Holiday Desserts
Here are six Holiday Desserts to help you through the weekend, including Sweet Potato Pie and Frosted Peppermint Brownies. Enjoy!
CHOCOLATE CANDY CANE CAKE
This is from the infamous long-since-forgotten emailing list, though it looks like it's probably originally from Kraft.
Prep Time: 10 min; Total Time: 1 hr 10 min; Makes: 18 servings, 1 slice each
Ingredients
1 pkg. (2-layer size) chocolate cake mix, any variety
1 pkg. (4-serving size) JELL-O Chocolate Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie Filling
4 eggs
1 container (8 oz.) BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
4 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate, chopped
18 small candy canes, coarsely crushed (about 1 cup), divided
1 tub (8 oz. ) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed
Directions
PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Lightly grease 2 (9-inch) round cake pans. Beat cake mix, dry pudding mix, eggs, sour cream, oil and water in large bowl with electric mixer on low speed just until moistened, scraping side of bowl frequently. Beat on medium speed 2 min. or until well blended. Stir in chopped chocolate and 2 Tbsp. of the crushed candy canes. Spoon batter intoprepared pan.
BAKE 50 min. to 1 hour or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 min. on wire rack. Loosen cake from side of pan with spatula or knife. Invert cake onto rack; gently remove pan. Cool completely on wire rack.
PLACE 1 of the cake layers on serving plate. Spread evenly with 1 cup of the whipped topping. Top with remaining cake layer. Frost top and side of cake with remaining whipped topping. Garnish with remaining crushed candy canes. Cut into 18 slices to serve.
Kraft Kitchens Tips
Size It Up
Savor a serving of this indulgent, special occasion dessert that is perfect for a party. This festive cake makes enough for 18 servings.
Great Substitute
Prepare as directed, using BREAKSTONE'S Reduced Fat or KNUDSEN Light Sour Cream.
FROSTED PEPPERMINT BROWNIES
This is from Betty Crocker, and begins, “Easy brownie-mix brownies get dressed up for the holidays with frosting and crushed peppermint candy.”
Prep Time: 15 minutes; Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes; Servings: 16
To view this online, click here.
Ingredients
1 box (16 oz) Betty Crocker™ Supreme original brownie mix
Water, oil and egg called for on brownie mix box
1-1/4 cups Betty Crocker™ Rich & Creamy vanilla frosting (from 16 oz container)
1/8 teaspoon mint or peppermint extract
Betty Crocker™ green or pink gel food color
Peppermint or spearmint candies, crushed, if desired
>b>Directions
Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Grease bottom of 9-inch square pan with shortening or cooking spray. Make and bake brownie batter as directed on box. Cool completely on cooling rack, about 1-1/2 hours. In small bowl, stir together frosting, extract and food color until smooth. Spread frosting evenly over brownies. Sprinkle with crushed candies. For easier cutting, refrigerate about 15 minutes until frosting is set. Cut into 4 rows by 4 rows. Store covered at room temperature.
Expert Tips
Cut brownies into bite-size pieces and serve in holiday paper liners for easy dessert pickups.
PUMPKIN FLAN WITH MAPLE CARAMEL
This yumminess comes from The Barefoot Contessa (otherwise known as Ina Garten). Serves 8 - 10; level: beginner
To view this online, click here.
Ingredients
for the caramel:
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup pure Grade A maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel
for the pumpkin flan:
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
1/2 cup (4 ounces) Italian mascarpone
4 extra-large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pure maple extract, such as Boyajian
2 teaspoons grated orange zest (2 oranges)
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
For the caramel, combine the sugar, maple syrup, and 1/3 cup water in a small, deep, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Bring to a boil, swirling the pan (don’t stir!) to dissolve the sugar. Cook at a low boil without stirring for 5 to 10 minutes, until the mixture turns a golden brown and registers 230 degrees on a candy thermometer. Watch it carefully so it doesn’t burn! Off the heat, swirl in the fleur de sel, and immediately pour into an 8 × 2-inch round cake pan (not a springform!). Set aside to cool for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, place the sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, canned pumpkin, and mascarpone in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat on medium-low speed until smooth. Whisk in the eggs, vanilla, maple extract, orange zest, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Gently pour the pumpkin mixture into the pan with the caramel so they don’t combine.
