Holiday Cookbook 2020

By RYAN MCCRACKEN on December 18, 2020.

This Christmas season has undoubtedly been like no other, with changes to virtually every aspect of the way we enjoy the holiday with friends and family – but if there’s one thing COVID hasn’t impacted too heavily, it’s

holiday baking.

Gingerbread has always been an important part of every Christmas season in the McCracken household. While our gingerbread house building contest had to be put on hold due to the pandemic, it hasn’t stopped me from cooking up a small army of gingerbread men using my mother’s recipe from Germany.

And I’m not alone. Hatters across the city have been

baking up a storm using

their own family recipes this Holiday season, and many stepped forward to share their favourites for our cookbook.

To start things off, here’s my family gingerbread recipe – great for cookies or house-building!

This Christmas season has undoubtedly been like no other, with changes to virtually every aspect of the way we enjoy the holiday with friends and family – but if there’s one thing COVID hasn’t been able to impact, it’s the joy of holiday baking.

Gingerbread has always been an important part of every Christmas season in the McCracken household. While my annual gingerbread house building contest had to be put on hold due to the pandemic, it hasn’t stopped me from cooking up a small army of gingerbread men.

And I’m not alone. Hatters across the city have been baking up a storm inside their homes through the holidays, and many stepped forward to share some of their favourites for our 2020 Christmas Cookbook.

To start things off, here’s my family gingerbread recipe – great for cookies or house-building!

Ryan McCracken’s Gingerbread Cookies

Ingredients:

- 5 ½ cups flour

- 1 tsp baking soda

- 1 tsp salt

- 2 tsp ginger

- 2 tsp cinnamon

- 1 tsp nutmeg

- 1 tsp cloves

- 1 cup shortening

- 1 cup sugar

- 1 ¼ cup molasses

- 2 eggs, beaten

Directions

- Thoroughly mix flour, baking soda, salt and spices

- Melt shortening in a large saucepan

- Add sugar, molasses and eggs, mix well

- Cool slightly and add to dry ingredients

- Chill well

- Preheat oven to 350F

- Knead lightly

- Roll out to around ¼ inch thickness, cut shapes

- Bake for 10 minutes

– Ice and decorate – Smarties are always a great choice!

Michelle Harker’s Brown Butter Bourbon Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies 

Ingredients

For the Buttered Pecans:

– 1 1/2 Cups pecan halves, finely chopped

– 1 1/2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

For the Brown Butter Bourbon Pecan Chocolate Chunk Cookies:

– 2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, melted until browned

– 2 1/3 Cups all-purpose flour (don’t pack the flour)

– 1 teaspoon salt

– 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

– 1 teaspoon baking soda

– 1 Cup dark brown sugar, packed

– 1/2 Cup granulated sugar

– 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

– 2 Tablespoons bourbon

– 2 Large eggs, at room temperature

– 12 ounces dark chocolate chips

– 24 pecans halves 

– Smoked sea salt

Directions

For the Buttered Pecans:

1. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add in chopped pecans and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4 to 5 minutes, or until lightly toasted. Set aside until needed.

For the Brown Butter:

1. Place the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook for about 6 minutes – stirring almost constantly – until the butter has browned. Pour the brown butter into a heatproof bowl, being sure to scrape all of the “toasted” bits into the bowl as well. Place the bowl in the refrigerator for 2 hours, or until the butter is at room temperature. You’ll know the butter is at room temperature when you press a finger into the top and it makes a slight indentation. It should not be liquid at all.

2. Once the butter is at room temperature, you’re ready to get baking!

For the Brown Butter Bourbon Pecan Chocolate Chunk Cookies:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside until needed.

2. In a large bowl combine flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda; whisk well to combine then set aside until needed.

3. In a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer, or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine browned butter and both sugars and beat on medium-speed until light and fluffy; about 2 minutes. Add in the vanilla and bourbon and beat until combined. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating for 15 seconds after each addition. Turn mixer off. Using a wooden spoon or sturdy rubber spatula, gently fold in the flour, stirring only until the flour begins to disappear. Fold in the chocolate chips and buttered pecans.

4. Roll 3 tablespoon sized scoops of dough between your palms to form a ball (I used an ice cream scooper), then place on prepared sheets (make sure to leave enough room in between each cookie for spreading). Continue this process until all the dough has been rolled. Press a pecan on the top of each cookie dough mound, if desired.

5. Place baking sheets in preheated oven, one at a time, and bake for 9 to 10 minutes, or until golden at the edges but still soft in the middle. Repeat with all cookie dough. Sprinkle cookies with sea salt right when they come out of the oven. Let cookies cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire wrack to cool completely.

