Thursday, December 5, 2019

Advent Calendar Day 5

In 2017 I started the tradition of giving away a Buche de Noel, and I think I'll do it again this year, but earlier since the stores tend to sell out quickly.

Did I hear you ask What is a Buche de Noel? It's an edible Yule Log, that's what. :-)





 The bûche de Noël is a French holiday favorite, inspired by the giant yule logs that were traditionally burned on Christmas Eve. The bakers at the small, family-owned We Take the Cake bakery have handcrafted this one with their best-selling chocolate génoise cake, rolled with rich coffee buttercream and finished with chocolate cream cheese frosting "bark." Whimsical berry-laden fondant holly leaves and crisp meringue/marzipan mushrooms add festive flourish.

They are quite delish, I assure you. And a very nice change from pie.

So today's giveaway--limited to readers in the US, unfortunately--is a Buche de Noel from Williams and Sonoma. It's always tricky pulling this one off, so be sure to check back this weekend to see if you've won because we have very few days to get the order in!

To be eligible for this particular giveaway you must live in the US and you must contribute your very favorite holiday recipe in the comment section below.  I'll be choosing the winner tomorrow morning, so don't put off contributing your recipe in the comment section!

21 comments:

  1. This is my favorite holiday cookie recipe. They're not too fancy to look at, but they're massively yummy.

    Chocolate Cranberry Chocolate Chip Cookies

    1 1/4 C granulated sugar
    1/4 C molasses
    1 C butter or margarine, soft
    1 tsp vanilla
    1 lg. egg
    2 C AP flour
    1/4 C unsweetened baking cocoa
    1 tsp baking soda
    1/2 tsp salt
    12 oz. dried cranberries
    12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

    Pre-heat oven to 375F

    In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, molasses, butter, vanilla, and the egg. Beat thoroughly until smooth and a uniform coffee-with-cream color.

    Add flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Mix thoroughly until the dough is stiff and a uniform consistency. It should be a dark chocolate-brown.

    Add cranberries and chocolate chips and mix until they're spread evenly through the batter. The dough will be pretty stiff, so your hands might be a better tool for this than a spoon or beater.

    Using a 2.5" disher, scoop out dough onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Use your hand to press the doughballs a bit, into thick patty shapes. Make sure there's at least an inch between the patties.

    Bake for 20 min.

    [You can also scoop the dough out with a 2" disher and bake for 13 minutes, for more but smaller cookies.]

    Let cool for a few minutes, then move to a cooling rack. Let them cool until they've firmed up a bit before eating, or at least until they won't burn your mouth. Enjoy!

    Angie

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  2. Let's learn from last year's disaster -- bûches de Noël and tropical climates don't mix! So don't enter me into the giveaway. I did want to share my favorite fruitcake recipe, however. This one is straight from a newspaper, but it's one of the very few fruitcakes that people actually like to eat!


    Arkansas Fig Fruitcake

    Fig Puree (best to make this the day before you make the cake, as it's time-consuming, and it needs to cool. Do not attempt to skip this step and substitute a commercial fig jam -- it won't work!)

    3 cups (about 14 ounces) dried black mission figs, stemmed and coarsely chopped
    6 tablespoons sugar
    2 cups water

    Combine the figs, 6 tablespoons of sugar and 2 cups of water in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the figs are tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

    Remove the saucepan from the heat and let the mixture rest for 10 minutes, then use an immersion (stick) blender on low speed to process the figs to a coarse puree, adding water as needed. Let cool. The yield is slightly more than 2 cups.

    Cake:

    2 cups of the fig puree
    2 cups sugar
    1/2 cups water, plus more as needed
    2 cups finely diced, peeled apple
    One 15-ounce box raisins
    2 cups pecans or black walnuts, in halves or pieces
    4 cups flour
    1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    1 teaspoon ground cloves
    1 teaspoon salt
    4 teaspoons baking soda

    Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9 3/4-inch tube pan, preferably one with a removable bottom, or two standard loaf pans.