Place the pan in a roasting pan large enough to hold the cake pan flat and fill the roasting pan with enough of the hottest tap water to come halfway up the sides of the cake pan. Bake in the center of the oven for 70 to 75 minutes, until the custard is just set. It will be firm but still jiggle slightly in the middle; a knife inserted into the center of the flan will come out clean. Remove the flan from the water bath, place on a cooling rack, and cool completely. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Don’t tilt the pan or the caramel will run out!
Run a small knife around the edge of the flan. Turn a flat serving plate with a slight lip over the cake pan and flip them, turning the flan out onto the plate. The caramel should run out over the flan. Cut into wedges and serve with the caramel spooned over each slice.
PANETTONE BREAD PUDDING
This is from Tejal Rao in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Tejal wrote, “If you’ve bought a loaf of truly fantastic panettone, made in the Italian tradition from a natural starter, the kind that’s airy and melting, we hope you don’t have any leftovers. But if you find yourself with an excess of mass-produced panettone, or simply very old panettone that’s past its prime, here’s how to transform it into something special. Cut it into thick slices, as the pastry chef Elisabeth Prueitt does with brioche, when she makes her bread pudding at Tartine Bakery in San Francisco. Toast them. Now layer the bread in a wide dish, and pour over a whisked custard of milk and eggs. It will look like too much liquid, but as it bakes, the panettone will soak it all up, becoming moist and tender and impossibly rich. It’s close enough to a casserole of French toast to make it ideal for a special holiday breakfast, but sweet enough to step in as dessert on a cold night. Vanilla would be a classic way to flavor the custard, but panettone tends to be quite sweet and perfumed already, so taste the bread first before adding extras.”
Yield: 8 servings; Time: 10 minutes plus 1 hour baking
This was featured in “Panettone Has Become an Obsession for American Bakers,” and can be viewed here.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
6 to 8 slices panettone
6 eggs
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4 cups whole milk
Confectioners' sugar, to garnish
Preparation
Heat the oven to 350 degrees and butter a deep baking dish that will fit all the bread slices in a single layer, overlapping slightly, about 9 by 5 inches. Place the sliced panettone on a sheet pan and lightly toast it in the oven so that it’s still flexible, but dry to the touch, about 10 minutes. Arrange toast in the baking dish.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs with the sugar and salt, then add the milk and whisk until smooth. Pour through a fine-mesh strainer over the panettone, allowing the excess mixture to fill up the pan. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the bread has soaked up all the custard and puffed up, and the custard is no longer runny. Allow to cool at least 30 minutes before serving, then use a fine-mesh sieve to dust all over with confectioners' sugar and serve.
SWEET POTATO PIE
This is from the infamous long-since-forgotten emailing list. Makes 2 pies
Ingredients
Pie filling:
1-1/2 stick of butter
4 peeled medium sweet potatoes (yams)
1-1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
Juice from 1/2 lemon
2 tbsp. vanilla flavor
2 8” shallow pie shell/crust
Directions
Boil sweet potatoes in large covered pot for 30 minutes or until soft. Drain the sweet potatoes. In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and blend with mixer on medium speed for 2-3 minutes or until the mixture is smooth. Pour 1/2 of the sweet potato filling into each pie shell/crust. Bake the pies at 350 degrees until crust is light brown (25-30 minutes). Allow pies to cool for 30 minutes. Serve with whipped cream or topping of your choice.
BRIGADEIROS
This is from Natalia Pereira and adapted by Tejal Rao in The New York Times cooking enewsletter. For this recipe, Tejal wrote, "The Brazilian sweets known as brigadeiros are a classic treat at birthday parties and family get-togethers, where the fudgy, chocolate-milk caramels are often rolled in sprinkles. The chef Natalia Pereira of Woodspoon in Los Angeles also makes more grownup, bittersweet brigadeiros by rolling them in cocoa powder or shredded coconut. Try her recipe, which she learned from her mother in Minas Gerais, Brazil, using either canned condensed milk or a homemade version. Either way, the candies will be tender and delicious."
