Favourite Christmas Treats

Since I can't make most of my Christmas holiday goodies this year, I thought I would write a post compiling all of my favourites so that everyone else can make them instead.  Enjoy :)

Cookies

1.  Ginger cookies

2.  Thumbprint cookie drops

3.  Best ever sugar cookies

4.  Brown butter babies

A relatively new discovery, but I loved these.

5.  Melting moments  

My family's absolute favourite.
 

Shortbread cookies

I feel that shortbread cookies deserved a category all of their own.  In fact, my goal last Christmas was to make a huge selection of different new shortbread recipes - including some green tea shortbread that I never got around to making.  In fact, I think I ended up having time to try one new one kind.  Ah well... next time I can eat gluten and dairy...
  
1.  Mom's shortbread cookies

One of the absolute best shortbread cookie I have ever tasted.  But I might be biased ;)

2.  Chocolate chocolate shortbread 

Also delish.

3.  Shortbread jam bars

These rival even my mom's shortbread cookies.  And they're even quicker to make (though the recipes also makes a lot fewer).

Squares
 
1.  Chocolate toffee bars 

2.  Buttertart pan squares

3.  Skor squares

4.  Mars bars squares

My grandmother used to always have these for us kids.

  
5.  Peanut butter squares (also with a nut-free version)

6.  Crumb-top choco-peanut butter bars 

Candy and Fudge

These are all great to make for little gift boxes for everyone on your holiday list.

1.  Sucre à la crème

A Quebec tradition, this recipe is to die for.  I make this one every single year.  And only at Christmas.  Because otherwise, I would never stop eating it.

 
 2.  Salted chocolate-covered caramels
 

 3.  Cookies 'n cream fudge

No Peanut Butter Peanut Butter Squares

So I did it.  I broke down and got a cleaning lady.  I saw a facebook status that someone's cleaning lady was coming and there I found myself, a couple of hours later, with the cleaning lady in my house giving me an estimate.  It's a done deal.  And I feel liberated.
No matter how hard I try to leave myself some time at home to get household chores done, there never seems to be enough time these days.  Maybe because I'm too busy cooking and blogging in any spare time I have - and now, knitting too!  (I'm addicted).  And let's face it.  Who really wants to clean their house when they could be whipping up delicious meals for their family instead?
After my 'home day' last Friday, I decided that this entire week would be a home week so that I could nap, fill the freezer, clean and just plain relax.  And here I find myself sick, yet again, derailing any plans to do much of anything (though I do have a boeuf bourguignon simmering on the stove right now, which I will post shortly).  So I think a cleaning lady is in order so that these home days or weeks can actually be spent recharging my ever dwindling batteries, instead of cleaning.

Although I really feel like this money could/should be spent on other things, such as RRSPs, RESPs, or even travel, I have decided that this is what we need right now to buy ourselves a little sanity.  And I'm super happy that I've finally decided to give in a little and do what I need to do so that we can manage a little more easily these days.  She hasn't even cleaned our house yet and I already feel like this is the best.decision.ever.  It will leave me more time to whip up delicious recipes, such as this one.
This treat comes from my friend Cynthia, who makes them every year for her Chrannukah party.  Jérôme tried them this year and taunted me, saying I couldn't try them since they have peanut butter in them (which he knows is my absolute favourite!!).  But I knew better, since she makes them every year.  So I knew she had made them with soy butter.  And they are delicious and taste just like peanut butter.  I highly recommend these for all those who can't have peanut butter but love it to death, much like myself right now.  There is quite a bit of sugar in these, so you will want to cut them into smaller squares.

1 C melted butter
1 1/3 C graham cracker crumbs
2 1/2 C icing sugar
1 C peanut butter or soy butter

Topping:
2 tbsp. butter
6 oz. chocolate chips

1.  Mix together the first four ingredients.  Spread mixture in a 13 x 9 inch pan.  Refrigerate for 10 minutes.

2.  Melt the butter and chocolate chips in the microwave, or using a double-boiler.  Spread the chocolate mixture onto the base.  Refrigerate to harden.

