Gingerbread Hot Chocolate Cupcakes

These Gingerbread Hot Chocolate Cupcakes are just what you need to kick off the Christmas season!

1 (15.25 oz) box chocolate cake mix

3 eggs

½ C. melted butter

½ C. sour cream

¾ C. milk

Frosting:

1 C. unsalted butter, softened

3 C. powdered sugar (more if needed)

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/3 C. gingerbread cookies, crushed in a blender

Gingerbread PEEPS®

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line pans with cupcake liners.
• Combine cake mix, eggs, melted butter, sour cream and milk until smooth.
• Fill cupcake liners ¾ full and bake for 15-20 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out clean.
• Let cool.
• Gingerbread Frosting: Beat butter until smooth. 
• Add 2 cups powdered sugar, vanilla extract and finely crushed gingerbread cookies. 
• Slowly add in more powdered sugar until you reach your desired consistency. 
• If it gets too thick, add in 1 tablespoon of milk.
• Frost your cooled cupcakes and top with Gingerbread PEEPS!

NOTE: Crush cookies with a blender and then sift them so that you use the fine pieces. This way, you can pipe the frosting out with no clumps. If you don’t want to use cookies, you can add a little cinnamon and ginger to the frosting instead!

Recipe: Your Cup of Cake

Mary Berry's Special Mincemeat

Mincemeat is a British Christmas tradition used in festive recipes...especially pies. Despite its name it contains no meat.. just plump dried fruits and spices. This particular recipe uses butter instead of suet so its 100% vegetarian... although if you prefer you can still use the suet. The butter makes the mincemeat look slightly cloudy in the jar but this disappears once the mincemeat is cooked in mince pies, etc. Make the mincemeat up to six months ahead and store in a cool place. It’s not necessary to freeze mincemeat as it stores so well.

175g currants
175g raisins
175g sultanas
175g dried cranberries
100g mixed peel
1 small cooking apple, peeled, cored and finely chopped
125g butter, cut into cubes
50g whole blanched almonds, roughly chopped
225g light muscovado sugar
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp mixed spice
finely grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
200ml brandy, rum or sherry

• Measure all of the ingredients except the alcohol into a large pan. 
• Heat gently, allowing the butter to melt, then simmer very gently, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes.
• Allow the mixture to cool completely then stir in the brandy, rum or sherry.
• Spoon the mincemeat into sterilised jam jars, seal tightly, label and store in a cool place.

Makes 4 x 370g jars

Recipe: Mary Berry

Pull-Apart Sausage Roll Wreath

A simple, but impressive appetizer of pork sausage wrapped in puff pastry, served with a cranberry apple sauce. Fun to share with friends at your Christmas or New Year’s Eve party

For the sauce:
2 cups (200 grams) fresh cranberries, rinsed
1 cup (250 grams) unsweetened applesauce
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Small pinch nutmeg
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
4 tablespoons water

For the sausage rolls:
10 ounces (285 grams) pork sausage meat (removed from casing)
Puff pastry, defrosted * see note
1 egg beaten with a little milk
Black and white sesame seeds (optional)

• For the sauce: Add the cranberries, applesauce, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar and water in a pan
• Bring to a simmer over medium heat
• When bubbling, turn down to low and cook, stirring until all the cranberries pop. 
• If it is too thick, add more water until you reach your desired consistency. 
• Taste and add more sugar if needed. 
• Remove from the heat and set aside.
• For the sausage roll: Preheat oven to 400°F/200°C. 
• Cover a large baking sheet with parchment/baking paper.
• Dust a clean work surfacet with flour 
• Roll out the puff pastry to a 4 x 24 inch (10 x 60 cm) rectangle, with the long edges closest to you. Depending on the size of your pastry, you may need to cut and piece the pastry together to make it longer
• Place the sausage meat down the length of the pastry at the edge closest to you 
• Take the edge closest to you and roll over the meat to create a nice roll
• Don’t overlap the pastry too much, just a little and trim off the rest. 
• Press the seam to seal and make sure it is on the bottom. 
• Transfer the roll to the baking sheet with the edge of the pastry on the bottom 
• Shape into a circle, sealing the ends together as best you can.
• With a sharp knife or kitchen shears, cut the pastry every 2-inches (5 cm) along on the top and a little down the sides of the entire length of the roll, just to reveal the meat.
• Brush with the rest of the egg wash all over the pastry
• Sprinkle with sesame seeds. 
• Bake for 30-35 minutes until the pastry is golden brown.
• When removed from the oven allow to rest before serving.

Recipe: Culinary Ginger

Tip of the Week...

Christmas Cranberry Pound Cake

A delicious and easy Christmas dessert recipe. This decadent pound cake is packed with cranberries and has a white chocolate and cream cheese frosting! 

