DECADENT EGGNOG BROWNIES: Eggnog Day!

Christmas Eve is also National Eggnog Day. Let's celebrate! If you're like me, you have eggnog around this time of year, and Santa doesn't always partake. So how else to use Eggnog? Eggnog Brownies! Eggnog adds extra richness.

This amazing recipe is from Amy Guittard's Guittard Chocolate Book...no surprise there! I love Guittard Chocolate, and the recipes in Amy's cookbook are fantastic. These brownies are absolutely delicious! If you already have brandy in your eggnog, you don't need to add more... And, as always, use the very best chocolate and Eggnog!

Decadent Eggnog Brownies

Ingredients
6 ounces Guittard 100% Cacao Unsweetened Chocolate, chopped
1 cup + 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
4 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk, divided
2 1/2 cups plus 4 Tbsp granulated sugar, divided
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp salt
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup eggnog
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Line 9 x 9 x 2 inch pan with foil covering the bottom and extending up sides.
Melt unsweetened chocolate and butter in medium microwave safe bowl at medium power (50% or level 5) mixing at 30-second intervals until smooth and all of chocolate is melted. Set aside.
In large bowl of stand mixer, fitted with paddle attachment, beat eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt at high speed for about 2-3 minutes or until light and creamy. Blend in melted chocolate at low speed, stopping to scrape sides as needed. Add flour just until incorporated.
Spread two-thirds of the batter into prepared pan and transfer remainder to a small bowl.
Clean bowl and paddle of stand mixer and refit to mixer. Beat egg yolk on medium-high until frothy. Stir in 4 tablespoons granulated sugar, eggnog, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Beat in cream cheese until mixture is smooth.
Top  brownie batter with cream cheese eggnog mixture, using spatula to level out mixture. Spoon remaining brownie batter over cream cheese eggnog layer, again using spatula to spread evenly. Drag the spatula through pan to create marbled effect.
Bake about 45 minutes to an hour or until top is puekered and cracked and toothpick inserted in center is moist (DO NOT OVERBAKE!)
Cool before cutting.

CHOCOLATE FIGGY PUDDING: History, Recipe, & Figgy Pudding Cat Xmas Cards

"Now! Bring us some figgy pudding and bring some out here!"

How long have you been singing this Christmas Carol? Have you ever had Figgy Pudding aka Christmas Pudding? And what, exactly is it?

One other question you might ask, can you add chocolate? Yes! Scroll down for Ghirardelli's recipe for Chocolate Figgy Pudding.

Figgy Pudding is pretty much exactly what it sounds like -- a pudding/cake with figs in it. The reason that it's in such high demand, though, has more to do with its inedible ingredients. Coins, rings and other trinkets were often hidden in the Christmas pudding and each supposedly predicted the recipient's fortune for the coming year. For example, if you found a coin, you would become wealthy. If you found a ring, you'd get married ... and so on. Think of it as an Old English fortune cookie.

From WiseGeek.com:

It's amazing what a brief mention in one Victorian-era Christmas carol can do for an obscure little dessert called figgy pudding. Every year, thousands of people around the world become curious about the dessert mentioned in the secular English carol "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." Apparently, the party-goers mentioned in the lyrics refuse to leave until they get some of this pudding from their host. This must be some seriously good pudding.

In actuality, figgy pudding is more of a cake than a pudding. There have been recipes for it since the 15th century, although its popularity as a Christmas dessert probably reached its peak during the late 19th century. Several factors have significantly hampered the wholesale expansion of the figgy pudding industry, including an interminably long cooking time, an exotic ingredients list and a cringe-inducing dependency on saturated fats for texture.

There are numerous recipes for this pudding, from a traditional steamed version similar to modern bread pudding to a pastry-covered blend of figs, dates, fruits and spices. Nearly all recipes call for three or four hours of steaming. This is accomplished by placing a metal bowl with the pudding mixture into a larger bowl partially filled with boiling water. The indirect heat generated by the boiling water cooks the dessert evenly and slowly. This is equivalent to using a bain marie water bath for individual ramekins filled with batter.

Ghirardelli Chocolate Figgy Pudding


Ingredients
3 eggs
1-1/2 cups brown sugar
4 cups soft bread crumbs
1 cup finely chopped suet (I use unsalted butter)
2 Tbsp flour
1-1/2 cups chopped dried figs
3/4 cup Ghirardelli's Ground Chocolate
1/2 cup hot milk
3/4 tsp salt

Directions:
Beat eggs, add sugar, bread crumbs, suet, figs (dredged with flour), chocolate mixed with hot milk, and salt, stir thoroughly.
Steam three hours in a greased mold.
Serve hot with a hard sauce.

Hard sauce: Great recipe at The Pioneer Woman

Merry Christmas!

PEPPERMINT STICK ICE CREAM PIE: Perfect Christmas Dessert

When I was little, we went on long turnpike rides to visit family during the holidays. On the way, we always stopped at Howard Johnson's, the roadside retreat, and my treat was Peppermint Stick Ice Cream. It didn't matter what the weather was like outside, that Peppermint Ice Cream was delicious -- rich and creamy, filled with lots of crunchy peppermint pieces. It was served in simple cones then, but this recipe for Peppermint Stick Ice Cream Pie takes it one step further. This is a great last minute dessert when you have unexpected company during the holidays--or plan on it!

