The Chronicle Herald (Provincial)
East Coast holiday cookies
The holiday table is a special one. It’s a time when everyone’s favourite makes an appearance and, if we are lucky, we get to enjoy a truly festive dessert.
My mom always loved making everyone feel special, and when it came to making holiday sweets, she was a master. In Hungarian culture, the cookies are just as important as the main dessert. We have a treasured Hungarian porcelain three-tiered cookie tower. When we were little, her Christmas sweets were comprised of her Hungarian cookies and Lebanese-armenian sweets from Dad’s side of the family.
As we grew up, Mom began bringing in cookies from her friends. Some of the favourites were Italian lemon cookies, Dutch almond cake, and Jewish rugelach. This collection of confections became an edible cultural patchwork quilt of the community I lived in.
Since my mom passed four years ago, I reflect a lot on the special things she would do for us, and I think her cookie tower taught me more than my love for fancies, but about how much she grew as a person and her immense capacity for love and inclusion.
Mom came to Canada as a little girl. She learned a new language and a new lifestyle, which was quite different from the little Hungarian village she grew up in.
I think she shared her new connections with her Canadian life through many of the dishes she made. I remember the first time we ever ate fresh basil in our house. I was a child and it was a family gathering for Thanksgiving, I think. She made a warm potato Caesar salad to go with the turkey. As everyone took their first bites of the salad, I remember our eyes widening with wonder. It was amazing. It became a family gathering staple for the next few years.
This year, I would have liked to share this recipe for the Greek cookie, melomakarona, with my mom. We could have made them, along with the rest of these very special sweets from the kitchens from folks across the East Coast who are sharing their treasured recipes with us. Cookies and sweets are a postcard from our hearts, and I hope you enjoy these with those close to yours.
MELOMAKARONA
Adapted recipe from Chef Ilona Daniel — A Greek Christmas classic that makes about 5 dozen cookies
For the cookies:
2 cups olive oil
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brandy
1/2 cup freshly-squeezed orange juice
Orange zest from two oranges 1 Tbsp cinnamon
7 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
For the syrup: 2 cups honey 2 cups sugar 2 cups water
For the topping:
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts or pistachios
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Directions:
Preheat oven at 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl, mix the olive oil, brandy, orange juice, sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, and orange peel. In another bowl, sift flour and mix with the baking powder and baking soda. Add gradually to the olive oil mixture, while stirring with a wooden spoon.
Once you have added all the flour; knead the dough and add some more flour sparingly if needed. If too much flour is added, the cookies will become very dry.
Roll the dough into little balls
about the size of a walnut or slightly smaller than a Timbit. Using your fingers, press one side of the ball on the fine side of a box grater, flattening like into a small round, folding so the cookie is oval, with the top having the design of the grater. This is done so the honey will be better absorbed as opposed to just shaping the cookie in a solid oval shape.
Place the cookies on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for about 25 minutes. Once all the cookies are baked, flip them so that the bottom part is facing up and allow to cool.
For the syrup, bring to a boil the honey, syrup, and water and let it boil for five minutes. Remove the foam.
Once the syrup is boiled, while it is hot, pour it over the cookies, making sure all cookies are covered with syrup. Let the cookies sit for at least two to three hours, with the top side facing down, so they absorb the syrup; the key is one element must be hot and the other cold - cold cookies and hot syrup or hot cookies and cold syrup. If you're feeling more cavalier, which is often the route I prefer, pop the melomakarona in the pot with the syrup for a few minutes and then remove with a slotted spoon. Mix the walnuts with cinnamon. Turn the melomakarona to the right side again, sprinkle mixture on top.
BISCOTTI FOR BRUNCH
Sachin Seth was a fan favourite from Season 2 of The Great Canadian Baking Show and is also a dentist and educator at Dalhousie University.
Sachin has this to say about his festive treat: “One of my favourite traditions is hosting holiday brunch for my family. My brunch is a mix of sweet and savory treats. I’m happy to share a crowd-pleaser recipe that honors the winter season — peppermint biscotti. Candy canes give this decadent treat a nice subtle flavor and crunch.”
Peppermint Biscotti
Ingredients:
2 cups flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp peppermint extract
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips 1/2 lb white chocolate
1/2 cup crushed candy cane
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325°F.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Use an electric mixer to beat the butter until smooth, then add sugar and continue to beat until fully incorporated. Add eggs, one at a time, while blending. Add vanilla and peppermint extract. While slowly blending, pour in the bowl of dry ingredients, then chocolate chips. Blend just until combined.
Line a baking sheet with parch
ment paper or a silicone mat. Divide the dough in half. On a very lightly floured surface, roll the dough into two logs, approximately 10-12 inches in length. Transfer logs to the baking sheet, leaving space between the two. Gently flatten the logs until the dough is about one inch tall. You should now have two rounded rectangles. They do not have to be perfect but try to make sure the ends of the logs are almost as thick as the middle.
Bake logs for 30 minutes until the dough feels firm to the touch. Remove from oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for about 15 minutes.
Gently transfer the baked logs to a cutting board and use a sharp, serrated knife to cut the logs into thick slices (about three-quarter inches thick). Lay the cookies, cut side down, onto baking sheets (you'll need two this time), and return to the oven. Bake one sheet at a time for 8-10 minutes, then carefully flip over each cookie, and bake an additional 8-10 minutes. Repeat with the second sheet.
While the cookies cool, chop white chocolate into small pieces, then melt in a double boiler or a microwave at 50 power (in 30-second intervals). Dip or paint the straight edge of the biscotti into the white chocolate, then sprinkle crushed candy cane pieces on top. Move to a baking sheet or cooling rack and allow the white chocolate to fully set.
Can be stored at room temperature for 7-10 days.
HOLIDAY FLAVOURS
For Glenda Truit from Gander, N.L., Christmas goodies are about sweetness, spice, nuts, and fruits.
“These bars check all those boxes, and they’re so easy to make,” she says. “I’ve taken my favourite basic oat and jam bar recipe and focused on common holiday season flavours.”
She recommends lining the pan with parchment paper because it will make it easy to lift out the whole block of cookies at the end so they can be conveniently sliced, eliminating extra cleanup.
Holiday Cranberry & Almond Oat Bars
Ingredients Fruit mixture:
2 cup frozen cranberries 1/3 cup white sugar 1/3 cup water
Cookie base:
1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter 1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup flour
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cardamom 1/3 cup sliced almonds
Directions:
Make a cup of cranberry jam by cooking the cranberries and white sugar with 1/3 cup water until the berries have popped and the mixture is thickened. Let cool to room temperature. (Alternatively, measure out a cup of your favourite bottled fruit jam.)
For the cookie base and topping, melt butter in a microwave-safe bowl and add all the remaining ingredients, stirring until the mixture is uniform and crumbly. Press 2/3 of this mixture into a parchmentlined 8x8-inch baking pan, spread jam evenly over this base, and then sprinkle the remaining third of the mixture over top. If you like, sprinkle over some extra sliced almonds. Bake at 375°F for about 35 minutes until the jam is bubbling around the edges and the top is golden. Cool fully in the pan, then lift out and slice. If you want a fancier finished top, drizzle over a thin stream of icing sugar and milk glaze.
GO ONLINE
Visit Saltwire.com/holidays for more great cookie recipes from around the region, including shortbread, ginger cookies, and seven-layer squares