    Measure 2 cups of the fig puree and transfer to a very large mixing bowl along with the apple, raisins and nuts. Stir to mix well. (Cover and refrigerate any excess fig puree for another use.)

    Whisk together the flour, 2 cups of sugar, the cinnamon, cloves and salt in a separate large bowl until combined.

    Combine the baking soda and the 1/2 cup of water in a small bowl, stirring until the baking soda has dissolved. Stir this into the fruit mixture.

    Add the dry ingredients to the fruit mixture and mix well. The batter will be extremely thick and heavy, so at this point it's easiest to mix it with your hands. You might need to add a couple tablespoons of water to moisten all the ingredients.

    Transfer the batter to the prepared pan(s) and use a flexible spatula to smooth the top. Bake for 1 3/4 to 2 hours or until a tester inserted near the middle of the cake comes out clean.

    Cool for 30 minutes, then remove from the pan to cool completely. (If using a tube pan with a removable base, keep the cake on the base as it cools.) Wrap tightly and store at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

    Enjoy!

    Sam Spayed PI

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  3. I keep wanting to enter to win one of these, but then I have to remind myself that we don't have enough people coming over so it would go to waste at my house. Which would be a crime!
    Anyway, I look forward to reading people's favorite recipes.

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  4. Almost any kind of dry or fresh fruit is a good addition, and don't skimp on the black pepper!

    Dark and Moist Gingerbread
    by Lynne Rossetto Kasper
    https://www.splendidtable.org/recipes/dark-and-moist-gingerbread

    Yield 9 servings
    Time 15 minutes prep, 35-40 minutes cooking, About 50 minutes total
    Moist, dark, spicy, but not too sweet, this is classic gingerbread. My addition of black pepper is because it was a constant ingredient in gingerbreads of the past. It sparks the other ingredients.
    You could add two teaspoons of grated fresh ginger if you want even more kick. For a new take, substitute one teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder for 1 teaspoon of the ground ginger.

    The cake keeps five to seven days, wrapped, at room temperature and freezes beautifully for up to three months. If possible, serve warm with dollops of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.


    Ingredients

    2 cups, less 2 tablespoons, all-purpose unbleached flour (measure by spooning into cup and leveling)
    1 generous teaspoon baking soda
    Generous 1/2 teaspoon salt
    1 tablespoon ground ginger
    3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
    1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
    6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
    3/4 cup dark molasses
    3/4 cup very hot water (190 degrees)
    1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
    1 large egg

    Instructions

    1. Butter and flour an 8-inch square baking pan. Preheat oven to 350°. In a bowl or bag, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices.
    2. In a mixing bowl, beat together the rest of the ingredients except the egg. When almost frothy, beat in the egg and quickly add the flour mixture.

    3. Stir only until thoroughly blended. Pour into pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, or until a tester inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool on a rack in the pan for a moist cake. For a drier consistency, cool 10 minutes, then turn out of pan.

    4. Serve on its own, with whipped cream, or present it reheated with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

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  5. My version of Lebkuchen
    1 egg
    3/4 cup brown sugar
    1/2 cup honey
    1/2 cup dark molasses
    3 cups sifted flour
    1 1/4 tsp cinnamon
    1 1/4 tsp nutmeg
    1/2 tsp cloves
    1/2 tap allspice
    1/2 tsp soda
    1/4 cup golden raisins
    1/4 cup currants
    1/4 cup dried cranberries
    1/2 cup almonds or walnuts
    Beat eggs and sugar until fluffy then stir in honey and molasses. Sift dry ingredients. Mix in wet. Add fruit and nuts. Roll 1/4 inch thick cut into squares. Bake on greased cookie sheet at 250 for 12 min. Traditional recipe calss for blanched almonds and candied fruit.

