Crosstalk: 5 awesome recipes for your Christmas baking

Resistance is futile. At this time of year, stands with petits fours and tin canisters with waxed paper peeking over the edges rule the day, proudly inviting house guests to reach in and savour. And dip in again…Christmas just isn’t Christmas without baking traditions. From fruitcake and gingerbread to squares and candies, every family has its faves.Here we present a cluster of recipes to broaden your kitchen adventures at this time of year. Andrea Maunder of Bacalao Restaurant in St. John’s and baker extraordinaire Jennifer Whitfield.From shortbread to mincemeat to Christmas pudding to peanut butter mallow roll, you’re in for a treat.Recipes from Andrea Maunder of BacalaoNan Maunder’s Christmas Pudding(From my treasured little leather-bound book of her handwritten recipes started by Nan and my great Aunt in 1929. I found it in a hidden drawer of her kitchen table after she passed away.)First of all, let’s talk vessels. If you can’t find a pudding tin (usually aluminum with fluted sides, a tube up the middle and a top that clips or snaps in place), a bundt pan makes a wonderful substitute. The tube up the middle is very helpful since the pudding has a high moisture content. You could certainly use a medium-sized ceramic bowl in a pinch. Or do individual puddings in muffin tins. The trick, if you don’t have a pudding tin, is to make sure the top is well sealed. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and then with aluminum foil, sealing really well around the edges. If using a ceramic bowl, I’d be tempted to fasten an elastic band around the top or tie it with string. Whatever you use, grease and flour it well. (When I make individual puddings, I put little rounds of parchment paper in the bottom of each cup and use parchment instead of plastic as the inner layer, foil overtop, tucked well around the edges. And I bake them in a 250F oven inside a larger pan, half-filled with hot water for 1½ hours.)Tip: for the fruit, be sure to use the candied or glacée fruit from the baking aisle, not maraschino cherries and not dried fruit such as pineapple from the produce section (which tends to have crystallized sugar). It’s usually packed in 4 or 8 ounce plastic tubs in the baking aisle or you could ask at your bulk store. You’ll notice a little thick syrup at the bottom of the tub, the fruit looking kind of transparent and you’ll know it’s the right stuff.Christmas Pudding - serves 10-12:½ cup butter½ cup fancy molasses (not blackstrap)1 cup milk1 egg2 cups bread crumbs1/3 cup flour½ tsp baking powder¼ tsp baking sodapinch salt1 tsp ground cinnamon½ tsp ground allspice¼ tsp ground cloves¼ tsp nutmeg (freshly grated is best)¼ tsp ground cardamom (omit if you can’t find)¾ cup golden raisins2/3 cup candied cherries, chopped (a mixture of red and green is nice)1/3 cup candied citron1/3 cup mixed peel or mixed fruit¼ cup candied pineapple¾ cup chopped walnutsExtra red and green whole cherries that decorate the top of the pudding when it’s turned out.Grease and flour your tin - including the lid. In the bottom, near the tube, place alternately red and green whole cherries to form a ring around the tube. These will make a lovely decoration on the top of your pudding when you turn it out of the tin! Have a pot with a lid large enough to completely house the tin on top of the stove. Boil the kettle. Place a metal vegetable steamer, small tart pan or flattened wad of tinfoil in the bottom of the pot - just so your pudding tin doesn’t “dance” on the bottom of the pot while steaming.Cream the butter and molasses. Add the milk and egg and mix to incorporate. Stir in the bread crumbs, flour, baking powder and soda and spices. Add the fruit and nuts.Spoon the mixture into the tin, being careful at first not to dislodge the cherries in the bottom. It should fill your tin no more than 2/3rds the way to the top - this allows room for the pudding to expand. Attach the top. (Or fit with plastic and foil.) Place the tin in the pot, fill three-quarters of the way up the sides of the pudding tin with boiling water. Turn the burner to medium-low heat, place the lid on the pot and simmer for 2½-3 hours. You’ll likely need to add water. You don’t want a rolling boil in the pot but you do want a gentle simmer, so adjust the heat as necessary. You can check for doneness at the two-hour mark by lifting out the pudding (I use the handle of a wooden spoon through the little ring on the lid), lifting off the lid and inserting a wooden skewer. The pudding should look spongy but not wet and the skewer should come out clean (a little sticky but otherwise clean is ok). You can judge how much longer you need to steam until it’s done.When done, remove from pot and allow to cool with the lid on for 15 minutes or so. Then loosen pudding around the edges and the tube and turn out onto