My first year of law school, I was faced with the all-too-familiar poverty of being a student again (this time, without a cushy graduate scholarship and with far higher tuition fees). On top of this, the number of people in my life that I needed to get a gift for had somehow risen in inverse proportion to the amount of excess funds I had lying around. It was time to re-institute the time-honoured tradition employed by moderately crafty people with more time than money on their hands: the DIY gift. And rather than spend hours knitting poorly crafted, vaguely trapezoidal potholders for everyone, it seemed best to give the most splendid gift of all: butter. And sugar. And probably chocolate. In multiple variations of baked goods, wrapped in a pretty package.
So, for this special holiday edition of Edible Witness, I give you my top five favourite holiday baking recipes — just in case you feel the urge to spread some happy calories in the next few weeks. Make just one (or make a combination) and deliver them in a snazzy gift box to friends, family or coworkers, and they’ll make you mad popular. For those of you with limited time on your hands, I definitely recommend this previously published treat or the Chocolate Coconut Haystacks, which don’t require the oven, are quick to prep and yield a large amount. The brownies are a close second as they’re extremely easy and quick to whip up, and you can cut them into bite-sized portions as they’re quite rich.
For packaging, I almost always find great decorative boxes or tins at my local dollar store (Dollarama usually has a good selection in varying shapes and sizes). To wrap up your goods, just line each box with some wax paper, arrange your treats inside and tie it up with some ribbon and you’re good to go! I usually like to include a gift card with a list of what’s inside too. Most of these will keep for a few days (mostly due to their inordinately high butter content), so try to make your deliveries within a day of baking for maximum freshness.
Chocolate Coconut Haystacks
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 10 minutes active time, plus 1 hour chilling time
Yield: about 40 haystacks
2 cups bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1. Melt chocolate chips gently in a microwave-safe bowl.
2. Stir in coconut (adding more if necessary to make a stiff batter that holds together).
3. On a parchment- or wax paper–lined baking sheet, drop into teaspoon-sized mounds. Chill in fridge or freezer for an hour, until chocolate is hardened. Store in a cool or refrigerated place.
Best Cocoa Brownies
Adapted from Epicurious.com
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 10 minutes active time, plus 30 minutes baking time
Yield: 16 large brownies, or about 30 mini brownies
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-process)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cold large eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup walnut or pecan pieces (optional)
1. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 325F. Line the bottom and sides of a baking pan with parchment paper or foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides.
2. In a large microwave-safe bowl, gently melt the butter in the microwave (about 45 seconds). Add sugar, cocoa and salt and whisk in until combined. Throw mixture back in microwave for another 45 seconds or so. Remove from microwave and stir: you want the mixture just hot enough that you want to remove your finger fairly quickly after dipping it in to test. Set bowl aside briefly until the mixture is only warm, not hot.
3. Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes with the wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. Stir in the nuts, if using. Spread evenly in the lined pan.
4. Bake until a toothpick plunged into the center emerges slightly moist with batter, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool completely on a rack.
5. Lift up the ends of the parchment or foil liner, and transfer the brownies to a cutting board. Cut into desired-sized squares.
White Chocolate Salted Oatmeal Cookies
Adapted slightly from Smittenkitchen.com
Difficulty: Medium
Prep time: 20 minutes active time, plus 25 minutes baking (in two batches)
Yield: 50-60 small cookies
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon table salt
14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly softened
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
6 ounces good-quality white chocolate bar, chopped*
1/2 teapoon flaky sea salt (like Maldon or fleur de sel) (for sprinkling on top)
* Avoid “white chocolate” chips, which are usually artificial and don’t taste very good. For a great alternative, substitute 1 cup Skor toffee bits in place of the white chocolate, or half Skor bits and half bittersweet chocolate chips.
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and table salt in a medium bowl.
2. Beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Scrape down bowl with rubber spatula, then add egg and vanilla and beat until incorporated. Scrape down bowl again. Add flour mixture gradually and mix until just incorporated and smooth. Gradually add oats and white chocolate and mix until well incorporated.
3. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto lined baking sheets, spacing about 1.5 inches apart.