Joanne Bourassa’s Butter Cookie Snowmen

 

Ingredients

- 1 cup butter, softened

- ½ cup sugar

- 1 tbsp milk

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

- Red and yellow paste food colouring

– Miniature chocolate chips

Directions

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add milk and vanilla; mix well. Gradually add flour. Remove 1/4 cup of dough to a small bowl; tint with red food colouring; set aside. 

For snowmen, shape white dough into 24 balls, 1 ¼ inch each. For bodies, place large balls on two ungreased baking sheets; flatten to 3/8 inch thickness. Place ½ inch balls above bodies for heads, flatten.

Shape red dough into 24 balls, 1/8 inch each, and 24 triangles. Place triangles above heads; attach 1/8 inch white balls for tassels. Place red balls on heads for noses. Divide the yellow dough into 24 pieces; shape into scarves and position on snowmen. Add chocolate chip eyes and buttons. Bake at 325F for 13-16 minutes or until set. Cool for two minutes before removing to wire racks.

 

Michelle Harker’s Chocolate Gingerbread Bundt Cake with Baileys Ice Cream and Smoked Sea Salt Caramel Sauce 

Chocolate Gingerbread Bundt Cake

Ingredients

– 3 cups flour, spooned in

– 3 tbsp cocoa powder

– 2 tsp baking powder

– 1 tsp baking soda

– 1 tbsp ginger

– 2 tsp cinnamon

– 1/2 tsp salt

– 1/2 tsp. nutmeg

– 1/4 tsp cloves

– 2/3 cup butter, room temperature

– 1 1/2 cups sugar

– 3 eggs

– 1/2 cup Crosby’s fancy molasses

– 1 tsp vanilla

– 2 cups sour cream

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9 or 10-inch bundt or tube pan and dust with flour.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg and cloves.

3. In another bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Beat in molasses and vanilla.

4. Add the dry mixture to the creamed mixture in three additions, alternating with the sour cream (beginning and ending with the dry mixture).

5. Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake 50-60 minutes, until a tester comes out clean when inserted into centre of cake and when the cake starts to pull away from the sides of the pan.

6. Cool cake in pan for 10-20 minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack. When ready to serve, sprinkle over icing sugar.

Bailey’s Ice Cream

Ingredients

– 2 cups heavy cream

– 1 can sweetened condensed milk

– 1/3 cup Baileys Original Irish Cream

In a large bowl, beat heavy cream with a hand mixer until the cream has stiff peaks. Whip in the sweetened condensed milk and once combined, whip in 1⁄3 cup Baileys Original Irish Cream.

Pour ice cream mixture into a long metal loaf pan. Freeze until solid, at least 4 hours.

Smoked Sea Salt Caramel Sauce

Ingredients

– 1/2 cup, plus 2 tablespoons, unsalted butter

– 1/2 cup brown sugar

– 1/2 cup sugar

– 1/3 cup golden or light corn syrup

– 1 cup heavy cream

– 4 teaspoons smoked sea salt

Directions

1. Melt the butter, sugars and syrup in a small, heavy-based pan and let it simmer for 3 minutes, swirling the pan every now and then.

2. Add the cream and the smoked salt and swirl again, then give it a stir with a wooden spoon, and taste. Go cautiously so that you don’t burn your tongue, and see if you want to add more salt, before letting it cook for another minute. Let it cool then pour sauce into a jug to serve.

Part 1 appeared in Thursday’s edition of the News.

Marilyn Sheppard-Colley’s Newfie Snowballs

Ingredients

– 3 cups sugar

– 3/4 cup melted buttered

– 1 1/4 cups milk

– 3 cups rolled oats

– 1 cup sweetened fine coconut

– 12 tbsp cocoa

– 2 tbsp vanilla

Directions

In a big saucepan, combine sugar, melted butter and milk, boil together. Once mixture begins to boil, it is very important not to stir it at all.

Mix together rolled oats, coconut, cocoa and vanilla. Add boiled mixture to dry ingredients.

Chill until mixture is able to be shaped into 1 1/2 inch balls.

Roll into coconut.

 

Michelle Harker’s Easy Rolo Pretzel Turtles 

Ingredients 

- Pecan halves 

- Rolos 

– Mini Pretzels 

Directions

Toast some pecan halves by dipping in melted butter and putting in a 325° oven for 10 minutes. 

Lay out mini pretzels on top of parchment paper.

Place one Rolo on top of each pretzel. 

Put in 300F oven for 3 minutes. 

Top with a pecan and gently press down. 

Put in refrigerator for 40 minutes. 

Keep in airtight container.

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