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Show DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT Season's eatings T h u r s d a y , D e c e m b e r 8, 2005 Just in time for the break, a smattering of recipes to make you holiday plump I'm not chunky—I'm just big boned CHUNKYAPPLESAUCE No store-bought applesauce compares to this Hanukkah staple, which is alive with freshness and flavor.The apple-orange-lemon-tartness is perfectly balanced by the cinnamon-sugar-honey sweetness. Served warm, this is a delicious side dish, dessert or even breakfast • 4-5 large apples (Granny Smith and Golden Delicious work best), peeled and cut into 1/2-1-inch chunks • juice of one orange (about 1/2 cup) • 1/8 cup sugar • 1/8 cup honey -1tsp. lemon juice • 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon Jenni Koehler Whether you're celebrating the birth of some dude, the miracle of some flaming oil, some culture/ tradition or nothing at all, chances are you're going to want to warm up from the cold and devour some tasty treats over the Winter Break. Even if you only celebrate one holiday, it's an excellent idea to make a classic recipe from another holiday, if not in the spirit of peace and inter-cultural harmony, then in the spirit of good food. So what are you waiting for? Get cooking! Cook apple cubes and orange juice at medium heat until they start to soften, about 10 minutes, stirring often. Stir in sugar, honey, lemon juice and cinnamon, and continue to cook, stirring every few minutes, until the apples reach the desired tenderness, about 20-25 minutes. Try a bite and add more sugar, honey or cinnamon if you want i t Serve warm or refrigerate for up to two days. Makes 2-3 cups. j.koehler@chronicle.utah.edu graphics by Valerie Jar You can't eat just one...dozen Let me be your sugar, daddy SUGAR COOKIES Another great holiday classic, sugar cookies are a must-have for the season, and decorating them with frosting and sprinkles is such a blast. Luckily for you, this recipe tells you exactly how to make the very best ones! CHOCOLATE NONPAREIL CANDIES The chocolate in these bite-sized, coin-shaped candies is addictive, and the nonpareils' crunch is just plain fun—almost like popping bubble wrap with your teeth. • 1/2 ounces semisweet chocolate • 1/2 tsp. vegetable shortening • 1 cup white (or colored) nonpareil sprinkles Go to the grocery store and buy one of those tubes. Follow the directions on the tube. What?! Those are seriously the best sugar cookies! Seriously! In a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, melt chocolate and shortening together, stirring until smooth and blended. Remove from heat and, using two spoons, drop chocolate onto waxed paper, forming small, quarter-sized discs. Cover in nonpareils. Try using milk, dark and white chocolate instead of semisweet, and experiment with different types of sprinkles. Makes 3-6 dozen candies, depending on their size. Pour some honey on me GRILLED PEARS WITH HONEY DRIZZLE No sliced fruit Is quite as elegant as pears. And no pears are quite as delicious as these, which are peared (get it?) with their perfect complements: cinnamon and honey. • 2 pears • 1/4 cup butter • 1/2 tsp. cinnamon • 1/4 cup honey Melt butter in microwave (about 20 seconds), and stir in cinnamon. Slice pears into 1/4-inch slices, and brush both sides with cinnamon-butter sauce. On a countertop grill at medium heat, grill pear slices until light brown lines form, 3-4 minutes per side. Arrange on plate, drizzle with honey, and serve immediately. Also works with apples, but they should be sliced slightly thinner. Serves 2-4, depending on how many pear slices each person wants. I love it when you snap at me GINGER SNAPS Is there a holiday recipe quite as classic as ginger snaps? No, there arguably isn't. This recipe yields cookies that not only look great, but are also the perfect amount of warm, rich snappiness. Mmmm.. .snappy.... •21/2 cups flour • 1 tsp. baking soda •11/2 tsp. ground ginger • 1/2 tsp. ground cinammon •1/2 tsp. ground cloves •1/4 tsp. salt • 2/3 cup canola oil • 2 cup firmly packaged light brown sugar • 1/3 cup dark molasses •1 whole egg *'"'"' • 1 egg white •1/2 cup coarse sugar crystals Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a bowl, blend flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and salt. In a larger bowl, blend oil, brown sugar, molasses and egg. Gradually add flour mixture and