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  6. These are the best thumbprint cookies I've ever made. A little food color in the jam and they're red and green for Christmas. http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/thumbprint_cookies/

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  7. This is one of my favorite recipes I make all year round
    Note: Brisket is best cooked the day before, cooled, sliced and refrigerated overnight. Plan accordingly!
    One 3-5 pound brisket. I use first cut, but you can use second cut.
    2-3 carrots cut into chunks
    2 large onions sliced thin
    ½ cup red wine
    ½ cup water
    1 8oz can of tomato paste
    ¼ cup ketchup
    squirt of lemon juice
    ½ cup of brown sugar
    1 tsp Worstershiere sauce
    1 clove fresh garlic
    salt and pepper
    1 TBS of Italian seasoning
    1 TBS vegetable oil
    1 TBS flour
    In a large Dutch oven, heat the oil. Sprinkle salt and pepper on each side of the brisket and lightly flour each side. Place brisket in the Dutch oven, searing one side until light brown, turn and then sear the other side. Remove from the heat and set aside. Add carrots, onions and garlic in the Dutch oven and sauté until lightly cooked, about 5 minutes. Put the brisket back in the Dutch oven and pour the wine and water over the meat and vegetables. Then add the rest of the ingredients, stirring until all mixed together.
    Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a low simmer and cover. Cook for a minimum of 3 hours, turning meat every half hour. After 3 hours, remove cover, taste sauce and adjust salt, sugar, and pepper. Keep cooking for another 45 minutes to hour at low simmer. Make sure carrots are cooked through and soft.
    You can either cool it down, slice it against the grain, return it to the gravy and refrigerate, or leave it whole in the gravy to cool, refrigerate, then slice it the next day and reheat it in the gravy.

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  8. This is one we INSIST on every year:

    Hallongrottor (Raspberry caves)
    A common Swedish pastry that has its American equivalent in the thumbprint cookie. An easily baked, molded cookie.

    Ingredients:

    ⅔ cup sugar
    1 cup butter
    1 tsp sugar
    1 tsp vanilla
    2 cups flour
    1½ tsp baking powder
    1 tsp cinnamon
    Lingonberry jam



    Preheat oven to 350°F. Cream together butter, vanilla, and sugar until light. Combine flour, baking powder, 1 tsp sugar, and cinnamon, and add to butter mixture. Beat at low to combine. Roll the dough into a loaf and cut into even slices. Roll each slice into a walnut-sized ball and place in a small cupcake form. Using your thumb, make a depression in each ball, and fill this with a teaspoon of raspberry jam. Bake for about 20 minutes or until lightly browned. MAKES 18

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  9. 3 ingredient melt-in-your-mouth shortbread cookies

    This is my favourite shortbread cookie, and I always have the ingredients on hand. So simple to make and so delicious, it produces a very delicate shortbread that is sure to please.


    Ingredients




    * 1 cup butter

    * 1 1/2 cups flour

    * 1/2 cup icing sugar



    Directions



    1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

    2. Combine all ingredients and mix for a FULL 10 minutes.

    3. Yes, I said a full 10 minutes!

    4. Mixture will start out very dry and crumbly but will become batter like after the full 10 minutes.

    5. I like to use my stand mixer for this, but a hand mixer will do the trick if it is a strong one.

    6. Drop from teaspoons or a piping bag onto a cookie sheet, I find teaspoons work best.

    7. Decorate with maraschino cherries or sprinkles if you feel fancy.
    8. Bake for approx 15 minutes or until bottoms are very lightly brown.
    9. Watch that the tops don't turn brown!

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  10. Silver Bell Cookies

    These are almond shortbreads - my mom used them as rolled cookies instead of the traditional sugar cookie dough. As a child they made their way onto the Christmas Tree as edible ornaments & you can imagine how long they lasted!

    Now I use them for everything: iced, traditional shortbread, substitute for a tart crusts. Over Thanksgiving this year, I used it as the base for the topping of my strawberry rhubarb crumble.

    It’s also the only dough I mix by hand.

    Shortbread:
    1 C. Soft Butter
    1/2 C. Sifted Powder Sugar
    1 tsp. Almond Extract
    2 1/4 C. Flour
    1/4 tsp Salt

    Optional Icing:
    1 C. Sifted Powdered Sugar
    1-1 1/2 T water
    1/2 tsp Vanilla

    Heat oven to 375 degrees

    Mix butter, sugar, salt, almond extract together unless smooth. Gently stir in flour until combined. Flatten & wrap & chill dough.