serving plate. To flame the pudding, it must be warm. (Microwave works wonderfully.) Also heat ¼ cup of rum or brandy in the microwave for about 20 seconds (not longer, you don’t want to evaporate the alcohol or your pudding won’t light!). Dim the lights, pour it over the pudding and set it to flame with a match. We always serve it with scald cream such as Fussels or Nestlé. I hope you enjoy Nan’s pudding as much as we do in the Maunder family and that you help keep the Christmas Pudding tradition alive and well! Merry Christmas!Petty Harbour Peanut Butter Mallow Roll - about 24 piecesI concocted this recipe when I was craving something salty, sweet and quick, late one night at home in Petty Harbour. I used what I had on hand and it has become one of my easy go-to recipes. It keeps in the fridge, ready to slice for guests that drop in, travels well and is easy to batch up to serve crowds. Bonus is it’s gluten free so a great choice for cookie exchanges. (And since there are nuts and cereal, it counts as breakfast, right?!)1 tbsp butter1 cup mini marshmallows½ cup peanut butterfreshly grated nutmeg - about ¼ tsppinch salt2 cups rice crisp cereal½ cup pure semisweet chocolate chips1 tsp vegetable oil1 tbsp butter1 cup mini marshmallowspinch salt½ cup salted peanutsIn a microwave safe bowl, melt the butter for 15-20 seconds. Add marshmallows and with a greased rubber spatula, toss them in the butter. Return to microwave for 1 minute intervals, stirring in between, until the marshmallows are melted and mixture comes together. (Depending on the power of your microwave, will take 2-3 minutes.) Add peanut butter, nutmeg, salt and stir together. Stir in rice crisp cereal to blend well.On a large sheet of parchment paper or cooking-spray coated plastic wrap, spread the mixture to an approximately 8x10 inch rectangle, about a third inch thick. (landscape presentation - the longest side closest to you.)In another small microwave safe bowl, toss the chocolate with the vegetable oil. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir, and continue to microwave for 30 second intervals, stirring, until melted and smooth. (90 seconds to 2 minutes) Set aside.In another microwave safe bowl, melt last tbsp of butter as before, toss last cup of marshmallows in butter andmicrowave as before, until melted and smooth. Add salt. Working quickly, spread this mixture in a 1 inch band along the bottom of your rectangle, about an inch up from the bottom edge.Then spoon a band of the melted chocolate above to the marshmallow band. Sprinkle the salted peanuts over the mallow and chocolate bands.Then, working from the bottom, roll up the rectangle, with the assistance of the parchment or plastic wrap, until you have a log. Press the edges to seal. Roll and shape it to smooth. Wrap tightly and refrigerate until firm - an hour or so. Keep chilled until ready to slice into ¼ to ½ inch slices to serve. You can vary the size of the slices by spreading the rice crisp mixture in a longer and thinner rectangle (such as closer to 20 inches long and 4 inches high) - that way your roll will be long and thin and the diameter of your slices will be smaller.) Store well-wrapped logs in your fridge and you’ll be ready to slice off treats for drop-in visitors as a moment’s notice. Keeps for weeks.Eggnog MarshmallowsAnyone who knows me knows my weakness for marshmallows. And to me, nothing surpasses homemade marshmallows. These are flavoured for the season with nutmeg and rum that makes them taste like the most wonderful eggnog. They are wonderful for savouring as they are but imagine them on top of a hot dark or white hot chocolate! You will need a candy thermometer and stand mixture for this recipe. Although you can make do with an electric hand mixer if you can enlist a second pair of hands for pouring the hot syrup into the gelatin.Gelatin mixture:2 seven-gram pouches unflavoured gelatin powder (such as Knox)1/3 cup cold water1 tbsp dark rum - I like Old Sam for this recipeSyrup:1 cup sugar½ cup dark corn syrup¼ cup water3 tbsp dark Rumpinch saltfew drops coconut extractfew drops almond extract½ tsp vanilla extractCoating:6 tbsp icing sugar4 tbsp cornstarch½ a fresh nutmeg, finely gratedCoat an 8x8 pan with cooking spray.In a small measuring cup, place the cold water and rum. Sprinkle in the gelatin and whisk to combine. Set it aside to “bloom” for ten minutes. It will get thick and look cloudy.Meanwhile, combine all the syrup ingredients except the extracts in a medium saucepan and place over high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally and fit with a candy thermometer. Keep an eye and remove from the heat at 242 degrees. Set aside briefly while you microwave the gelatin mixture for around 30 seconds, until melted. Pour this into the bowl of the stand mixer and fit with the whisk attachment. At low speed, slowly drizzle in