Time: 1-1/2 hours, plus cooking; Yield: About 24 pieces
This was featured in "A Brazilian Treat for Home Cooks in a Hurry", and can be viewed online at https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1021918-brigadeiros.
Ingredients
For the Sweetened Condensed Milk (optional)
5 cups whole milk
1 cup granulated sugar
For the Brigadeiros
2 teaspoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing your hands
1-3/4 cups homemade sweetened condensed milk or 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
5 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted
Pinch of flaky sea salt
1 cup chocolate or rainbow sprinkles
Preparation
Step 1
If using store-bought condensed milk, skip to Step 2. If making the sweetened condensed milk from scratch, add the milk and sugar to a large saucepan. Heat over medium-low, and simmer, stirring occasionally and scraping the sides and bottom of the pan with a spatula, for about 30 to 40 minutes. When the milk reduces to about 1-3/4 cups, thickens to a syrup texture and turns slightly yellow, it is ready.
Step 2
Prepare the brigadeiros: Melt the butter in a heavy skillet over low heat. Add the condensed milk, cocoa powder and salt, and whisk until no trace of cocoa remains, about 5 minutes.
Step 3
Turn the heat up to medium, and use a heatproof spatula to stir the mixture constantly until it becomes thick and shiny and pulls away from the bottom of the pan as a mass when you drag the spatula across it, about 7 minutes. If you’re not sure the mixture is ready, take 1/2 teaspoon of it and run it under cold water. When it’s cool enough to touch, squish it with your fingers — it should be the texture of a soft and fudgy caramel.
Step 4
Scrape all of the mixture onto a piece of parchment paper, and let it cool down until it’s easy to handle, about 30 minutes. Lightly butter your hands, and use them to shape a scant tablespoon of the mixture into a ball or rough cube, then roll it in the sprinkles. Place each one on a paper wrapper, if you like. The brigadeiros will keep in the fridge for 1 week, or in the freezer for 1 month. Serve chilled or at room temperature.
CHOCOLATE CANDY CANE CAKE
This is from the infamous long-since-forgotten emailing list, though it looks like it's probably originally from Kraft.
Prep Time: 10 min; Total Time: 1 hr 10 min; Makes: 18 servings, 1 slice each
Ingredients
1 pkg. (2-layer size) chocolate cake mix, any variety
1 pkg. (4-serving size) JELL-O Chocolate Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie Filling
4 eggs
1 container (8 oz.) BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
4 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate, chopped
18 small candy canes, coarsely crushed (about 1 cup), divided
1 tub (8 oz. ) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed
Directions
PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Lightly grease 2 (9-inch) round cake pans. Beat cake mix, dry pudding mix, eggs, sour cream, oil and water in large bowl with electric mixer on low speed just until moistened, scraping side of bowl frequently. Beat on medium speed 2 min. or until well blended. Stir in chopped chocolate and 2 Tbsp. of the crushed candy canes. Spoon batter intoprepared pan.
BAKE 50 min. to 1 hour or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 min. on wire rack. Loosen cake from side of pan with spatula or knife. Invert cake onto rack; gently remove pan. Cool completely on wire rack.
PLACE 1 of the cake layers on serving plate. Spread evenly with 1 cup of the whipped topping. Top with remaining cake layer. Frost top and side of cake with remaining whipped topping. Garnish with remaining crushed candy canes. Cut into 18 slices to serve.
Kraft Kitchens Tips
Size It Up
Savor a serving of this indulgent, special occasion dessert that is perfect for a party. This festive cake makes enough for 18 servings.
Great Substitute
Prepare as directed, using BREAKSTONE'S Reduced Fat or KNUDSEN Light Sour Cream.
FROSTED PEPPERMINT BROWNIES
This is from Betty Crocker, and begins, “Easy brownie-mix brownies get dressed up for the holidays with frosting and crushed peppermint candy.”
Prep Time: 15 minutes; Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes; Servings: 16
To view this online, click here.
