to have recipes that can be made ahead. There’s so much to do even with a small dinner gathering – mains and sides to arrange on the buffet, glasses to fill, naughty little pugs to shoo out of the kitchen – it always helps to have a trick or two up your sleeve (and in the refrigerator).
The components of this dessert can be made up to 3 days ahead and then assembled before serving. They are appropriately bold and rich for their small size. It’s like having the flavors of the holidays condensed into your own single serving.
The cake portion is studded with plumped dried fruit. Figs and apricots give it some heft, and even though it is rum-soaked I hesitate to call it ‘fruitcake’. It is not dense or tough, and it fluffs up when crumbled for the trifles.
Vanilla bean-rum custard is smooth and boozy, and just perfect with the cake. I think this dessert looks best serve in stemmed or footed glasses. It’s an elegant touch without being the least bit fussy.
Whipped cream can be dolloped or piped on – whatever fits your time constraints and tools. Here I’ve used a large open star pastry tube.
The cake portion of this recipe makes slightly more than you’ll need for the trifles. I used this as an opportunity to add an extra crumble on top of each dessert. A small sprig of rosemary will add a note of evergreen, but it’s completely optional and mostly just makes them look pretty. Serve these on a fancy tray and your guests are sure to feel special!
Spiced Rum Cake Mini Trifles[Click for Printable Version]
Yields about eight 4 oz. trifles
Adapted from Christmas with Southern Living 2011Spiced rum cake
1/2 cup (75 grams) chopped pitted dates
1/2 cup (75 grams) golden raisins
1/2 cup (75 grams) chopped figs
1/2 cup (75 grams) chopped dried apricots
1/2 cup (120 ml) orange juice
1/2 cup (113 grams) butter, softened
1/2 cup (90 grams) firmly packed light brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/4 cups (156 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (75 grams) chopped pecans
2 teaspoons orange zest
1/2 cup (120 ml) spiced rumVanilla bean-rum custard
1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 1/4 cups whole milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 egg yolks
3 tablespoons spiced rum
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon vanilla bean pasteToppings
1 1/4 cups heavy cream, whipped to stiff peaks
8 rosemary sprigs, optionalCombine the dates, raisins, figs, and apricots in a medium bowl; pour orange juice over the fruit and stir to evenly coat. Cover and let stand at least 30 minutes.Coat the inside of an 8-inch square pan with flour-based cooking spray and set aside. Preheat oven to 325°F.In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter at medium speed until creamy; gradually add sugar. Add eggs one at time, beating until well blended after each addition.In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Mixing on low speed, gradually add flour to the butter mixture, scraping down sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure ingredients are well blended. Stir in pecans and orange zest.Drain the fruit mixture and discard orange juice. Fold fruit into the batter and spread evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 40 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.Let cake cool slightly in the pan; do not turn out. Poke holes in the cake with a wooden skewer while it is still warm. Pour rum evenly over cake, allowing it to seep into holes. Cool completely in the pan on wire rack, about 1 hour.Vanilla bean-rum custard
Combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a large saucepan; whisk in milk. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, for about 7 minutes or until mixture comes to a boil. Boil for 1 minute while whisking.In a separate mixing bowl, break egg yolks with a whisk and beat until consistently smooth. Gradually stir about 1/4 of hot milk mixture into eggs; then add yolk mixture to remaining hot milk mixture, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes, or until well-thickened, whisking constantly.Remove from heat and stir in rum, butter and vanilla. Cover and chill 2 to 24 hours. Whisk custard smooth before assembling desserts.To assemble the trifles, coarsely crumble about 3/4 of the fruitcake in the pan (you will have leftover fruitcake). Layer a spoonful of custard in the bottom of 4 oz. glasses. crumbled fruitcake in the bottom of 4 oz. trifle glasses. Top with a layer of crumbled fruitcake. Repeat custard and fruitcake layering so that you have two layers of custard and two layers of cake in each glass. Place whipped cream in a piping bag fitted with a large star tip and pipe whipped on top of trifles; add a few cake crumbles on top just before serving, and rosemary sprigs if using.Make ahead: The cake, custard, and whipped cream can be made ahead and stored airtight in the refrigerator for up to three days. Stir custard well before layering in the glasses.link Spiced Rum Cake Mini Trifles By Heather Baird Published: Tuesday, December 15, 2020Tuesday, December 15, 2020Spiced Rum Cake Mini Trifles Recipe LEGGI TUTTO
Some of the best kitchen gifts come in small packages!
You may recognize some of these picks from our One Simply Terrific Thing column, a series devoted to our favorite small kitchen goods, tools, and ingredients. What better gifts can we recommend than those we’ve enthusiastically used ourselves? If we love it, we bet your loved one will, too.
Not all of these will literally fit into a stocking, but at $25 and under each one is worth stashing somewhere nearby! LEGGI TUTTO
Making classic, soft and chewy caramel candies to stuff into stockings, gift to loved ones near and far, or simply treat yourself is easier than you might imagine. You can make these sweet candy treats in about 30 minutes. Then all you need to do is let them cool and wrap!
Working with sugar is simply a matter of preparation, focus, and instinct. Each time I’ve attempted to rush my caramel-making, I’ve found myself frustrated by either a runny or burnt caramel, or a runny caramel and a burnt me. We want none of that here.
These caramels are my candy pride and joy. For me the “perfect” caramel is one that is not runny, yet one that isn’t too hard. A buttery flavor is a must and it can’t be grainy in the slightest. This recipe covers all of those bases, so you can see why I share it with pleasure.
Because I’ve already beat myself over the head with candy-making frustration, I expect this recipe to be a walk in the candyland park for you. I’m going to equip you with the correct techniques and cues to ensure your candy-making is pleasurable and fun. Key tools to have on hand, visual alerts to pay attention to and things to avoid are all here.
