Alaina, Andrew, & boys
Stephanie & Jeremy
In case you still haven’t set your Christmas breakfast menu, let me offer this delicious coffee cake! My favorite part is that you make it the night before and refrigerate it overnight before baking. In the morning you can stick it in the oven and hit snooze a couple more times or send your significant other down to stick it in while you stay asleep – I would, of course, never do that (hehehe). This recipe is delicious and you are a total rockstar for effortlessly serving a warm cake.
I like to pair this with egg casserole which can also be made the night before AND they can be baked at the same time. WIN! Now you will actually need to accept an award for your fabulous, organized, awesome breakfast – I promise I’ll keep the easiness a secret from your admirers… 
The awesome thing about this egg casserole is that you can customize it for your taste – you can add veggies, herbs, different meats, or various kinds of cheese – it is an all-time family favorite!
You will thank your self for getting it done the night before and you will love the results! I serve with coffee and tea and with fruit juice and/or fruit salad. Since it’s the holidays, sometimes we will sneak in some of our favorite(!) eggnog from the local creamery or a wonderful champagne cocktail or sparkling wine. Delish!
OVERNIGHT COFFEE CAKE
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3/4 c. (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. yogurt (or sour cream)
3/4 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 c. chopped pecans
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
3 tablespoons milk
In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt; add to the creamed mixture alternately with yogurt. Pour into a greased 9×13 in. baking dish.
In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, pecans and cinnamon; sprinkle over coffee cake. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for a few minutes. Combine confectioners’ sugar and milk; drizzle over warm coffee cake.
We enjoyed having friends over to decorate giant gingerbread people – candy, icing, sprinkles, the works! It was much less work than houses for our age group.
So I was in search of the perfect gingerbread cookie recipe and I think this one is pretty close! The recipe I adapted it from received great reviews but after reading them and reading the recipe, I adjusted the spices. So, this is my version of gingerbread.
I rolled these out but I’m also thinking you could form them into balls, dip the bottom of a cup in sugar and flatten the cookies before baking. If you do the latter, I think the refrigeration time would matter less.
These make your house smell wonderful and they are truly delicious – not too sweet. It was so fun making memories with my kids and their friends as they decorated their people. Their cookies were be-decked with candy – too cute! My examples are not nearly as cute.
GINGERBREAD COOKIES
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3 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground allspice
3/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp/ salt
1/4 tsp. freshly milled black pepper
2 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/4 c. vegetable shortening, at room temperature
1/2 c. packed light brown sugar
2/3 c. unsulfured molasses
1 large egg
Position the racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves, salt and pepper into a medium bowl. Set aside.
In a large mixer, beat the butter and vegetable shortening until well-combined, about 1 minute. Add the brown sugar and beat until the mixture is light in texture and color, about 2 minutes. Beat in the molasses and egg. Gradually mix in the flour mixture to make a stiff dough. Divide the dough into two thick disks and wrap each disk in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until chilled – at least 3 hours. (The dough can be prepared up to 2 days ahead.)
To roll out the cookies, work with one disk at a time, keeping the other disk refrigerated. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature until just warm enough to roll out without cracking, about 10 minutes. (If the dough has been chilled for longer than 3 hours, it may need a few more minutes.) Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface and sprinkle the top of the dough with flour. Roll out the dough 1/8 inch thick, being sure that the dough isn’t sticking to the work surface (run a long meal spatula or knife under the dough occasionally just to be sure, and dust the surface with more flour, if needed). For softer cookies, roll out slightly thicker (about 1/4 inch or a little less). Using cookie cutters (or these templates – I printed the large boy and girl on cardstock and cut around them), cut out the cookies and transfer to nonstick cookie sheets, placing the cookies 1 inch apart. Gently knead the scraps together and form into another disk. Wrap and chill for 5 minutes before rolling if it is sticking and then cut out more cookies.
Bake until the edges of the cookies are set and crisp, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on the sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer to wire cake racks to cool completely. Decorate as desired. (The cookies can be prepared up to 1 week ahead, stored in airtight containers at room temperature.) Makes about 3 dozen depending on size of the cookies.
Oh and you can easily serve them to all of your guests by substituting sparkling white grape juice!