Even though it's freezing and wet outside, this shouldn't keep you from making this simple delicious Peppermint Ice Cream Pie. As a matter of fact, now's the time to make this when the Limited Edition flavors hit the frozen dairy case. Dreyer's Ice Cream (Edy's in the Midwest and on the East Coast) has a very good Peppermint Ice Cream. Fenton's, a local favorite, has terrific Peppermint Ice Cream, too. Of course, you can use any Peppermint Ice Cream you like! You can even make your own! Scroll down for an easy no-churn recipe for Peppermint Stick Ice Cream. 

Tip: Be sure and put the pie crust in the freezer rather than refrigerator for an hour before filling, so it doesn't get soggy.

Peppermint Ice Cream Pie

Peppermint Oreo Pie Crust

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups of crushed Trader Joe's Candy Cane Joe Joes (oreo-like with peppermint filling), finely crushed (whirl in a blender or put in plastic bag and use rolling pin)
2 1/2 ounces of melted unsalted butter

Directions

Combine cookie crumbs with melted butter in a bowl.
Pour mixture into 9 inch pie pan and press into the bottom and up the sides evenly.
Smooth surface with the back of a spoon.
Freeze pie crust for at least an hour.

Filling:
1 carton (1.5 quarts) Peppermint Ice Cream  (leave out for 10-15 minutes to soften) 

(or make your own: See below.)
2 candy canes, crushed

Directions:
Spread softened ice cream evenly on frozen crust.
Sprinkle with crushed candy canes.
Freeze for several hours until firm.
Cut into wedges to serve.

NO CHURN PEPPERMINT STICK ICE CREAM

Ingredients

2 cups heavy cream 

1/2 tsp peppermint extract 

Crushed candy canes

1/2 cup sugar 

Directions

Put cream, extract, and sugar in blender.  

Blend on high until smooth and creamy.

Fold in crushed candy canes.

Pour in freezer safe container. Freeze for 4-6 hours.

Bûche de Noël aka Yule Log for the Winter Solstice

Celebrate the Winter Solstice with a Bûche de Noël aka Yule Log.  Bûche de Noël is the traditional dessert served at the Solstice and during the Christmas holidays in many countries. Basically it looks like a log ready for the fire, hence the name Yule Log.

The traditional Bûche de Noël is made from a Genoise (see recipe below) filled and frosted with buttercream. The Bûche de Noël is often iced to look like a piece of the branch has broken off. Sometimes there are fresh berries and meringue or marzipan mushrooms. Bûche de Noël is one of my favorite holiday desserts. The log represents the hearth -- the center of the house, and this yule log (Bûche de Noël) will certainly be the center of your holiday table.

Stuck for time? Check out your local bakery and order one! Also, check back tomorrow when I post an incredibly easy retro Buche de Noel/Yule Log recipe.

Bûche de Noël aka Yule Log
(recipe adapted from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients
2 cups heavy cream (cold)
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 egg yolks (eggs at room temperature)
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
 6 egg whites (room temp)
1/4 cup white sugar
Confectioners Sugar for Dusting
Meringue Mushrooms (see recipe below)

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line 10x15 inch greased jellyroll pan with greased (sprayed) parchment paper. In large bowl, whip cream, 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, 1/2 cup cocoa, and 1 teaspoon vanilla until thick and stiff. Refrigerate.

In large bowl, use electric mixer to beat egg yolks with 1/2 cup sugar until thick and pale (about 5 minutes). Blend in 1/3 cup cocoa, 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla, and salt. In large glass bowl, using clean beaters, whip egg whites to soft peaks. Gradually add 1/4 cup sugar, and beat until whites form very stiff peaks. Immediately fold yolk mixture into whites. Spread batter evenly into the prepared pan.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in preheated oven, or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Dust heavily clean dishtowel with lots of confectioners' sugar. Run a knife around the edge of pan, and turn warm cake out onto silicone baking mat (or towel, but the mat works better!). Remove and discard parchment paper. Let cool before rolling. Starting at short edge of cake, roll cake up with towel. Use the towel as the rolling agent. Cool for 30 minutes. Unroll cake, and spread filling to within 1 inch of the edge. Roll cake up with filling inside. Place seam side down onto serving plate. Ice with remaining filling. Run tines across to simulate bark. Refrigerate until serving. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.

Add meringue mushrooms before serving (do not refrigerate the mushrooms) or use some 'real' holly leaves. Do not use mistletoe. It's poisonous.

MERINGUE MUSHROOMS
(recipe-Southern Living-1999)

Ingredients 
3 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup superfine sugar
1/2 cup (3 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips, melted
2 teaspoons cocoa

Directions
Combine first 5 ingredients; beat at high speed with electric mixer until foamy. Add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form and sugar dissolves (2 to 4 minutes).
Spoon mixture into decorating bag fitted with large round tip. Pipe 32 (1 1/4-inch-wide) mounds to resemble mushroom caps and 32 (1-inch-tall) columns to resemble stems onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
Bake at 200° for 1 1/2 hours; turn oven off. Let meringues stand in closed oven 2 hours.
Spread thin layer of melted chocolate on flat side of caps. Trim rounded end of stems to make them flat; press stems against chocolate to attach them to caps. Sprinkle meringues lightly with cocoa.