Difficulty level: easy

If you liked this recipe, you might also like:

peanut butter chocolate mousse pie:
 






crumb-top choco-peanut butter bars:

peanut butter and jam sandwich muffins:

Chocolate Toffee Bars

Years ago, one of my clients brought me some homemade toffee bars as a thank you gift.  And they were absolutely delicious.  And gone within mere days.  When I asked her for the recipe, she said that she would give it to me if I would pick her child up for an additional block of therapy.  Her son had reached discharge age and was being transferred to school.  When I chuckled, I realized that she wasn't kidding.  And with that, realized that I wasn't getting that recipe. Seriously??? Are people that guarded with their recipes that they will only reveal them as a tool to obtain speech therapy?  Apparently so. I've clearly never been quite so possessive of my recipes, as I post them all over the internet.  

So instead, I went home and started searching for a similar recipe on-line.  Unfortunately, I've never come across anything that quite approaches what she gave me (gosh they were delicious!).  But I did come across this recipe, which is quite wonderful in its own right.  And it has since become one of my Christmas classics.  I wish that I had a bigger family and/or more visitors over the holidays so that I could go wild and bake up mass quantities of treats.  But since we go back to my parents' for the holidays, and my mom makes her own treats, I always limit myself to just a few each year.  Otherwise, we end up with Christmas cookies still in the freezer at next year's Halloween (as I've learned from previous years). 

You can click on my Christmas tag on the left hand side of the page for ideas for other Christmas goodies.  Some of my favourites include: brown butter babies (a recent discovery from last year), shortbread jam bars (utterly delicious), sucre à la crème and shortbread cookies.  I'll try to beef up the Christmas section over the next couple of weeks, if I have the time.

This recipes calls for pecans, but I omitted them, since I'm not eating nuts again these days (darned breastfeeding and family allergies!).  I also didn't read the recipe fully while making these (which I frequently do and is terrible), so I ended up making them in an 8-inch square pan instead of a 13x9-inch pan, as this is what I recalled.  So they didn't work out as well.  I'd also reduce the brown sugar a bit in the crust next time, as both Jerome and I found them too sweet.

Also, for the first time ever when making this recipe, I overcooked the sweetened condensed milk mixture in the microwave and ended up burning it slightly.  So watch this carefully, as it continues to cook a bit once out of the microwave.  4 minutes would have been plenty in my microwave.  So this is a bit of a blog fail, but I am posting it anyways, as I've made these many times before and they are absolutely delicious.

Crust:
3/4 C butter or margarine, softened
3/4 C packed brown sugar
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt

1.  Beat butter and brown sugar in large bowl of mixer until smooth.  Beat in egg yolk.  Stir in flour and salt until well blended.

2.  Press mixture into bottom of lightly greased 13 x 9 inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degree Farenheit 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly.

Topping:
1 can (300 mL) sweetened condensed milk
2 tbsp. each black coffee and butter
6 squares semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
6 squares white chocolate, chopped
1 pkg. pecan pieces, toasted

3.  In large microwave bowl, blend condensed milk, coffee and butter.  Microwave on high 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thick and smooth.  Spread evenly over crust.

4.  Bake 12-15 minutes or until set.  Sprinkle surface with chopped chocolates.  Let stand 1-2 minutes until chocolates begin to melt.  Using a knife, swirl the chocolates to make a decorative pattern.  Sprinkle with pecans.

5.  Cool on rack.  Refrigerate 30 minutes or until chocolate is firm.  Cut into bars.  Store in tightly covered container in refrigerator.

Makes about 3 dozen bars. 

Nut-free if pecans are omitted.

Raspberry Truffle Brownies

Busy day yesterday... holiday parties number one and two, back to back.  We started with Jerome's work party for kids at the Récréathèque, where Logan was in complete heaven.  I wish I had a playroom like that in my basement!! I'm not sure I've ever seen him quite so happy as he was as he rolled around in the balls and whipped down all of the slides:

I can't say that I enjoyed crawling through those little tunnels quite as much as he did, though it did bring back some awfully fond memories of Amazing Kidz and cleaning those darned play structures!

We also got a chance to visit with Santa, yet again.  And for once, Logan was neither afraid of him, nor did he yell "no, no, no!" as he was taken to Santa.  I guess the third time's a charm.  Though he still did wiggle and appear just generally miserable when sitting on him... 

We then basically got home from the Récréathèque and had just enough time to feed Logan and get him to sleep before our babysitter knocked on the door.  And then we were off to Michael and Cynthia's wonderful annual Chranukkah party that we are fortunate enough to be invited to.  They have a great circle of friends and every year is filled with wonderful conversation and great food.  