1-ounce cranberry juice (sweetened)
1 wedge lime
Chilled Champagne or sparkling white grape juice
Cranberries (frozen)
In a Champagne flute add cranberry juice and a squeeze of lime. Top off the glass with Champagne or sparkling white grape juice. Garnish with 3 or 4 cranberries or sparkling white grape juice. Makes 1 cocktail.
I’m going to squeeze in one more chocolate treat recipe for you. Made with whipped egg whites and sugar, meringues are much lower in fat than the average Christmas cookie or candy. This particular recipe is flavored with cocoa powder and chocolate chips and the chocolate flavor certainly shines through. These aren’t overly sweet, making them a nice change. And, as an added bonus, they are naturally gluten-free.
My husband and I both enjoyed these crispy little cookies. I know they’ll become a regular holiday treat in our house.
COCOA CHOCOLATE CHIP MERINGUES
(from Gluten-Free Christmas Cookies by Ellen Brown)
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3 large egg whites, at room temperature
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
pinch of salt
3/4 c. granulated sugar
1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 c. miniature chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 275°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Place egg whites in a grease-free mixing bowl and beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and salt, raise the speed to high, and beat until soft peaks form. Add sugar, 1 Tablespoon at a time, and continue to beat until stiff peaks form and meringue is glossy. Beat in cocoa and vanilla. Gently fold in chocolate chips.
Scoop meringue into either a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip, or into a ziploc bag with the corner cut off. Pipe the meringue through bag of choice by heaping 1-Tablespoon portions onto prepared baking sheets. Bake for 30 minutes. Turn off the oven, and allow meringues to stay in the oven for an additional 30 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Makes 3 to 4 dozen depending on size.
Have you been on pinterest? It’s this amazing site that is really like an online scrapbook of ideas. It makes you feel completely inadequate and empowered all at the same time. There are so many categories like cool crafts, awesome looking recipes, fashion ideas, and even fitness plans. Anyway this is actually not a commercial for pinterest but it is where I found this recipe. They were called Chubby Hubby Truffles (after some rather well known ice cream) or Peanut Butter Pretzel Truffles.
These are quick, very easy, and they look really nice. They are a wonderful combination of salt and sweet and the creamy peanut butter is a nice texture with the crunch of the pretzels. In full disclosure – I was not thrilled with how big I accidentally made them. These are really good!
Peanut Butter-Pretzel Truffles
adapted from Brown Eyed Baker
Makes About 18-24 truffles
1½ c. pretzel pieces
½ c. creamy peanut butter (I used Skippy)
1 Tb. unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 Tb. light brown sugar
3 Tb. powdered sugar
1 1/2 c. milk or semisweet chocolate chips
1 Tb. vegetable shortening
Put the pretzel pieces into a resealable plastic bag and crush into very small bits – I used my food processor.
In a small bowl, combine the peanut butter, butter, brown sugar and salt. Stir until all of the ingredients are completely blended and smooth. Add the pretzel bits to the peanut butter mixture and mix thoroughly. Add the powdered sugar and mix until completely combined.
Line a small baking sheet or plate with wax paper. Using a small cookie scoop, or about 2 teaspoons worth of peanut butter mixture, gently roll into a ball (I put a little butter on my hand to reduce sticking and had to wash my hands after every 5 or so). Place the ball on the wax paper-lined cookie sheet and repeat with the remaining peanut butter mixture. Place the baking sheet into the refrigerator and chill for at least 30 minutes.
When ready to dip the truffles, microwave the chocolate chips and vegetable shortening together in a small bowl at 50% power in 30-second increments, stirring after each, until completely melted and smooth.
Dip each peanut butter-pretzel ball into the melted chocolate and use a fork or spoon to roll it around, ensuring that it is completely coated with chocolate. Let any extra chocolate drip off and place back on the wax paper-lined sheet. Repeat with all of the peanut butter-pretzel balls.
Return the baking sheet to the refrigerator and again chill for at least 30 minutes. Garnish with a drizzle of melted peanut butter (melt the peanut butter for 30 seconds in the microwave and use a fork to drizzle) and crushed pretzels, if desired. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Continuing in our week of chocolate, I thought I’d share a white chocolate recipe. These are rich, quite sweet little treats, that don’t taste strongly of almonds or white chocolate. The flavor seemed almost caramelly to me. But not even exactly that either. Still, these would make a unique addition to your holiday treat repertoire.