HOW TO MAKE CARAMEL CANDY
Caramel is not a recipe one should approach without preparation. Everything, from the weather to the pot you use, plays a role in how successful you are at making caramel candy. Most importantly, you must relax. Rushing through making caramel candies is an exercise in frustration.
Back when I was just a wee culinary student, I had a classical pastries instructor, Chef Bandula, who was a Certified Master Pastry Chef. Basically, he was in the upper echelon of pastry chefs in the world and I was lucky enough to be his student.
The one piece of advice he gave me which I still carry to this day is: “If you don’t relax while you’re making caramel, you’re going to fail every time.” It’s advice that transcends the pastry shop.
Don’t include the kids: While I’m generally a big believer of kids in the kitchen, that’s not the case when it comes to making the caramel. Sugar burns are terribly painful and not worth the risk. When it comes to wrapping the candy then it’s all hands on deck.
Dry days are best. Avoid making caramel on extremely humid or rainy days because, as sugar cools, it evaporates moisture, once it’s finished doing so, it’ll turn right back around and start absorbing it again.
Use a large pot: A larger pot is necessary is for safety’s sake. Once the cream and butter mixture is added to the boiling sugar the mixture will steam and bubble violently. A larger pot will decrease the risk of over-flowing the sugar in pot and burning you.
Use a wooden spoon: A wooden spoon is the best tool to use when stirring in the cream. It won’t conduct the heat of the sugar and burn your hand. Also, never put your face or arm directly over the pot.
Use corn syrup. Making caramel is all about chemistry. Two molecules of simple sugar are formed from a molecule of sucrose and a molecule of water. Invert sugar, such as corn syrup (also known as glucose) facilitates the formation of simple sugar, which also prevents our finished candies from becoming grainy after they set.
Don’t seed the sugar: One tiny grain of sugar reintroduced to the boiling sugar mixture can re-crystallize or “seed” the entire batch. There’s nothing more disappointing than watching your pot of liquid sugar frost over like a winter’s pond.
To avoid seeding use one of these two methods:
Press a wet pastry brush against the side of the pot and allow the water to wash away the crystals.
Cover the pot with a lid. The steam created as the water in the pot evaporates is usually enough to dissolve any rogue crystals.
Stay put: Don’t walk away or busy yourself with anything else. Sugar cooks quickly at this point and can go from perfect to smoking in a matter of minutes.
CANDY MAKING: SOFT-BALL STAGE VS. HARD-BALL STAGE
If you plan to do any amount of candy-making, investing in a reliable candy thermometer is advised. The candy thermometer you select should be marked at 2-degree intervals because that’s the degree of separation between “caramel” and “burnt.”
Thread stage: Sugar begins to hold its shape at 215°F (102°C)
Soft-Ball stage: 240°F (115°C)
Firm-Ball stage: 241-249°F (115-118°C)
Hard-Ball stage: 250-260°F (122-127°C)
Caramel stage: at 320°F (160°C) (Any hotter, the sugar will eventually explode.)
For light colored and delicate, mellow caramel flavor, cook the sugar to 300°F.
For darker more robust caramels, cook the sugar to 350°F.
FLAVOR VARIATIONS FOR HOMEMADE CARAMEL CANDY
Let your imagination be your guide when it comes to flavoring caramel candies. You can use extracts, flavor the cream, use liqueurs or simply finish them with salt.
Extracts: Replace the vanilla in this recipe with any of the extracts below.
Maple
Run
Cinnamon
Coconut
Steep: You can flavor the cream by steeping it with leaves or spices before straining it and adding it to the caramel.
Lavender
Rose petals
Tea leaves
Coffee
Boozy: Add liqueurs to the cream before heating it.
Grand Marnier
Bourbon
Brandy
Cognac
HELPFUL TIDBITS FOR CUTTING CARAMEL CANDY
Let your caramel cool for at least 3 hours on the countertop. Caramel that’s too soft won’t hold its shape and will only frustrate you in your attempts to wrap it.
A marble pastry board isn’t essential but if you have one they work great. I find it keeps the caramels cool and they stick less to marble than they do to other surfaces.
A long, sharp knife is essential to cutting caramels.
Butter the caramel cutting surface before you get started and butter the knife blade between each cut.
Use a ruler to guide your sizes when cutting so they fit into the wrappers.
If, after 3 hours of cooling, your caramel is too soft to cut, it may be the result of too much humidity in the air or not having cooked it to the proper temperature. Just repurpose it and use it as a caramel sauce.
If the caramel is too hard, it was cooked to too high a temperature during the final boil. You can melt it over a double-boiled or in hot milk to make a caramel drink or sauce.
HOW TO WRAP HOMEMADE CARAMEL CANDY
Wrapping the candies is fairly simple once you’ve gotten the hang of the twist. Use pre-cut squares that are labeled “twisting wax paper.” These hold the twist in the paper without the need for twist ties or ribbon.
Place the caramel in the middle of the long side of the wrapper and roll it up. Hold the candy and use the fleshy part of your thumb to hold one end of the wrapper while you twist with the other hand. Repeat this process on the other loose end.
HOW TO STORE HOMEMADE CARAMEL
I store my wrapped caramel candies in a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid (or a lid that clamps). If you have any of those silica packets (they usually come in packages of jerky or nori or in shoe boxes), throw one of those into the jar as well. The air-tight, moisture-free environment will prevent the candies from growing too soft or too hard.
Store the jar in a cool, dark pantry for 3 weeks at room temperature.
HOW TO FREEZE SOFT CARAMEL CANDY
To freeze the wrapped caramel candies, just transfer them to a freezer storage bag and keep them in the freezer for 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before enjoying.
MORE CANDY RECIPES LEGGI TUTTO
