Category Archives: Holiday Recipes

Chocolate Espresso Sables

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Makes 25 sandwich cookies

Ingredients

Cookies

  • 2/3 cup butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ Tonka bean, grated (optional)
  • 2 cups All-purpose flour
  • 2 Tablespoons freshly ground coffee
  • ½ teaspoon Kosher salt

Filling

  • 4 oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
  • 1/3 cup heavy, or whipping, cream
  • 1 Tablespoon butter

Method

  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat softened butter until creamy. Add confectioners’ sugar and beat until well combined and smooth
  2. Add egg yolks, vanilla extract and beat just until fully combined
  3. Add flour, ground coffee, salt, and beat at low speed just until flour is incorporated but before dough forms a ball
  4. Turn out dough onto a floured surface and use your hands to bring dough together. Divide dough in half and roll into 1½-inch-wide logs. Wrap logs in cling wrap, and refrigerate until firm, 1 to 2 hours
  5. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper, or silicone making mats
  6. Unwrap logs and cut into ¼-inch-thick rounds. Place rounds 1 inch apart on prepared pans
  7. Bake until just lightly browned around the edges, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool on pans for 5 minutes. Remove from pans and let cool completely on wire racks
  8. Place chocolate in a large heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan, bring cream and butter to a simmer over medium heat. Pour hot cream mixture over chocolate. Let stand for 1 minute; stir until a smooth, silky ganache forms. Let stand until thickened, 30 minutes to 1 hour
  9. Using a piping bag fitted with a small round piping tip, pipe a round of ganache onto flat side of half of cookies. Place remaining cookies, flat side down, on top of ganache. Let stand until ganache is set, 1 to 2 hours
  10. Unfilled cookies will keep for 2 to 3 days. Once they are filled with ganache, the cookies are best served within a day

Holiday Crackle Bark

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Ingredients

  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup salted butter
  • 42 soup crackers (salted variety, apx 1 sleeve)
  • 1 cup milk chocolate chips
  • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • Additional toppings to your liking eg festive sprinkles, chopped nuts

Method

  • Preheat your oven to 350F
  • Line a large baking or cookie tray with heavy duty aluminum foil
  • Arrange you crackers to cover an area of the tray, typically I use 6 x 7 arrangement
  • In a large pan, combine the butter and sugar. Heat over a medium heat until the butter is melted. Increase heat to medium-high and boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly
  • Remove the pan from the heat and carefully pour the caramel mixture over the crackers. Using a silicone spatula or palette knife spread the mixture to cover the surface of the crackers
  • Place in your prehated oven and bake for 5 minutes. The mixture should show some bubbling
  • Remove the cracker tray from the oven and set on a heatproof surface
  • Sprinkle over the two cups of chocolate chips. Allow to sit undisturbed for 5 minutes
  • After this time, using a clean palette knife spread the melted chocolate chips over the surface of the caramel
  • Once the chocolate has been spread, sprinkle over your choice of bark toppings to cover
  • Leave to cool fully a few hours at room temperature. You can speed this up by placing in the refrigerator for a hour or so
  • Once fully cooled, peel away the foil and break into smaller shard pieces
  • Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container and stored in the fridge for up to a week. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months

Holiday Gingerbread Syrup

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Ingredients

  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 Tablespoon dark brown sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons molasses
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
  • 4 peppercorns
  • 4 Allspice berries
  • 4 whole cloves
  • ½ grated tonka bean, or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 strip orange peel

Method

  1. Put all the ingredients in a small saucepan and stir over medium-low heat to dissolve the sugar
  2. Turn the heat off once the syrup has come to a simmer. Do not boil
  3. Cover and leave the syrup to infuse until cool
  4. Strain into a sterilised, clean jars or bottles. Keep in the fridge for up to two weeks

Why not try out your new Holiday Gingerbread Syrup with this delicious Gingerbread Martini?

Gingerbread Martini

Ingredients

  • 1oz Vodka
  • 2oz Irish Cream liqueur
  • 4oz milk, or half and half
  • 1oz Holiday Gingerbread Surup
  • Gingerbread cookie crumbs
  • Additional Holiday Gingerbread Syrup to rim glass

Method

  1. Coat the rim of a martini glass in gingerbread syrup and dip to coat in gingerbread cookie crumbs. Set aside until needed
  2. Add fresh ice to a cocktail shaker. Combine the vodka, Irish cream liqueur. milk (or half and half) and gingerbread syrup over the ice in the cocktail shaker. Shake vigorously for a few minutes. then pour into your prepared martini glass.
  3. Garnish with a sprinkling of cinnamon, a gingerbread cookie and enjoy!

Salted Smoky Maple Pecan Fudge

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Makes 36 pieces

Ingredients

  • 1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
  • 3 cups light brown sugar, packed
  • 1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) butter, chopped
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons pure Maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
  • 1 1/2 cups pecan halves, roasted and roughly chopped
  • Kosher Salt, to taste

Method

  1. Line and butter an 8-inch square baking pan or silicone pan with baking parchment, allowing the parchment to extend over sides of pan
  2. Mix the evaporated milk, brown sugar and butter in large saucepan. Bring to boil on medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer, stirring frequently, until mixture reaches 236°F on a candy thermometer (soft-ball stage). (Be patient- this will take about 30 minutes. Also DO NOT leave it unattended!)
  3. Remove from heat and pour into the bowl of a stand mixer. (Careful! The sides of the bowl will become VERY hot)
  4. Add the icing sugar, maple syrup, vanilla extract and liquid smoke and beat together with on low speed. Increase speed to medium; beat until thickened and smooth.
  5. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and fold in the chopped pecans. Spread evenly in prepared pan. Sprinkle the top of the fudge with kosher salt to your taste. (I usually use 2 good pinches, evenly sprinkled)
  6. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or until firm. Use baking parchment to lift out of pan onto cutting board.
  7. Cut into 36 squares and enjoy!
  8. If stored at room temperature this will keep for up to a week in an air-tight container, if stored in the fridge it will last for up to two weeks

Starry Rum Caramel Sauce

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Makes 2 Cups

Ingredients

  • ½ cup water
  • 2 tbsp light corn syrup
  • 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
  • ¼ cup unsalted butter, cubed, room temperature
  • 1 cup heavy cream, room temperature
  • 2 Tablespoons rum
  • Sea salt flakes, to taste
  • Edible star glitter

Method

  1. Combine the sugar, corn syrup, cream of tartar and water in a large saucepan set over a medium–low heat. Bring to the boil and cook for 10–12minutes until it becomes a deep gold colour, but not dark brown. DO NOT STIR at any point. If you need to you can gently swirl the pan to make sure the mixture is melting evenly. When the caramel begins to colour, it will darken quickly so keep a close eye on it
  2. Once it reaches the correct color, quickly, but carefully, remove the pan from the heat. Add the butter cubes and using a wooden spoon gently stir until the butter has melted and is well combined. It will bubble a little and release steam so take care not to burn yourself
  3. Next, add the cream and again slowly stir, again taking care not to burn yourself from the rising steam
  4. Once well combined, add salt, rum, and star glitter and whisk to combine. Allow to cool completely. Transfer to sterilised jars or bottles for gifting
  5. This sauce can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks in the fridge. If it sets too much in the fridge, remove and allow to come to room temperature