stir until uniform—dough will be very thick. Lightly beat the egg white. Spread the sugar crystals in a shallow bowl. Gently divide and compress the dough into one-inch balls. Brush lightly with egg white, roll in sugar, and set on lightly greased cookie sheet about two inches apart. Bake until the cookies have cracked and the middles feel slightly hardened, about 20 minutes. Cool. Makes 40-50 cookies, j PEPPERMINT HOT CHOCOLATE r This hot cocoa is incredibly rich r and sweet, and it looks so festive ! with pink whipped cream on top and a candy cane poking out! j-t|*p Barkin'up the right tree PEPPERMINT BARK This bark is colorful, crunchy and exploding with delicious holiday flavor. It's so portable that you a n take it with you for a sweet, crispy treat anywhere. Just don't keep it in your pockets. • 12 ounces milk, semisweet or dark chocolate •16 ounces white chocolate • 30 hard peppermint candies Melt the brown chocolate of your choice in a bowl set over simmering water. Butter a large cookie sheet, then line with waxed paper. Stir chocolate often; when no lumps remain, spread to 1/4-inch thickness on cookie sheet. Chill in freezer for one hour. Unwrap all candy pieces, double-wrap in two durable plastic bags and pound with meat-tenderizing hammer until broken mostly into small pieces, but with many larger chunksremaining.With a pasta strainer, separate the tiny pieces from the bigger ones. Set both aside. After the hour, melt the white chocolate in the same way as the brown. When smooth, stir in the tiny peppermint pieces (they should resemble a powder) until blended. Remove cookie sheet from freezer and pour white chocolate over brown chocolate, trying to match up the edges as closely as possible. Sprinkle larger peppermint chunks over the top and press gently into white chocolate. Refrigerate at least two hours or until set. Remove from waxed paper, and break bark apart into pieces as large or small as desired. Makes about two pounds. Benne there, done that?~no, you haven't BENNE CAKELETS This simple Kwanzaa recipe is from West Africa (where 'benne'means sesame seed) and tastes something like those yummy sesame-seed candies but is lighter, easier to eat and more toothsome. • 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar • 1/4 cup butter, at room temperature • legg •1/2 tsp. vanilla extract • I tsp. lemon juice • 1/2 cup flour •1/2 tsp. baking powder 0 / 4 tsp. salt • 1 cup sesame seeds, toasted until golden Beat brown sugar and butter until creamy. Stir in egg, vanilla and iemon juice. Addflour,baking powder, salt and sesame seeds. Blend thoroughly. Drop teaspoon-sized blobs on lightly greased cookie sheet, at least two inches apart—they will expand a lot! Bake at 325 degrees for 15 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Makes about 30 cakelets. -1/2 cup water • 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa poto'deY1 •1/2 cup sugar . • 11/2 tsp. vanilla extract •1/2 tsp. peppermint extract '\:'i$ •Pinch salt " ^ • 3 1 / 4 cups milk • 3 / 4 cup heavy cream S ^ [; Combine all cocoa ingredients other than milk and cream in saucepan over low heat and whisk constantly until' j • smooth. In a separate pot, combine milk and cream, and heat at medium-high until almost boiling. Then, gradually I whisk into cocoa mixture until completely blended. Keep warm. . • I. To make the peppermint whipped cream, pulverize candy canes in food processor. Whip the cream to soft peaks, ? then stir In the peppermint powder. \ To serve, divide cocoa among four mugs, drop heaping spoonfuls of whipped cream on top of each, and add | whole candy cane. . • I This treat doesn't come decaf COFFEE TOFFEE BARK This type of bark is not for the weak-tongued, nor those easily destroyed by combination sugar/caffeine highs. Use wisely. • 8 ounces white chocolate • 2 tsp. freshly and finely ground coffee • 1/2 cup chopped chocolate-covered toffee pieces • 1/3 cup chopped chocolate-and-nut-covered toffee pieces Butter a cookie sheet and line with waxed paper. Melt white chocolate in bowl set over simmering water. When smooth, stir in coffee and chocolate-covered toffee pieces. Spread onto cookie sheet until about 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle with remaining toffee pieces (the ones with the chocolate and nuts) and press in slightly. Refrigerate about one hour, then remove from waxed paper, and break apart into chunks. Makes about one pound. |