    Roll out 1/4” thick
    Cut with bell shaped cutter (or dinosaurs...whatever strikes your fancy, or press into a shortbread mould.)

    Bake on ungreased cookie sheet

    Ice & decorate with silver candies if that’s your thing. Happy Holidays!!!

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  11. KATHLEEN’S HOLIDAY ANGEL COOKIES
    Heat oven to 350 degrees.

    Mix:
    1 cup shortening
    ½ cup brown sugar
    ½ cup sugar
    1 egg
    1 teaspoon Vanilla
    Set aside

    Whisk together in separate large bowl:
    2 cups flour
    1 teaspoon baking soda
    1 teaspoon baking powder
    ½ teaspoon salt

    Add wet ingredients to dry. Stir until well mixed. Roll into 1 to 1 ½ inch balls. Dip one side into cold water and then into granulated sugar. Bake sugar side up on ungreased Teflon baking sheet for 13 minutes or light golden brown.

    Kathleen L Charles at comcast dot net

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  12. All of these sound so good! Good luck, everyone!

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  13. My Slovenian grandmother's potica, or nut roll, was always a holiday tradition for us and a real labor of love! Although, the other side of my family is French Canadian and we usually had a buche de noel every year as well, another labor of love! My sister would even make marzipan mushrooms to decorate it! OMG so many exclamation points!!

    POTICA (NUT ROLL):
    Crumble one package of yeast in 1/2 C. luke warm milk with 3 T. sugar and let it raise.

    Put in a large mixing bowl:
    8 C. flour
    1/4 lb melted butter
    1/2 pint sour cream
    1 C. sugar
    1 T. salt
    3 eggs + 1 egg yolk

    Add the risen yeast to the above ingredients, mix, and keep adding flour until you cannot mix anymore. Then turn out onto bread board and knead to a soft dough. Grease a bowl and let the dough raise until double.

    Meanwhile, make the filling:
    Boil 1 C. milk and add 1/2 lb. honey (do not boil the honey), 1 1/2 lbs ground nuts (or more), 1/4 lb. melted butter, 1/2 C. sugar, 1 T. black walnut extract, 1 lemon rind grated. Mix this to a soft filling (add milk if too dry).

    Roll dough very thin and spread with filling. Roll dough into long cylinder. Cut in half (or size you need) to fit greased and floured baking pans. Cover with cloth and let rise for about an hour (until double). Brush with beaten egg and bake in 325 oven about an hour.

    Whew! It's best the day it's baked, but anything left after that makes pretty swanky french toast!! Find helpers to bake this one as it really is a lot of work!

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  14. I was very excited to win this last year and it was gorgeous and DELICIOUS!! Also
    extremely kind of Josh to do something so thoughtful. ❤ Good luck, everyone!

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  15. Oops... I left my recipe in the Goodreads comments (misunderstood)... did it count?

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  16. My grandmother's meat and bread stuffing for Christmas turkey (as a side, not stuffed into cavity of bird):

    1.5 lbs ground beef
    1 lb ground pork
    1 lg onion, diced small
    1 loaf (approx) bread (stale or toasted in oven) torn into small pcs
    1/2 teasp ground clove
    1 teasp poultry seasoning
    2 c water
    Salt and pepper

    Put meat, onion, salt and pepper into large pot, cook on med low, stirring to avoid sticking. Increase heat to med and eventually med high. Add clove and poultry seasoning. When meat is cooked add bread gradually until absorbed. Season further to taste. To reach desired consistency, water or bread can be adjusted at the end.

