SEASON'S BEST
Must-try Christmas Treats and Delightful Desserts
CHRISTMAS TREE COOKIE
WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
Sugar cookies (You can either bake them or buy them ready-made.) Royal icing Piping bags with small round tips Star-shaped gummy candy Candy sprinkles
WHAT YOU'LL DO:
1. Bake sugar cookies in the recipe that you prefer. Remember to cut the dough into Christmas tree shapes before popping them into the oven. You can also use undecorated, store-bought, Christmas tree-shaped sugar cookies.
2. Prepare green royal icing in the recipe that you prefer.
3. Pipe the green icing onto the cookie. Remember to create the outline of the tree first, then fill it in.
4. Place a star-shaped gummy candy on top of the tree to create the Christmas tree topper.
5. Sprinkle the candy sprinkles over the green icing to create the baubles.
6. Wait until the icing hardens before serving.
CHRISTMAS TREE CUPCAKE
WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
Cupcakes (You can either bake them or buy them ready-made.) Green royal icing Ice cream cone Piping bag with a small round tip Star-shaped gummy candy Candy sprinkles
WHAT YOU'LL DO:
1. Bake a cupcake in the recipe that you prefer. You can also use an undecorated store-bought cupcake. We chose to make use of a red velvet cupcake for this recipe.
2. Prepare green royal icing in the recipe that you prefer.
3. Take an ice cream cone and put it on top of the cupcake. The moisture of the cupcake will keep the cone from moving.
4. Using the grid of the ice cream cone as a guide, pipe on the green icing and cover the whole cone to create the leaves of the Christmas tree. If there are parts of the cupcake that the cone isn't covering, cover them with the icing, too. This also makes the cone stick to the cupcake, especially if your cupcake isn't very moist.
5. Place a star-shaped gummy candy on the tip of the ice cream cone to create the Christmas tree topper.
6. Stick candy sprinkles onto the green icing to create the baubles.
7. Wait until the icing hardens before serving.
Yema balls from Sweet Sentiments
WHAT: Rich and velvety custard rolled into balls PRICE: P150 a dozen. If you plan to give them out as gifts, you can opt to order 30 boxes (two pieces per box) for P1,000.
ORDERING: Contact information is listed on the Sweet Sentiments website. You can email, text, or call in your orders.
CLAIMING: Sweet Sentiments delivers to select locations and orders are also available for pickup along Maginhawa Street, Teacher's Village, Quezon City.
OTHER GOODS: According to Katherine Borja, the lady behind Sweet Sentiments, the absolute bestseller is the Chocolate Truffles (P150 a dozen) that come in choco peppermint, choco strawberry, and cookies and cream, aside from the classic chocolate flavor. Sweet Sentiments also accepts requests for custom-made cakes and cupcakes.
Christmas cookies from Swell Sweets
WHAT: Delightfully soft butter cookies decorated with fondant PRICE: They range from P40 to P75 apiece, depending on the size and design of the cookies. For a small additional fee per cookie, Swell Sweets can add tags or turn them into cookie pops.
ORDERING: Fill out the order form at the Swell Sweets website. Claiming: Swell Sweets does not deliver; its goods are for pickup at their kitchen.
OTHER GOODS: Swell Sweets also offers tiered cakes and decorated cupcakes. Gel Colet, the baker behind the brand, also bakes under the sub-brand The Fabulous Baker Girl, where she takes a break from the fondant and icing to focus on decadent flavors. Her chewy Beehive Brownies (P470 per tray) are absolutely worth the extra calories.
Eggnog Nutella Ice Cream from Pint
WHAT: Creamy spiced rum ice cream with swirls of Nutella fudge PRICE: P290 a pint
ORDERING: Email your orders and relevant information to ice cream maker Tiffany Yusun. You can also contact her through the numbers listed on Pint's Facebook page.
CLAIMING: Pint delivers to select locations. Orders can also be picked up at an agreed location.
OTHER GOODS: For this coming holiday season, Pint is coming out with new flavors such as Raspberry Balsamic and Turtle Pie (both P290 per pint). Pint also accepts requests for made-to-order ice cream cakes and customizations to some of its signature ice creams (for a minimum quantity), depending on the flavor and availability of ingredients.