Ingredients
1 box (16 oz) Betty Crocker™ Supreme original brownie mix
Water, oil and egg called for on brownie mix box
1-1/4 cups Betty Crocker™ Rich & Creamy vanilla frosting (from 16 oz container)
1/8 teaspoon mint or peppermint extract
Betty Crocker™ green or pink gel food color
Peppermint or spearmint candies, crushed, if desired
>b>Directions
Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Grease bottom of 9-inch square pan with shortening or cooking spray. Make and bake brownie batter as directed on box. Cool completely on cooling rack, about 1-1/2 hours. In small bowl, stir together frosting, extract and food color until smooth. Spread frosting evenly over brownies. Sprinkle with crushed candies. For easier cutting, refrigerate about 15 minutes until frosting is set. Cut into 4 rows by 4 rows. Store covered at room temperature.
Expert Tips
Cut brownies into bite-size pieces and serve in holiday paper liners for easy dessert pickups.
PUMPKIN FLAN WITH MAPLE CARAMEL
This yumminess comes from The Barefoot Contessa (otherwise known as Ina Garten). Serves 8 - 10; level: beginner
To view this online, click here.
Ingredients
for the caramel:
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup pure Grade A maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel
for the pumpkin flan:
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
1/2 cup (4 ounces) Italian mascarpone
4 extra-large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pure maple extract, such as Boyajian
2 teaspoons grated orange zest (2 oranges)
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
For the caramel, combine the sugar, maple syrup, and 1/3 cup water in a small, deep, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Bring to a boil, swirling the pan (don’t stir!) to dissolve the sugar. Cook at a low boil without stirring for 5 to 10 minutes, until the mixture turns a golden brown and registers 230 degrees on a candy thermometer. Watch it carefully so it doesn’t burn! Off the heat, swirl in the fleur de sel, and immediately pour into an 8 × 2-inch round cake pan (not a springform!). Set aside to cool for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, place the sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, canned pumpkin, and mascarpone in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat on medium-low speed until smooth. Whisk in the eggs, vanilla, maple extract, orange zest, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Gently pour the pumpkin mixture into the pan with the caramel so they don’t combine.
Place the pan in a roasting pan large enough to hold the cake pan flat and fill the roasting pan with enough of the hottest tap water to come halfway up the sides of the cake pan. Bake in the center of the oven for 70 to 75 minutes, until the custard is just set. It will be firm but still jiggle slightly in the middle; a knife inserted into the center of the flan will come out clean. Remove the flan from the water bath, place on a cooling rack, and cool completely. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Don’t tilt the pan or the caramel will run out!
Run a small knife around the edge of the flan. Turn a flat serving plate with a slight lip over the cake pan and flip them, turning the flan out onto the plate. The caramel should run out over the flan. Cut into wedges and serve with the caramel spooned over each slice.
PANETTONE BREAD PUDDING
This is from Tejal Rao in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Tejal wrote, “If you’ve bought a loaf of truly fantastic panettone, made in the Italian tradition from a natural starter, the kind that’s airy and melting, we hope you don’t have any leftovers. But if you find yourself with an excess of mass-produced panettone, or simply very old panettone that’s past its prime, here’s how to transform it into something special. Cut it into thick slices, as the pastry chef Elisabeth Prueitt does with brioche, when she makes her bread pudding at Tartine Bakery in San Francisco. Toast them. Now layer the bread in a wide dish, and pour over a whisked custard of milk and eggs. It will look like too much liquid, but as it bakes, the panettone will soak it all up, becoming moist and tender and impossibly rich. It’s close enough to a casserole of French toast to make it ideal for a special holiday breakfast, but sweet enough to step in as dessert on a cold night. Vanilla would be a classic way to flavor the custard, but panettone tends to be quite sweet and perfumed already, so taste the bread first before adding extras.”