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  17. Orange-Chocolate Chip Biscotti
    (this is a slight variation on a recipe from Alice Medrich's out-of-print Cookies and Brownies; Warner Books, 1999 )


    1 2/3 c flour (unsifted, but avoid packing it when measuring)
    1/2 t baking soda
    1/4 t salt
    2 large eggs
    3/4 c sugar
    1 t vanilla extract
    1/4 t orange extract or 1/2 t Grand Marnier
    Grated orange zest (2/3 medium orange)
    2 T fresh orange juice
    1 c semisweet chocolate chips (regular or mini)
    Preheat oven to 300 F. Position rack in middle of oven. Line a large, light-colored baking sheet with parchment or wax paper.

    Combine flour, soda, and salt and mix thoroughly with a whisk or fork.

    In a medium mixing bowl, whisk eggs, sugar, vanilla, orange extract, and zest until well blended. Mix in orange juice. Using a spoon or rubber spatula, stir in the flour until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips. Scrape the batter (which will be thick and sticky) onto the baking sheet, dividing it evenly into 2 long, skinny loaves, roughly 12 inches long and 2 to 2 1/2 inches wide, and placed at least 2 1/2 inches apart. Neaten the edges of each loaf with a spatula.

    Bake 35 min, or until firm but springy when pressed with a finger. Let cool for 10 min in pan, leaving the oven on. Use both hands to transfer each loaf carefully from the parchment paper to a cutting board. Using a heavy sharp knife or a finely serrated knife, slice loaves on the diagonal into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Place the biscotti upright, separated by 1/2 inch or more, back on the baking sheet and bake for 25 min or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Cool completely before stacking or storing. Store airtight at room temperature for up to several weeks. (The flavor develops and the biscotti become more tender after 2 or 3 days.)

    Makes ~35-45 biscotti, depending on size of loaves.

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  18. I'm away from home, so I don't have access to my recipes! 😥

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  19. These cookies are very popular and I only make them at Christmas.

    Holiday Fruit Drops

    1 cup shortening
    2 cups brown sugar
    2 eggs
    1/2 cup of soured milk (milk with 2 tspn of vinegar, let stand 2 hours). Buttermilk can be used in a pinch.
    3 1/2 cups of flour
    1 tsp baking soda
    1 tsp salt
    1 1/2 cups of candied cherries (halved)
    2 cups of dates cut into pieces (don't cheat and get the pre-diced, it makes the cookies too dry)
    1 1/2 cup of broken pecan pieces

    Cream shortening and sugar then add eggs and mix well.
    Stir in milk.
    Measure flour by dipping cup into flour and leveling with knife. Do not tap or pack.
    Blend dry ingredients and stir in creamed mixture.
    Stir in pecans pieces, dates and cherries. Save some pecans and halved cherries to place on top of cookies.
    Chill dough at least 1 hour.
    Drop rounded teaspoon of dough 2 inches apart on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Place pecan or candied cherry on top of each cookie. You can splurge and use both, if you want.

    Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven 10-16 minutes. 15 minutes is perfect when using my gas oven.

    Enjoy.

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  20. Holiday Fruit Drop Cookies

    I only make these at Christmas. They are addictive and extremely popular.

    1 cup of shortening
    2 cups of brown sugar
    2 eggs
    1/2 cup of soured milk (regular milk with 2 tspns of vinegar and let stand 2 hours. Buttermilk can be used in a pinch)
    3 1/2 cups of flour
    1 tsp baking soda
    1 tsp of salt
    1 1/2 cup of candied cherries, halved
    2 cups of chopped dates (don't cheat and use the pre-diced dates, they make the cookies too dry)
    1 1/2 cups of broken pecan pieces.

    Cream shortening and sugar, add eggs and mix well.
    Stir in milk.
    Measure flour by dipping flour in the container and leveling with a knife (do not tap or pack)
    Blend dry ingredients and stir into the creamed mixture.
    Stir in pecans, dates and candied cherries (save some cherries and pecans to put on top of the cookies).
    Chill dough at least 1 hour.
    Drop 1 rounded tspn of dough 2 inches apart on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Place a cherry or pecan on each cookie or splurge and put both.
    Bake in a pre-heated 350 oven 10-16 minutes. I have a gas oven and 15 minutes is perfect.

    Enjoy

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  21. Holy moly these all look SO good!!!

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