the hot syrup mixture. Increase speed to medium and beat for 5 minutes, then on high for another 5 - adding the extracts and beating again for a minute. It should be light and fluffy, doubled in size.Transfer to the prepared pan and smooth with a greased offset spatula.Mix together the coating ingredients and sift a little over the top. Set aside at room temperature overnight to set (or for 6-8 hours). Don’t refrigerate or set in a hot or damp place. When set, pry the set sheet of marshmallow from the pan with an offset spatula or butter knife (the cooking spray makes it release easily), set it on a coating-dusted piece of parchment and cut into 36 squares (6 cuts across and 6 down) - dipping a sharp knife in hot water and wiping between cuts. Immediately toss the squares in the coating mixture to seal the sticky edges. Store between layers of parchment in an airtight container at room temperature. Or place in paper candy cups.Jennifer Whitfield's recipesMincemeat 3 large lemons6 large apples (Cortlands)1½ lbs. Seeded raisins1 lb. Seedless raisins1 lb. Currants½lb. Chopped mixed peel1 lb. Suet - course ground2 Tablespoons orange marmalade1 cup chopped walnuts½ cup chopped almonds½ - ⅔ cup mixed cherries - course chopped2 ½ Tablespoons ground nutmeg5½ cups (1 Kilo) brown sugar½ cup brandyCook apples - peel and all - strain. Put in large bowl. Cut lemons in four and put in food processor - grind. Place in pot with 1 cup water; bring to boil and let simmer until everything else is done.Put all ingredients into the bowl with apples. Add lemon mixture and stir well.Add brandy, last of all, and again stir well.Let stand for 3 weeks minimum before using.Stir well again and use.Shortbread6 oz. (1¼ cups) Flour 4 oz. (½ cup) butter - real Pinch Salt 2 oz. (1/3 cup) Rice Flour 2 oz. (1/3 cup) Fine SugarHeat oven. Cream butter and sugar, then gradually beat in flour, rice flour and salt (which have been mixed in a bowl beforehand). Turn out into a well-greased 9” round cake tin. Press the mixture evenly down into the pan. Take a fork and prick the entire round of shortbread, starting at the outside and working into the centre. Place in a 250°F heated oven and cook for about an hour. Be sure shortbread does not turn brown. Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes, then take a sharp knife and cut into 16 wedges.Wait till cool before removing from pan. Store in a dry, cool place. Resistance is futile. At this time of year, stands with petits fours and tin canisters with waxed paper peeking over the edges rule the day, proudly inviting house guests to reach in and savour. And dip in again… Christmas just isn’t Christmas without baking traditions. From fruitcake and gingerbread to squares and candies, every family has its faves. Here we present a cluster of recipes to broaden your kitchen adventures at this time of year. Andrea Maunder of Bacalao Restaurant in St. John’s and baker extraordinaire Jennifer Whitfield. From shortbread to mincemeat to Christmas pudding to peanut butter mallow roll, you’re in for a treat. Recipes from Andrea Maunder of Bacalao Nan Maunder’s Christmas Pudding (From my treasured little leather-bound book of her handwritten recipes started by Nan and my great Aunt in 1929. I found it in a hidden drawer of her kitchen table after she passed away.) First of all, let’s talk vessels. If you can’t find a pudding tin (usually aluminum with fluted sides, a tube up the middle and a top that clips or snaps in place), a bundt pan makes a wonderful substitute. The tube up the middle is very helpful since the pudding has a high moisture content. You could certainly use a medium-sized ceramic bowl in a pinch. Or do individual puddings in muffin tins. The trick, if you don’t have a pudding tin, is to make sure the top is well sealed. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and then with aluminum foil, sealing really well around the edges. If using a ceramic bowl, I’d be tempted to fasten an elastic band around the top or tie it with string. Whatever you use, grease and flour it well. (When I make individual puddings, I put little rounds of parchment paper in the bottom of each cup and use parchment instead of plastic as the inner layer, foil overtop, tucked well around the edges. And I bake them in a 250F oven inside a larger pan, half-filled with hot water for 1½ hours.) Tip: for the fruit, be sure to use the candied or glacée fruit from the baking aisle, not maraschino cherries and not dried fruit such as pineapple from the produce section (which tends to have crystallized sugar). It’s usually packed in 4 or 8 ounce plastic tubs in the baking aisle or you could ask at your bulk store. You’ll notice a little thick syrup at the bottom of the tub, the fruit looking kind of transparent and you’ll know it’s the right stuff. Christmas Pudding - serves 10-12: ½ cup butter ½ cup fancy