Yield: 8 servings; Time: 10 minutes plus 1 hour baking
This was featured in “Panettone Has Become an Obsession for American Bakers,” and can be viewed here.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
6 to 8 slices panettone
6 eggs
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4 cups whole milk
Confectioners' sugar, to garnish
Preparation
Heat the oven to 350 degrees and butter a deep baking dish that will fit all the bread slices in a single layer, overlapping slightly, about 9 by 5 inches. Place the sliced panettone on a sheet pan and lightly toast it in the oven so that it’s still flexible, but dry to the touch, about 10 minutes. Arrange toast in the baking dish.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs with the sugar and salt, then add the milk and whisk until smooth. Pour through a fine-mesh strainer over the panettone, allowing the excess mixture to fill up the pan. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the bread has soaked up all the custard and puffed up, and the custard is no longer runny. Allow to cool at least 30 minutes before serving, then use a fine-mesh sieve to dust all over with confectioners' sugar and serve.
SWEET POTATO PIE
This is from the infamous long-since-forgotten emailing list. Makes 2 pies
Ingredients
Pie filling:
1-1/2 stick of butter
4 peeled medium sweet potatoes (yams)
1-1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
Juice from 1/2 lemon
2 tbsp. vanilla flavor
2 8” shallow pie shell/crust
Directions
Boil sweet potatoes in large covered pot for 30 minutes or until soft. Drain the sweet potatoes. In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and blend with mixer on medium speed for 2-3 minutes or until the mixture is smooth. Pour 1/2 of the sweet potato filling into each pie shell/crust. Bake the pies at 350 degrees until crust is light brown (25-30 minutes). Allow pies to cool for 30 minutes. Serve with whipped cream or topping of your choice.
BRIGADEIROS
This is from Natalia Pereira and adapted by Tejal Rao in The New York Times cooking enewsletter. For this recipe, Tejal wrote, "The Brazilian sweets known as brigadeiros are a classic treat at birthday parties and family get-togethers, where the fudgy, chocolate-milk caramels are often rolled in sprinkles. The chef Natalia Pereira of Woodspoon in Los Angeles also makes more grownup, bittersweet brigadeiros by rolling them in cocoa powder or shredded coconut. Try her recipe, which she learned from her mother in Minas Gerais, Brazil, using either canned condensed milk or a homemade version. Either way, the candies will be tender and delicious."
Time: 1-1/2 hours, plus cooking; Yield: About 24 pieces
This was featured in "A Brazilian Treat for Home Cooks in a Hurry", and can be viewed online at https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1021918-brigadeiros.
Ingredients
For the Sweetened Condensed Milk (optional)
5 cups whole milk
1 cup granulated sugar
For the Brigadeiros
2 teaspoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing your hands
1-3/4 cups homemade sweetened condensed milk or 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
5 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted
Pinch of flaky sea salt
1 cup chocolate or rainbow sprinkles
Preparation
Step 1
If using store-bought condensed milk, skip to Step 2. If making the sweetened condensed milk from scratch, add the milk and sugar to a large saucepan. Heat over medium-low, and simmer, stirring occasionally and scraping the sides and bottom of the pan with a spatula, for about 30 to 40 minutes. When the milk reduces to about 1-3/4 cups, thickens to a syrup texture and turns slightly yellow, it is ready.
Step 2
Prepare the brigadeiros: Melt the butter in a heavy skillet over low heat. Add the condensed milk, cocoa powder and salt, and whisk until no trace of cocoa remains, about 5 minutes.
Step 3
Turn the heat up to medium, and use a heatproof spatula to stir the mixture constantly until it becomes thick and shiny and pulls away from the bottom of the pan as a mass when you drag the spatula across it, about 7 minutes. If you’re not sure the mixture is ready, take 1/2 teaspoon of it and run it under cold water. When it’s cool enough to touch, squish it with your fingers — it should be the texture of a soft and fudgy caramel.
Step 4
Scrape all of the mixture onto a piece of parchment paper, and let it cool down until it’s easy to handle, about 30 minutes. Lightly butter your hands, and use them to shape a scant tablespoon of the mixture into a ball or rough cube, then roll it in the sprinkles. Place each one on a paper wrapper, if you like. The brigadeiros will keep in the fridge for 1 week, or in the freezer for 1 month. Serve chilled or at room temperature.
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