1 1/2 cups plus 3 Tablespoons cake flour-sifted 
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 cup cranberries (fresh or thawed)
5 oz white chocolate chunk
1/2 cup unsalted butter-softened at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar 
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons browned butter

Frosting:
1/4 cup unsalted butter-

4 oz.cream cheese-softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar (or more to make it thick enough to spread on top of the cake)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Garnish:
handful dried cranberries
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

• Preheat the convection air oven to 325 F 
• If you don’t have convection air oven raise the temperature to 350 F and you will have to rotate the pan half way through the baking time
• Butter and flour 8.5 x 4.5 x 3 (or 9 x 5 x 3 )inches loaf pan and line it with parchment paper.
• Combine cake flour, baking powder and salt and sift it three times, set aside.
• In a small sauce pan over medium heat brown 2.5 Tbsp butter until it’s nice amber color
• Remove the foam and set aside to cool.
• Whisk the egg with vanilla extract and set aside.
• Mix the butter on medium speed until it’s creamy
• Slowly add sugar and continue beating until it’s creamy.
• Add heavy cream and mascarpone, and beat on medium speed.
• Turn mixer on low speed and gradually add dry ingredients alternately with eggs.
• Add handful flour in chocolate chunks and toss them to cover evenly. 
• Toss cranberries with a handful flour to cover them completely.
• Add chocolate chunks in the batter and stir well, then gently stir in cranberries
• Pour the batter into prepared loaf pan, smooth the top 
• Gently tap the pan on working surface to remove the air bubbles.
• With a butter knife draw a line down the center of the pound cake 
• Pour browned butter into the line.
• Bake until the top of the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean (about 55 to 65 minutes). 
•  If you don’t have convection air oven, baking time might be about 10 minutes longer. 
• If the top starts browning too much tent the cake with aluminum foil
• Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes, then remove from the pan and cool on the rack.
• When the cake is completely cooled prepare the glaze.
• With a mixer, cream together softened butter and cream cheese until smooth. 
• Slowly add in powdered sugar and beat until smooth, mix in vanilla extract. 
• Spread on top of the cake.
• Place the cake in the fridge until the frosting is set.
• When the frosting is set melt 1/2 cup white chocolate chips with 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a small sauce pan over low heat until it’s smooth( cool if it’s too thin)
• Sprinkle the cake with dried cranberries and drizzle with chocolate. 
• You can drizzle the chocolate with a spoon or transfer it into small zip-lock bag, cut off the corner and pipe the chocolate over the cake

Note: If you are using frozen cranberries, thaw them first, rinse with cold water until the water is clear, drain the cranberries and then dry them on paper towel.

Recipe: OMG Chocolate Desserts

Chocolate Peppermint Rice Krispie Treats

A super easy dessert that everyone will love? They’re the perfect combination of gooey and crunchy!

5-6 C. Kellogg's Rice Krispies
1 10.5 oz package of Peppermint Marshmallows
4 tbs. butter
4 oz. chocolate chips or chocolate candy melts, any brand (white chocolate looks pretty too)
5 candy canes, crushed

• Line a 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper or spray with some non-stick cooking spray.
• Melt the butter and peppermint marshmallows on low heat stirring frequently until melted.
• Once they have completely melted, pour in the Rice Krispie cereal
• Stir well coating all the Rice Krispies.
• Quickly pour the mixture in the baking dish and press down evenly.
• Pour the chocolate chips into a small microwave safe dish
• Heat in 20 second increments, stirring every 20 seconds until melted.
• Remove from the microwave and let cool a few minutes.
• Scoop the melted chocolate into a sandwich bag and snip the corner of the baggie
• Gently squeeze the chocolate out of the sandwich bag over the Rice Krispie treats.
• It doesn't have to be perfect
• Lastly sprinkle with the crushed candy canes.
• They will stick on top of the melted chocolate.
• Cut evenly into squares.
• Store in an airtight container for 4-5 days.

Recipe: A Cultivated Nest

Christmas Kiss Cookies

These rich chocolate cookies are covered in Christmas sprinkles and topped with a Hershey's kiss!

 1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 egg yolk, at room temperature
2 Tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sprinkles
25 Hershey’s Kisses, unwrapped

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 
• Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, and salt. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer or using a handheld mixer, beat the butter on medium-high speed until smooth, about 1 minute. 
• Add the sugar and beat on medium-high speed until creamed, about 2 minutes. 
• Add the egg yolk, milk, and vanilla extract, and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low speed until combined.
• Pour the sprinkles into a small bowl. 
• Roll the balls of dough, about 3 teaspoons of dough per cookie
• Roll each ball into the sprinkles to coat. 
• Place the dough balls on the prepared baking sheet, 2 inches apart.
• Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes.
• Remove the cookies from the oven and gently press a chocolate kiss into the center of each cookie. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. 
• Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe: What Megans Making

Vanilla Latte White Hot Chocolate

Delicious and homemade White Hot Chocolate mixed with a shot of espresso and vanilla.

▢1/2- cup boiling water
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
2/3- cup white chocolate chips , chopped
2 cups milk , divided
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
ground nutmeg , optional
marshmallows , optional

• Prepare the water and stir in espresso powder; set aside and keep hot.
• In a saucepan, combine chopped chocolate and 1/2 cup milk; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until chocolate melts.
• Add remaining milk and continue to cook, frequently stirring, until bubbles start to appear around the edges.
• Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and hot coffee.
• Pour into 4 small latte mugs or 2 coffee mugs.
• Sprinkle with nutmeg.
• Top with marshmallows.
• Serve.

Recipe: Diethood