Chloé and Annabel were lucky enough to be the only babies young enough to be allowed to join the adults this year.  Annabel, the daughter of my friend Christine, is only 2 days younger than Chloé.  And neither yet knows that they will be each others' best friends.

Did I mention that Chranukkah's theme every year is chocolate??  This year, I decided to make these brownies to bring with me.  My grandmother made them for Logan and Maddy's baptism and they were absofrickin' fantastic.  And I have to admit that I really hate raspberry and chocolate together.  Or mostly any fruit and chocolate combination that isn't with real fruit, other than banana.  In fact, when my grandmother told me in advance that she was going to bring these, I have to admit that I thought to myself "yuck, disgusting" (sorry grammy!).  

Now, of course, that didn't stop me from trying them at the baptism and it turns out that they were amongst the world's best brownies that I have ever tried.  They're rich, and moist, and just plain delicious.  And the raspberry flavour isn't at all overwhelming and just gives it some sweetness.  Scott and I hid in my parents' dining room at the baptism, enjoying way too many portions of these.  The ones that I brought to last night's party were a little too cooked and weren't quite as tasty as my grandmothers'.  So be sure to get them out of the oven in time.  This recipe comes from Taste of Home's Prize Winning Recipes.

1/2 C butter
1 1/4 C semisweet chocolate chps
2 eggs
3/4 C packed brown sugar
1 tsp. instant coffee granules
2 tbsp. water
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 C all-purpose flour

Filling:
1 C (6 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1/4 C confectioners' sugar (icing sugar)
1/3 C seedless red raspberry jam

Glaze:
1/4 C semisweet chocolate chips
1 tsp. shortening

1.  In a heavy saucepan, melt butter and chocolate chips over low heat.  Cool slightly.  

2.  In a large bowl, beat eggs and brown sugar.  Dissolve coffee granules in water; add to egg mixture with melted chocolate.  Mix well.  Combine baking powder and flour; stir into chocolate mixture.  Spread in a greased 9-inch square baking pan.  Bake at 350 degrees Farenheit for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the centre comes out clean.  Cool.

3.  For filling, melt chocolate chips; cool.  In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy;  add confectioners' sugar and jam.  Stir in melted chocolate; spread over cooled brownies.

4.  For glaze, melt chocolate chips and shortening.  Drizzle over filling.  Chill before cutting.  Store in the refrigerator.

Apple Date Squares

We went on our annual apple-picking adventure yesterday with Heather and Bap, along with their kids and Heather's mom. Heather's mom said to me as we were heading into the orchard "didn't we go strawberry picking together last time I was in town?" (she's visiting from Halifax). Which made me chuckle. Yes, I have a slight obsession with fresh-fruit picking in the summer...

Though we've been going on our own for years, as the only coupleless child at the entire orchard, apple-picking is getting more fun as Logan gets older. I just can't wait until he's old enough to put to work to help with the picking ;)

Logan, on his first apple-picking adventure, last year.

And somehow, this year, he's
old enough to eat an apple...

I used to pick a couple of big bags of apples, turn them all into homemade apple sauce and can them for the winter months. But with Logan racing around the house, baby no. 2 on the way in just 6 short weeks and Logan's 'big boy room' not yet painted and decorated, I've had to come to the realization that this will not be in my future this year (though I'll probably still make the odd batch to eat fresh, as there's nothing better than homemade applesauce for dessert!).

But I've nonetheless already started working on the 20 lb. bag of apples we picked yesterday. We are probably going apple picking again with some other friends early October, so I figure we'd better eat through these ones quickly.

This recipe is a minor, but tasty, twist on the classic date square. And I absolutely love date squares. I was inspired to make these by some delicious looking apple date squares that they sold at the apple orchard we visited. Though they looked more delicious than they actually were. I told Jerome that I was sure I could make a better version myself at home, and these are it.

I took the base of this recipe from Cook Great Food, because I love their date square recipe (which they call Matrimonial Cake). I then took the filling from the BC tree fruits website recipe for apple date squares.

Base:
1 1/2 C all-purpose flour (I used whole-wheat)
1 1/2 C oats (I used large flake)
1 C lightly packed brown sugar (I used 3/4 C and would try 1/2 C next time)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 C butter or margarine (butter gives it better flavour)

Filling:
1 1/2 C pitted dates
3/4 C water
2 apples, peeled and coarsely grated (I used 3 apples and left the skins on for the extra fiber)

In a medium saucepan, combine the dates and water and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and mash dates.  Remove the heat and stir in apples.

