Three Holiday Dessert Recipes!

Halle Cottle, Reporter
December 25, 2012

Winter Break is always the biggest time for treats, snacks, and sugar. From Peppermint Bark to Hot Chocolate to Gingerbread houses, the Holidays are all about food. This break, eat as much as you want with these five delicious, yet healthier choices to satisfy your sweet tooth.

1) Homemade Marshmallows:

Homemade marshmallows are said to be ten times better than the processed store bought ones- and even though they still contain a lot of sugar, they are organic and have light corn syrup in them. One thing that you might not have in your kitchen is a candy thermometer; also use a parchment paper to work on that way the stickiness mess is minimized.

Other materials needed are:

  • 1 cup of cold water, divided
  • 3 envelopes of 1/4 oz plain gelatin
  • 2 cups granulated white sugar
  • 1 cup light corn syrup
  • 1/4 teaspoon of salt
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 3-4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. Then sift about 3 tablespoons of confectioners’ sugar onto the bottom of the pan. Place 1/2 cup cold water into the bowl of your electric mixer and sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let stand until gelatin softens for about 15 minutes. Place the sugar, corn syrup, salt, and remaining 1/2 cup cold water in a separate saucepan. Put the saucepan on medium heat and stir until all the sugar is dissolved, then wait until the mixture boils. Remove the lid and attach the Candy Thermometer to the side of the pan. Increase the heat to high and wait until the syrup reaches 240 degrees Fahrenheit- should only take about 10 minutes. Turn on the mixer at low speed and slowly pour the hot syrup into the gelatin mixture down the side of the bowl. Gradually increase the speed and beat until the mixture has increased about 3x its original size, then add the vanilla extract. Pour the mixture onto the pan laid with parchment and smooth out with a spatula (preferably rubber). Dust the top of the marshmallow with another 3 tablespoons of confectioners’ sugar and leave uncovered, at room temperature for about 12 hours. Take a knife to loosen the marshmallow from the edges of the pan and move it onto a cutting board that is sprinkled with confectioners’ sugar. Dust extra confectioners’ sugar on the rest of the marshmallows and use a knife to the cut the marshmallows into squares. Then voilà, you have made a batch of 24 homemade marshmallows!

 2) Jack Frost Cookies
This recipe is a lot easier than the marshmallows!
You’ll need:
  • 11.1 lb package of frozen puff pastry dough
  • 2 tablespoons of butter
  • 1/4 cup coconut palm sugar OR regular granulated sugar mixed with 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon water

First, let the dough defrost at room temperature for 30 minutes then unroll. Brush each sheet of dough with 1 tablespoon of butter, then sprinkle it with half of the sugar. Then, cut the dough into 1 centimeter wide strips and twist it around itself, curving one end to make a “hook” shape. Do this to each strip of dough. Then, in a separate bowl, mix the egg and water. Brush each dough strip with the egg yolk mixture then bake the cookies at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. To finish, sprinkle with the remaining sugar and ‘ta-da’- you have 20 cute Jack Frost cookies!

3) Gingerbread Cupcakes
These are my personal favorite; you can top them with whatever decoration you want and can get creative with the festivity of them.
What you will need:
  • 1  cup sorghum flour
  • 1 cup oat flour
  • 1 cup brown rice flour
  • 1/4 cup  coconut flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 1/2 tablespoon psyllium husk powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ginger
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon  allspice
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3 tablespoon flax seeds
  • 6 tablespoon filtered water
  • 1 cup dark molasses
  • 1 cup pumpkin
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil
  • 2 tablespoons vanilla
  • 1 cup lemon-flavored mineral water

Preheat  the oven to 325 degrees and line two muffin tins with cupcake liners. Sift all the flours into one large bowl along with the baking soda. Grind the flax seeds until they look like powder and mix the powder with filtered water in a separate bowl and let stand for five minutes. Add the molasses, pumpkin, coconut oil, and vanilla into the mixer bowl and blend for two minutes, or until fluffy. Slowly add the flour mixture in a little at a time so that it is completely mixed. Then combine the  mineral water/flax seed powder with the batter and mix until completely smooth. Fill the cupcake plate about 2/3 full for each mold, because they expand a lot. Put the cupcakes in the oven for 11 minutes, then turn the trays 180 degrees so that they bake evenly, then put them in for a remaining 8 minutes. To decorate, zest a little lemon on top of the frosting, and add a candy gingerbread man. That should make a batch of about 24 delicious cupcakes!

 

These three recipes are fun for the family and are actually a lot healthier than buying snacks from your local Ralph’s!