Best Holiday Treats

I like to have at least 4 kinds of cookies on hand for gift giving, and hosting.  The Swirl cookies have become part of my repertoire, and I have made them every Christmas for almost a decade.  Ricardo's Sucre a la creme recipe is the best  I know of. Biscotti is a good addition for those who want a little something sweet, but not a full on sugar/fat buzz.  The candy cane short bread is a recipe I developed recently. In the above photo I mixed the crushed candy cane into the dough, and flattened the cookies with a glass. 

• Sucre a la creme (The best!)
•  Maple Pecan Biscotti (I added maple extract to the dough, and skipped the icing sugar deco.)
• Anise scented Fig and Date Swirls (Worth the trouble! Dough freezes well once assembled allowing for last minute cookie making.)
• Candy Cane Shortbread (Recipe below)

Candy Cane Shortbread Cookies

as seen in Mainstreet

Makes 45-50 Cookies

·      500 ml (2 cups) all purpose flour

·      250 ml (1 cup) icing sugar

·      250 ml (1 cup) corn starch

·      1 ml (1/4 teaspoon) sea salt

·      375 ml (1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter, softened

·      5 ml (1 teaspoon) peppermint extract

·      Sufficient quantity cane canes (red/green/white candy canes look best)

In a medium bowl, whisk together the first 4 ingredients. Stir in the butter, and peppermint extract until a well blended dough is formed. Shape into 2.5 cm (1 inch) balls. If dough is too soft to handle, cover and chill for 1 hour.  

Now here is the fun part:  Either throw the candy canes into a food processor or break up the candy canes up by hand using a knife or a mortar and pestle.  You can even turn the canes into a fine powder if you have the patience to do it by hand or throw them in a coffee grinder that is dedicated to spice grinding. I would test a few cookie dough balls by bringing together the cookies and crushed cane in different ways to see which you prefer.  You can try making a indent in a ball and filling it with crushed candy cane, or rolling a ball in crushed candy cane and flattening it with a fork on a cookie sheet.  Alternately if you have made a fine power you can bake them, and then dust the baked cookies (once cool enough to handle), as you would with icing sugar.

Christmas Fudge & Double Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti

Today my son's primary school held their annual Christmas bazaar to raise money for various activities. Their bake sale table is one of their best money earners. Fudge is king of the bake sale table, and so I thought I would prepare as many kinds as my schedule allowed. Fudge can be tricky, but I find my digital thermometer removes any room for error. At the beginning of the week I was worried about whether I would have enough time so I prepared Carnation's five minute fudge. It is my go to bake sale panic recipe.

I also made a batch of Chocolate Mint Fudge (love that flavor combination), and Vanilla Bean White Chocolate Fudge. There are no nuts in these fudges due to some severe allergies at my sons' school, but I do urge anyone trying them to include the walnuts in the five minute fudge and perhaps toasted pecans in the Vanilla Bean White Chocolate Fudge. Here is a link to the Vanilla Fudge recipe I used. When the fudge reached 120F I added 150 g / 5 oz of quality white chocolate. Then proceeded with the recipe. You could also add dark or milk chocolate instead of white chocolate. Fudge is, by the way, a great treat for the gluten intolerant!

I also made Regan Daley's Double Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti. A little espresso and frangelico liqueur make these biscotti the grownup choice at the bake sale table. I highly recommend Regan Daley's In the Sweet Kitchen (source of the biscotti recipe). It is a great cookbook packed with baking tips and inventive delicious recipes. My copy is so used it is falling apart!