In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar and baking soda. Cut in butter with pastry blender or in food processor until mixture is crumbly.

Press half of the crumb mixture into nonstick or lightly greased 8x8 inch square pan. Top with the apple-date mix. Cover with the remaining flour mixture. Pat down.

Bake for 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees Farenheit. Cool and cut into squares.

If you've also gone apple-picking and are looking for apple recipes, you might be interested in some of the following:

finnish apple pancake for breakfast (I intend to whip up one of these later today to make for tomorrow's breakfast):








date and apple sweet bread (this is delicious!):







  
apple cream cheese pie (also gonna make this before we run out of apples):

fiber-full bran pancakes with little pieces of chopped up apples inside:

apple cake/muffins:

Crumb-Top Choco-Peanut Butter Bars

Is there any combination in the world more divine than peanut butter and chocolate? I'd say that anything strawberry-banana runs a close second, but peanut butter and chocolate really can't be beat.

I was scooping out some natural peanut butter from our ginormous Costco package today at lunch and found myself dreaming about peanut butter cookies. Which I probably haven't eaten in about a year and a half, since I didn't eat nuts while breastfeeding Logan. And somehow, the thought of peanut butter cookies didn't cross my mind since I've started eating nuts again until today at lunch. How is that even possible?

And so I found my confronted with a difficult decision. I had the choice of charting my clients while watching Bachelor Pad or making peanut butter cookies.  And as much as I was dying to find out what had happened on  Bachelor Pad this week, I found myself doing what any responsible, self-employed individual confronted with such a dilemma would do: I thumbed through my recipe books to find something deliciously peanut buttery. And I stumbled across this delicious recipe. Which I believe I may have already made before, many moons ago. Well worth giving up watching Bachelor Pad.

This recipe comes from the a little booklet called the Treasury of Holiday Cookies, made by Jif. I don't really consider these to be holiday-related though, but they're still delicious.

1 pkg. (6 oz) semisweet chocolate chips (1 C)
1 C firmly packed brown sugar
2/3 C creamy peanut butter (I used natural pb)
1/2 C butter or margarine, softened
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/4 C flour (I used whole-wheat)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 C quick-cooking oats

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.  Grease a 13 x 9-inch baking pan (I used an 8-inch square pan for the whole batch, as I like the squares a bit thicker.  If you make it in a 13x9-inch pan, I'd recommend doubling the chocolate filling, as I don't think there would have been enough to spread nicely over the base).

2.  Place chocolate chips in top of a double boiler or in a medium bowl that fits securely over the medium saucepan.  Heat over boiling water until chocolate melts (water in bottom of double boiler or in saucepan should not touch top pan).  Set aside.

3.  Cream together brown sugar, peanut butter and butter in mixing bowl.  Add egg and vanilla; beat well.

4.  Sift together flour, salt and baking soda; add to creamed mixture.  Beat just until well mixed.  Stir in oats.

5.  Spread 3/4 of dough in greased baking pan.  Spread with melted chocolate.  Dot chocolate layer with remaining 1/4 of dough.  Bake 25 minutes or until done.  Cut into bars when cool.

Cherry Clafoutis

I've done quite a bit of cooking this past week or so, since we've been entertaining a bit.  I've recently added a new feature to my blog where you can check out what I've made any given week on the right hand side of my posts.  Hopefully, this will give you ideas of seasonal recipes to make that have been previously posted. I've been trying to keep it updated on a weekly basis and so far, so good.

This recipe is a French classic.  It comes from the cookbook Tout Clafoutis, which we had received from Jerome's mom several years back.  The book also has a delicious recipe for chocolate banana clafoutis that Jerome makes every year for a bake sale at work.  But I'll wait and post that sometime in the future when we make it.

The recipe says to pit the cherries. We generally don't bother, and just take them out as we eat the dessert.  Though I suppose that it is classier to pit them when you have company.  But our company this past weekend was family... so practicality won out over class.

This recipe isn't terribly sweet and is a nice summer dessert.  We try to make it once a year when cherries are in season.  I have been absolutely addicted to cherries for the past few weeks, bringing a big bowl to bed

500g of pitted cherries
20g butter
100g flour
100g granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
pinch of salt
3 eggs
1 C milk
2 tbsp. icing sugar



1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.  