I did find the rolling of these to be incredibly tedious. Truffle rolling is always messy, but somehow these just didn’t want to be rolled. See my note below the recipe with a possible alternative finish to these candies.
WHITE CHOCOLATE ALMOND TRUFFLES
1 pound white chocolate
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup natural almond butter
1/2 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 cup blanched almonds
Break chocolate into pieces no larger than a lima bean. Either pulse chocolate in a food processor fitted with a steel blade or chop by hand.
Heat cream, almond butter, sugar, and salt in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently, until mixture comes to a simmer. Stir in chocolate. Remove the pan from the heat, cover the pan, and allow chocolate to melt for 5 minutes. Whisk mixture until smooth, and transfer to a 9 x 9-inch baking pan. Chill mixture for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
While mixture chills, preheat the oven to 350°F. Place almonds on a baking sheet, and toast for 5 to 7 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove the pan from the oven, and in a food processor fitted with a steel blade, pulse to finely chop the almonds. Or chop finely by hand. Set aside.
Place chopped almonds in a bowl. Using a spoon, scoop out 2 teaspoons mixture, and gently form it into a ball. Roll balls in chopped almonds, and then refrigerate for 30 minutes or until firm.
Cook’s Note: If I make them again, I think I might grease my square pan, sprinkle in a layer of finely chopped, toasted almonds, pour in and spread the hot truffle mixture, and then sprinkle the top with the remaining chopped toasted almonds. Then, instead of little truffle balls, you could cut truffle squares.
Variation: Substitute natural peanut butter and dark chocolate to make chocolate peanut butter truffles.
When How Sweet It Is posted this recipe, I knew immediately that I would be trying it. I mean really, with her willingness to interrupt our busy plans with this recipe, how could I refuse? The flavor combination was an instant win in my book – kind of an extra rich and sweet twist on a yummy frappucino I enjoy occasionally – ahem.
This recipe was super quick, super decadent, and totally yum. I think we may have a new fudge recipe to add to our annual favorites – peanut butter, chocolate, and butter pecan. We may like fudge – the vote is still out – you can send me more recipes to, you know…make sure!
Let me tell you a little secret about this recipe…I made it in the microwave. You can certainly use the double boiler as the recipe recommends but I noticed that she mentioned the microwave as an option and I was sold. You see, I was up to my eyeballs in cookie baking when I threw this recipe in to the mix between shuffling cookies into the oven. So, yes, it was easy. You can go here for her original awesome recipe. I’m going to post my microwave version in case you are lazy like me.
Seriously, how pretty is this?! This would make aa really great gift! Oh and I forgot to mention – my mom thought this was wonderful.
Mocha Coconut Fudge
Adapted from How Sweet It Is
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12 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped (I used 2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips)
12 oz. white baking chocolate, chopped (I used 2 c. white chocolate chips)
1 can (15oz) sweetened condensed milk (mine was 14 oz which was no problem), divided
1 1/2 Tb. espresso powder or instant coffee (I used the latter – two packets of an instant because that’s what I had)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp. coconut extract
1 Tb. coconut oil, divided
1/2 c. flaked coconut, toasted (350 degrees for about 10 minutes but watch it carefully so it doesn’t burn!)
Line an 8×8 pan with buttered foil.
Add semisweet chocolate to microwave safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Stir and microwave for 30 more seconds. Add in half of the sweetened condensed milk (I eyeballed it), the coffee powder and 1/2 tablespoon (1 1/2 tsp.) of coconut oil. Return to microwave for 30 seconds. Remove and stir. Continue 30 second increments until fully melted and smooth. Stir in the vanilla. Spread evenly in the bottom of the pan. Mixture will be quitethick. Place in the freezer for 30 minutes (or less if your me and you want to hurry).
