Category Archives: Holiday Recipes

Festive Chocolate Salami

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Makes 2 no. logs apx 7 x 2inch logs

Ingredients

  • ½cup slivered almonds
  • ½cup chopped hazelnuts, skinned
  • 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 6oz milk chocolate
  • 6oz semi-sweet chocolate
  • ¼ cup strong brewed coffee, cold
  • 9oz crunchy amaretti biscuits, roughly crushed
  • ½ cup dried cranberries
  • 1 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
  • ¼ cup powdered sugar

*as an extra treat for the grown-ups you can add a splash of booze! At the end of step 3, add in some a tablespoon or two of liqueur to your liking. I find Amaretto, or rum particularly delicious!

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 350F. and line a baking sheet with baking parchment
  2. Spread the almonds and hazelnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake until the nuts are lightly toasted, 6 to 8 minutes. Set aside and allow to cool completely
  3. Put the butter and chocolates in a heatproof medium bowl and place the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Stir in the coffee until smooth*
  4. Add the cooled, toasted nuts, crushed amaretti biscuit pieces, cranberries, orange zest, and stir until well combined. Cover the bowl and refrigerate until firm but mouldable, about 1 ½ hours
  5. Remove from refrigerator and divide the chocolate mixture in half. Place half of the mixture in the centre of an 18-inch-long piece of cling wrap. Using a spatula, form the mixture into a log, about 7 inches long and 2 inches in diameter. Roll up the log in the plastic and twist the ends to seal. Roll back and forth on a work surface a few times to make the log evenly round. Repeat with the remaining chocolate mixture. Refrigerate both logs until firm, preferably overnight
  6. After chilling, remove the logs from your refrigerator and over a large piece or baking parchment liberally all over rub with the powdered sugar. Brush off an excess sugar with a pastry brush
  7. Store the finished salami in your refrigerator and to serve let the log(s) sit at room temperature for 15 minutes. Using a sharp serrated knife, cut the logs into 1/2-inch-thick slices and serve. Perfect with a strong coffee

Copycat Cranberry Bliss Bars

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Makes 16

Ingredients

Bars

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted
  • 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon orange extract
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Zest 1/2 orange
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 cup white chocolate chips
  • 3/4 cup dried cranberries

Frosting and Finish

  • 8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
  • 3 Tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons orange juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Zest 1/2 orange
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries, roughly chopped
  • 3oz white chocolate, melted

Method

To make the bars

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 13×9 inch baking pan with parchment paper
  2. In bowl of a stand mixer, combine the melted butter, brown sugar and beat with the paddle attachment at medium speed for between 5- 6 minutes
  3. In a separate bowl whisk together the orange zest, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and flour until combined. Set aside until needed
  4. To your sugar/ butter mixture add in eggs, orange extract, and vanilla extract and beat until mixed well. Add in the flour/ dried ingredients mixture, beating until just blended
  5. Fold in white chocolate chips and dried cranberries using a spatula. Spread evenly into the bottom of prepared pan
  6. Bake in preheated oven for 18-20 minutes until set and golden brown at the edges. Remove from oven and place pan on a wire rack to cool. Allow bars to cool completely before topping with frosting and decorating

To make the frosting and finish

  1. With an electric whisk, beat together the cream cheese, butter and powdered sugar until smooth and creamy.
  2. Add orange juice, vanilla extract, orange zest beat again until well combined and smooth
  3. Using a spatula top the cooled bars with frosting. Sprinkle over the chopped dried cranberries and drizzle white chocolate over the top with either a piping bag
  4. Place the bars in the refrigerator for about an hour to help them set up before cutting. Cut baked sheet into half lengthwise, then into 4 so you end up with 8 pieces. Cut each piece in half diagonally so you end up with two triangles so you end up with 16 triangles in total
  5. Serve and enjoy!

Edible Gingerbread Cookie Dough

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Ingredients

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour, heat treated*
  • ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
  • ½ cup packed light brown sugar
  • 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 3 Tablespoons fancy molasses
  • 1 ½ Tablespoons milk
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
  • ½ cup white chocolate chips
  • Festive sprinkles, or nonpareils

Method

  1. In the bowl of stand mixer combine the butter, both sugars, salt, fancy molasses and whip together until pale and fluffy, about 10 minutes
  2. Mix in the milk and the vanilla extract until combined
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Add in the flour mixture by ¼ cupful, beating between until combined, until all the flour mixture has been added
  4. Fold in the chocolate chips. Add sprinkles, or nonpareils, to your liking
  5. Scoop, or spoon, into sterilised mason, or kilner, jars and add some more sprinkles for that extra festive touch. Wrap as you like if you’re gifting to someone- I usually bow and tag the jars with festive ribbon
  6. Cookie dough is best eaten at room temperature

How To Store: Keep this Edible Gingerbread Cookie Dough in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Eat it up within 2 weeks!

* To heat treat your flour for safety, place it in a bowl and microwave it in 30-second intervals until the flour temperature reaches 165 F (74 C). Mix with a spoon between intervals. Mine usually takes around 3 bursts. Allow to cool before using. Or you can bake it for 7-8 minutes in a preheated oven at 350°F

Edible Cookie Dough Christmas Trees

If you’re not gifting this edible cookie dough (how could you not? It’s the Season of Giving!) a fantastic way of using this delicious treat are these adorable Edible Cookie Dough Christmas Trees. Fun and easy to make, you can also get some little helping hands involved too!

Ingredients

  • Additional waffle/ sugar cones 
  • White, or semi-sweet chocolate, melted
  • Festive sprinkles

Method

  1. Line a baking tray with baking parchment or foil, and set aside until needed
  2. If your edible cookie dough is still soft enough, fill a place in a piping bag and snip the end off.
  3. Pipe the cookie dough into your cones. (If the edible cookie dough is a bit too stiff to pipe, you can use a butter knife, or small spoon, to fill the cone instead)
  4. Coat the outside of your filled comes with the melted chocolate, either by dipping in a deep bowl, or coating using a spoon
  5. Place on your prepared baking tray and let the chocolate set for a minute or two (this will help the sprinkle stick better). Add festive sprinkles to finish your Christmas trees off and allow for the chocolate to fully set
  6. To serve/ eat, push a popsicle stick into the cookie dough, for ease of holding and enjoy!