molasses (not blackstrap) 1 cup milk 1 egg 2 cups bread crumbs 1/3 cup flour ½ tsp baking powder ¼ tsp baking soda pinch salt 1 tsp ground cinnamon ½ tsp ground allspice ¼ tsp ground cloves ¼ tsp nutmeg (freshly grated is best) ¼ tsp ground cardamom (omit if you can’t find) ¾ cup golden raisins 2/3 cup candied cherries, chopped (a mixture of red and green is nice) 1/3 cup candied citron 1/3 cup mixed peel or mixed fruit ¼ cup candied pineapple ¾ cup chopped walnuts Extra red and green whole cherries that decorate the top of the pudding when it’s turned out. Grease and flour your tin - including the lid. In the bottom, near the tube, place alternately red and green whole cherries to form a ring around the tube. These will make a lovely decoration on the top of your pudding when you turn it out of the tin! Have a pot with a lid large enough to completely house the tin on top of the stove. Boil the kettle. Place a metal vegetable steamer, small tart pan or flattened wad of tinfoil in the bottom of the pot - just so your pudding tin doesn’t “dance” on the bottom of the pot while steaming. Cream the butter and molasses. Add the milk and egg and mix to incorporate. Stir in the bread crumbs, flour, baking powder and soda and spices. Add the fruit and nuts. Spoon the mixture into the tin, being careful at first not to dislodge the cherries in the bottom. It should fill your tin no more than 2/3rds the way to the top - this allows room for the pudding to expand. Attach the top. (Or fit with plastic and foil.) Place the tin in the pot, fill three-quarters of the way up the sides of the pudding tin with boiling water. Turn the burner to medium-low heat, place the lid on the pot and simmer for 2½-3 hours. You’ll likely need to add water. You don’t want a rolling boil in the pot but you do want a gentle simmer, so adjust the heat as necessary. You can check for doneness at the two-hour mark by lifting out the pudding (I use the handle of a wooden spoon through the little ring on the lid), lifting off the lid and inserting a wooden skewer. The pudding should look spongy but not wet and the skewer should come out clean (a little sticky but otherwise clean is ok). You can judge how much longer you need to steam until it’s done. When done, remove from pot and allow to cool with the lid on for 15 minutes or so. Then loosen pudding around the edges and the tube and turn out onto serving plate. To flame the pudding, it must be warm. (Microwave works wonderfully.) Also heat ¼ cup of rum or brandy in the microwave for about 20 seconds (not longer, you don’t want to evaporate the alcohol or your pudding won’t light!). Dim the lights, pour it over the pudding and set it to flame with a match. We always serve it with scald cream such as Fussels or Nestlé. I hope you enjoy Nan’s pudding as much as we do in the Maunder family and that you help keep the Christmas Pudding tradition alive and well! Merry Christmas! Petty Harbour Peanut Butter Mallow Roll - about 24 pieces I concocted this recipe when I was craving something salty, sweet and quick, late one night at home in Petty Harbour. I used what I had on hand and it has become one of my easy go-to recipes. It keeps in the fridge, ready to slice for guests that drop in, travels well and is easy to batch up to serve crowds. Bonus is it’s gluten free so a great choice for cookie exchanges. (And since there are nuts and cereal, it counts as breakfast, right?!) 1 tbsp butter 1 cup mini marshmallows ½ cup peanut butter freshly grated nutmeg - about ¼ tsp pinch salt 2 cups rice crisp cereal ½ cup pure semisweet chocolate chips 1 tsp vegetable oil 1 tbsp butter 1 cup mini marshmallows pinch salt ½ cup salted peanuts In a microwave safe bowl, melt the butter for 15-20 seconds. Add marshmallows and with a greased rubber spatula, toss them in the butter. Return to microwave for 1 minute intervals, stirring in between, until the marshmallows are melted and mixture comes together. (Depending on the power of your microwave, will take 2-3 minutes.) Add peanut butter, nutmeg, salt and stir together. Stir in rice crisp cereal to blend well. On a large sheet of parchment paper or cooking-spray coated plastic wrap, spread the mixture to an approximately 8x10 inch rectangle, about a third inch thick. (landscape presentation - the longest side closest to you.) In another small microwave safe bowl, toss the chocolate with the vegetable oil. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir, and continue to microwave for 30 second intervals, stirring, until melted and smooth. (90 seconds to 2 minutes) Set aside. In another microwave safe bowl, melt last tbsp of butter as before, toss last cup of marshmallows in butter and microwave as before, until melted and smooth. Add salt. Working quickly, spread this mixture in a 1 inch band along the bottom of your rectangle, about an inch up from the bottom edge. Then spoon a band of the melted chocolate above to the marshmallow band. Sprinkle the salted peanuts over the mallow and chocolate bands. Then, working from the bottom, roll up the rectangle, with the assistance of the parchment or plastic wrap, until you have a log. Press the edges to seal. Roll and shape it to smooth. Wrap tightly and refrigerate until firm - an hour or so. Keep chilled until ready to slice into ¼ to ½ inch slices to serve. You can vary the size of the slices by spreading the rice crisp mixture in a longer and thinner rectangle (such as closer to 20 inches long and 4 inches high) - that way your roll will be long and thin and the diameter of your slices will be smaller.) Store well-wrapped logs in your fridge and you’ll be ready to slice off treats for drop-in visitors as a moment’s notice. Keeps for weeks. Eggnog Marshmallows Anyone who knows me knows my weakness for marshmallows. And to me, nothing surpasses homemade marshmallows. These are flavoured for the season with nutmeg and rum that makes them taste like the most wonderful eggnog. They are wonderful for savouring as they are but imagine them on top of a hot dark or white hot chocolate! You will need a candy thermometer and stand mixture for this recipe. Although you can make do with an electric hand mixer if you can enlist a second pair of hands for pouring the hot syrup into the gelatin. Gelatin mixture: 2 seven-gram pouches unflavoured gelatin powder (such as Knox) 1/3 cup cold water 1 tbsp dark rum - I like Old Sam for this recipe Syrup: 1 cup sugar ½ cup dark corn syrup ¼ cup water 3 tbsp dark Rum pinch salt few drops coconut extract few drops almond extract ½ tsp vanilla extract Coating: 6 tbsp icing sugar 4 tbsp cornstarch ½ a fresh nutmeg, finely grated Coat an 8x8 pan with cooking spray. In a small measuring cup, place the cold water and rum. Sprinkle in the gelatin and whisk to combine. Set it aside to “bloom” for ten minutes. It will get thick and look cloudy. Meanwhile, combine all the syrup ingredients except the extracts in a medium saucepan and place over high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally and fit with a candy thermometer. Keep an eye and remove from the heat at 242 degrees. Set aside briefly while you microwave the gelatin mixture for around 30 seconds, until melted. Pour this into the bowl of the stand mixer and fit with the whisk attachment. At low speed, slowly drizzle in the hot syrup mixture. Increase speed to medium and beat for 5 minutes, then on high for another 5 - adding the extracts and beating again for a minute. It should be light and fluffy, doubled in size. Transfer to the prepared pan and smooth with a greased offset spatula. Mix together the coating ingredients and sift a little over the top. Set aside at room temperature overnight to set (or for 6-8 hours). Don’t refrigerate or set in a hot or damp place. When set, pry the set sheet of marshmallow from the pan with an offset spatula or butter knife (the cooking spray makes it release easily), set it on a coating-dusted piece of parchment and cut into 36 squares (6 cuts across and 6 down) - dipping a sharp knife in hot water and wiping between cuts. Immediately toss the squares in the coating mixture to seal the sticky edges. Store between layers of parchment in an airtight container at room temperature. Or place in paper candy cups. Jennifer Whitfield's recipes Mincemeat 3 large lemons 6 large apples (Cortlands) 1½ lbs. Seeded raisins 1 lb. Seedless raisins 1 lb. Currants ½lb. Chopped mixed peel 1 lb. Suet - course ground 2 Tablespoons orange marmalade 1 cup chopped walnuts ½ cup chopped almonds ½ - ⅔ cup mixed cherries - course chopped 2 ½ Tablespoons ground nutmeg 5½ cups (1 Kilo) brown sugar ½ cup brandy Cook apples - peel and all - strain. Put in large bowl. Cut lemons in four and put in food processor - grind. Place in pot with 1 cup water; bring to boil and let simmer until everything else is done. Put all ingredients into the bowl with apples. Add lemon mixture and stir well. Add brandy, last of all, and again stir well. Let stand for 3 weeks minimum before using. Stir well again and use. Shortbread 6 oz. (1¼ cups) Flour 4 oz. (½ cup) butter - real Pinch Salt 2 oz. (1/3 cup) Rice Flour 2 oz. (1/3 cup) Fine Sugar Heat oven. Cream butter and sugar, then gradually beat in flour, rice flour and salt (which have been mixed in a bowl beforehand). Turn out into a well-greased 9” round cake tin. Press the mixture evenly down into the pan. Take a fork and prick the entire round of shortbread, starting at the outside and working into the centre. Place in a 250°F heated oven and cook for about an hour. Be sure shortbread does not turn brown. Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes, then take a sharp knife and cut into 16 wedges. Wait till cool before removing from pan. Store in a dry, cool place.