2.  Wash and pit the cherries.  Butter an 8-inch pyrex plate.  Lay the cherries closely together in the bottom of the pan in one single layer.

3.  Mix together the flour, granulated sugar, vanilla and salt.  Mix in the eggs, being careful to not leave any lumps.  Then gradually mix in the milk until you have obtained a smooth and homogenous mixture.  Pour the mixture over the cherries, being careful not to displace any of them.

4.  Place in the oven for approximately 40 minutes.  Once out of the oven, sprinkle the hot clafoutis with icing sugar.  Serve warm or cold.  Do not take out of the pan before serving, as it will fall apart.

Lemon Squares

I've been craving all things lemon these days. Particularly, a frozen lemonade drink, though I have yet to manage one nearby that I love. I've tried Dairy Queen and Second Cup and found them too sweet, and tried Wild Willy's, where they don't actually make them. Grr... a few people suggested Tim Hortons to me, but apparently, they only make them here out east. 

I finally found what I was looking for at McDonald's this weekend - the perfect super lemony frozen drink :) And it was like heaven in my mouth. You know it's too lemony when Jerome takes one sip and makes a face. Mmm... I'm drooling as I write this.

This discovery of pure frozen perfection was while we were away on a long weekend visit to Eliza and friends in Tenants Harbour, Maine. Her family has this wonderfully beautiful property, right on the water, and we were fortunate enough to be invited down, yet again, to spend the weekend. 
 

Logan, enjoying the massive property.

This cottage is open for vacation rentals for anyone interested, as is an adorable
little apartment: http://www.woodwindsofmaine.com/

We spent a fabulously relaxing weekend just hanging out and... mostly eating??? It was great to get away and have a chance to catch up with Eliza and her friends again. 

The delicious 'boil' prepared for us for dinner by Dan. Mmmm...

Our wonderful dinner spread.

We did get a chance to get down to the water as well.  Though it was basically ice water, and only the two bravest of the men actually dared to swim. As you can see, Logan didn't love the freezing water!

Enjoying some time by the water.

Logan preferred eating rocks to all of the other wonderful food we devoured this weekend.

So all in all, we had a wonderful weekend, despite the super long drive with baby. There are a few new delicious recipes that I discovered while away that I will get up here over the next little while too. Always a side benefit of a fantastic weekend :)

But back to what got me started on this post in the first place... lemons... so I'd been massively craving all things lemon and unable to fulfill my craving for a super sour frozen lemon drink until just this past weekend (and, as a side note, I only remembered once we'd crossed the border back into Canada that I'd wanted to go back to McDonald's to get a 2nd one... boo...). So I decided to make this recipe for lemon squares in the hopes that this would at least calm my lemony cravings. And it worked pretty well. 

This recipe is from Ash's friend Julie and it is quite delicious. The base is a wonderfully shortbready-tasting crust. Just perfect. And the topping is delicious and creamy. Next time I make this, I'll likely cut the sugar back a bit. Not because it was overly sweet, but because I love, love, love lemon (my mouth is watering yet again) and would like it to be just a bit more tart. But it was super yummy as is.

Base:
1 C flour
1/2 C butter
1/4 C sugar
pinch of salt

1.  Blend well.  Press into unbuttered 8 or 9-inch square pan.

2.  Bake at 350 degrees Farenheit for 15-20 minutes.  Let cool.

Topping:
2 large eggs, beaten
1 lemon: juice and finely grated rind
1 C sugar
2 tbsp. flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder

1.  Mix together and pour over base.  

2.  Bake at 350 degrees Farenheit for 18-25 minutes.  Cool and dust with icing sugar (optional).

The cooking time depends on the size of the lemon and the amount of juice is produces.  Just keep an eye on the squares as they approach the end of cooking.  It doesn't seem to affect the taste if either the base or the top gets a bit browned.

This is very easy to make with a food processor.  Put flour, sugar and salt into container and spin briefly.  Cut butter in small chunks and add to flour mix.  Blend until mixture barely starts to clump; empty into pan.

Break eggs into container (no need to was it after making base); beat lightly.  Add remaining ingredients and spin until well mixed.  Pour over cooled (or warm) base.