Add white chocolate to a micorwave safe bowl and heat for 30 seconds. Add in remaining condensed milk and coconut oil and return to microwave for 30 seconds. Stir. Microwave 30 more seconds if needed until mixture is completely melted. Add coconut extract and thoroughly combine. Remove fudge from freezer and add white chocolate on top, spreading evenly to coat. Top with toasted coconut, then chill in the refrigerator for 60-90 minutes.
When ready to cut, fill a large cup with hot water or run knife under the tap. Dip a sharp knife into the water, then blot on a towel. Use knife to cut fudge into your desired size of squares.
This is SO rich and SO good – I think you could easily cut this into 1 inch squares which would make for 64 pieces of fudge. Enjoy and go thank How Sweet It Is for this deliciousness and check out her site! If you like chocolate, coffee, and coconut, you will LOVE this.
Any chocolate loving person is bound to enjoy truffles. They are so deeply rich and chocolatey. I was intrigued by this particular recipe (which I found in some cookbook or other and promptly forgot the name) because the cream is steeped in spices and honey. I loved the idea; however, the spices were very subtle in the end result. If you want more of the cinnamon to shine through, I’d try doubling the amount of cinnamon stick. Or, you can do like I did and sprinkle a little cinnamon into the cocoa powder that you roll the truffles in. Either way, these are delicious drops of chocolate, perfect for a holiday goody tray.
CINNAMON-HONEY TRUFFLES
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8 ounces dark bittersweet chocolate (at least 60% cacao), very finely chopped
1/2 c. heavy cream
1 Tbsp honey
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2-1 cinnamon stick, 1 1/2-3 inches long (depending on the depth of spice you want)
2 whole cloves
pinch of sea salt
2 1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 c. unsweetened dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted
Place the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. (It is very important to chop the chocolate very finely to allow it to melt properly.)
In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the cream, honey, vanilla, cinnamon stick, cloves, and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Pour the cream through a fine-mesh sieve held over the chocolate, discarding the contents of the sieve, and let stand for 2 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, gently stir the chocolate mixture in a circular motion until it has completely melted. Add the butter and stir until incorporated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for 30 minutes to set the chocolate. Then refrigerate the chocolate for 30 minutes, or until the chocolate is able to be scooped and rolled into balls.
Line a rimmed baking sheet with waxed paper. Using a small spoon or scoop, scoop out 1-inch balls of chocolate and gently roll them into irregularly shaped truffles. Place them on the prepared baking sheet. Return the truffles to the refrigerator and chill until firm, about 1 hour.
Place the sifted cocoa powder in a shallow bowl. One at a time, roll the truffles in the cocoa, coating evenly. Makes about 30 truffles.
Cook’s Note: The truffles will keep up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
Welcome to our week-long Christmas treats extravaganza! Our focus will be on chocolate, but we might sneak something else in as well. We hope you find plenty of inspiration for your holiday baking!
I enjoy a good jam-filled thumbprint cookie. Last year I made lovely little butter thumbprint cookies. This year I was imagining a chocolate cookie base with a berry jam center. And what do I find in the December issue of Food Network Magazine? That’s right, Cocoa Thumbprints!
I tinkered with the recipe a bit to make them gluten-free. I cut-back on the sugar by a couple of Tablespoonfuls. And I used a slightly sweet, four-fruit jam as the center. Oh my, these are tasty!
As usual, if you are not gluten-free, feel free to substitute all-purpose flour and omit the xanthan gum.
COCOA THUMBPRINTS
(slightly adapted from Food Network Magazine, Dec. 2011)
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1 1/2 c. gluten-free all-purpose flour
scant 3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 c. confectioner’s sugar (for rolling)
1/4 c. granulated sugar (for rolling)
favorite jam (for filling)
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, scant 3/4 cup sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, and xanthan gum. Add the melted butter and eggs and stir until combined. Cover and refrigerate the dough until firm, about 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Place the confectioner’s sugar and the granulated sugar in two separate bowls. Roll scant Tablespoonfuls of dough into balls. Roll each in granulated sugar and then in confectioner’s sugar. Place 1-inch apart on baking sheets.
Make a deep indentation with thumb in each cookie. Place 1/2 teaspoon of jam in the indentation. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, or until the cookies are puffed and slightly cracked. Let cool 3 minutes on the baking sheet. Then transfer to a wire rack until completely cooled.