4. Sprinkle a flake or two of sea salt on each cookie
5. Bake until cookies are deep golden brown, about 11-13 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack to cool.
Apricot Rugelach
Adapted from Bonnie Stern’s Food Processor Cuisine
Difficulty: Medium-Hard
Prep Time: 30 minutes active time, plus 2-3 hours chilling time
Yield: about 24 pieces
Pastry *
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup chilled butter, cut into 1” cubes
4 oz (113 g) chilled cream cheese, cut into 1” cubes
Filling **
1/2 cup Apricot Jam (I like the Smucker’s fruit spread brand)
Glaze
1 egg
2 tbsp cream or milk
coarse white sugar or chopped nuts
* This recipe doubles well and the dough can be made up to two days in advance and kept in the fridge, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap
** You can use whatever type of jam you like (try to use smoother ones rather than chunky ones)
1. To make pastry, add flour to food processor bowl fitted with steel blade. Add butter and pulse on/off until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
2. Add cream cheese to flour mixture. Process until mixture just starts to form a ball —
be careful not to overprocess. Remove from work bowl and form into a ball, kneading once or twice. Place dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.
3. Butter cookie sheet or line with aluminum foil or parchment paper
4. Divide dough and roll each half into a circle about 1/8” thick on a lightly floured surface. Spread each circle with a thin, even layer of jam, going all the way to edges.
5. Cut each circle into 12 wedges and roll up starting from the outside edge into a crescent shape. Arrange on cookie sheet. Refrigerate a few hours or overnight.
6. Preheat oven to 350F about 30 minutes before baking time
7. Combine egg with cream and brush rugelachs with this mixture. Sprinkle sugar or
nuts on top.
8. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until browned.
Cardamom Butter Squares with Espresso-Chocolate Icing
Adapted from Epicurious.com
Difficulty: Medium-Hard
Prep Time: 30-35 minutes active time, plus 2 hours chilling and 2 hours setting time
Yield: About 50-60 squares
For Cookies:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
For espresso and chocolate icings
1 teaspoon instant-espresso powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons milk
1 cup confectioners sugar
3 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), melted
1. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cardamom, cinnamon and allspice in a bowl and set aside.
2. Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about two minutes in a stand mixer (preferably fitted with paddle attachment) or 4 minutes with a handheld. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Reduce speed to low, then mix in flour mixture until just combined.
3. Form dough into two (12-inch) logs (1 1/2 inches in diameter), each on its own sheet of plastic wrap. Use plastic wrap and your hands to roll, press and square off sides of logs. Chill logs on a baking sheet until slightly firm, about 1 hour, then smooth logs with plastic wrap and flat side of a ruler to achieve straight sides, forming a rectangular shape. Chill logs on baking sheet until firm, about 1 hour.
4. Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 350F.
5. Cut enough scant 1/4-inch-thick slices from a log with a knife to fill two large ungreased baking sheets, arranging slices about one inch apart (chill remaining dough, wrapped in plastic wrap). Bake cookies, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until edges are golden, 10 to 12 minutes total. Cool on sheets three minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely. Make more cookies with remaining dough on cooled baking sheets.
To Ice cookies:
1. Whisk together espresso powder, vanilla, and 1 1/2 tablespoons milk until espresso powder is dissolved, then add confectioners sugar and enough additional milk to make a thick but pourable icing. Spoon into a sealable bag and snip 1/8 inch off a bottom corner.
2. Spoon melted chocolate into another sealable bag and snip 1/8 inch off a bottom corner.
3. Pipe some espresso icing and chocolate over each cookie and let cookies stand on racks until icing sets, about 2 hours. (To cut down on time, you can also just use melted chocolate to ice cookies and they’re still really good.)
Note: Dough logs can be chilled five days or frozen, wrapped in a double layer of plastic wrap, one month (thaw in refrigerator just until they can be sliced). Cookies (with or without icing) keep, layered between sheets of wax paper or parchment, in an airtight container at room temperature one week.
Sara Chan is a Toronto-based entertainment lawyer, food enthusiast, unprofessional home chef and even less professional food photographer. Her favourite food group is pork. Sara’s column appears every other Tuesday here on lawandstyle.ca.
Photo by Ish Snyder