My Favorite Holiday Baking Recipes

‘Tis the season of sugar, spice, and everything nice. To me, this means plates of cinnamon rolls and tins of cookies, swoops of frosting and trays of candies. It’s the most wonderful time of the year—holiday baking season, that is— and here are a few of my very favorite festive recipes.

You can go directly to each of these recipes by clicking on the corresponding photo.

Buttermilk Beignets with Vino Cotto

Soft, fluffy buttermilk beignets filled with browned butter and cardamom are fried and tossed in sugar. They are served with vino cotto, a reduced, spiced red wine. The only thing better than dipping donuts in coffee is dipping them in wine.

My grandpa and I are BFFs and have been since the day I was born. Immediately after I was born, the doctors cleaned me off and handed me straight to my grandpa, sparking a special connection that’s going on 31 years. As I was growing up, every Monday night, Papa and I would go to the mall just the two of us. We’d split a plate of red beans and rice in the food court, and a handful of pirouette cookies at Gloria Jean Coffee, and saunter through every store in the mall together.

He’s a sweet man, who is always moving. Even well into retirement, that man does more in a day than I could do in a week. He puts everyone else first, goes out of his way to take care of those around him, and tells great stories. A lot of those stories take place during his childhood growing up in the French Quarter, of course, eating beignets (or bye-yays if you want to pronounce it the way a cute little old Cajun man does).

In an effort to smush all of my heritages together, I paired these soft, pillowy beignets with a Sicilian reduced wine called vino cotto. Eating beignets this way is like dunking an old fashioned donut in a cup of coffee, but better, because you’re actually dunking sugared beignets in wine.

how to make buttermilk beignets

Beignets are made with a yeasted, enriched dough in a process very similar to making donuts. Yeast is proofed in liquid and then butter and eggs are added before the dry ingredients. For this recipe, we’re incorporating buttermilk for a little extra tenderness, nutty browned butter and floral cardamom for a spiced holiday vibe.

The dough will undergo a pretty vigorous kneading (a standing mixer is your bff) to create the necessary gluten structure in spite of all of the inhibitors (fat, eggs, and sugar) that will make the finished dough so lush.

After kneading, there’s one bulk proof, shaping, and one more quick rest before frying. Like most doughs, this beignet dough can be cold-proofed to develop flavor and help fit into your schedule a bit better. If you choose to cold proof the dough, simply punch it down after it’s bulk proof and transfer it to the fridge for an overnight rest. In the morning, pull the dough out and let it rest on the counter for about 30 minutes before rolling and shaping and then give the cut beignets another 30-45 minutes rest, until they are puffy, before frying.

Whether you embrace a cold proof or make the beignets all in one go, don’t forget to toss them in sugar right after frying…that’s the very best part. I used a mix of powdered sugar and granulated sugar because I wanted a little bit of crunch from the sugar crystals. As soon as you finish your sugar tossing, eat the beignets warm, dunked in vino cotto for a little Cafe Du Monde-with-a-twist vibe.

what is vino cotto

Present in many traditional Italian desserts, vino cotto is a syrup made by cooking down grape must. Before sugar cane was widely accessible, this reduced grape must was used in many Sicilian desserts and recipes as a sweetener similar to the way maple syrup or honey is used in baking. Now, you can buy vino cotto or wine that has been cooked down very slowly over a long period of time, but I decided to make a version that would complement these beignets perfectly.

My rendition of vino cotto falls somewhere between a mulled wine and a wine reduction. To make it, simply bring a bottle of red wine to a simmer along with a handful of mulling spices (cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods, and whole cloves). Cook the wine over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, for an hour to an hour and a half until the wine has reduced by 3/4 and has slightly thickened. It should taste sweeter than a bottle of wine, but not quite syrupy. Dunk the beignets in the vino cotto and store any leftovers in a sealed jar for a later day.

Buttermilk Beignets with Vino Cotto
Yield
24
Author
Prep time
30 Min
Cook time
1 H & 30 M
Inactive time
2 Hour
Total time
4 Hour

Buttermilk Beignets with Vino Cotto

Soft, fluffy buttermilk beignets filled with browned butter and cardamom are fried and tossed in sugar. They are served with vino cotto, a reduced, spiced red wine. The only thing better than dipping donuts in coffee is dipping them in wine.

Ingredients

for the beignets
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 2 tbsp warm water
  • 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
  • 2 tbsp granulated sugar
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 cup buttermilk, slightly warmed
  • 1 egg, at room temperature
  • 3- 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour,
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp ground cardamom
  • Vegetable oil, for frying
  • 1/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
for the vino cotto
  • 1 bottle red wine (90% merlot, 10% cab franc)
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 4 cardamom pods
  • 1/4 tsp whole cloves
  • 2 tbsp honey

Instructions

to make the beignets
  1. Place butter in a small saucepan set over medium heat. Cook, swirling occasionally, for 6-7 minutes, until butter is melted, foamy, and little brown specks have begun to form on the bottom of the pot. Transfer to a bowl and let cool to room temperature.
  2. In a small bowl, combine warm water and yeast. Stir and let sit for 5 minutes, until yeast is very foamy.
  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine yeast/water, cooled butter, sugar, brown sugar, buttermilk, and the egg. Whisk until smooth.
  4. Place the bowl on the stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Add 3 cups of flour, salt, baking powder, and cardamom, and begin mixing on low speed until all of the dry ingredients have been incorporated. Increase the speed on the mixer to medium and knead for 4-5 minutes, adding a bit more flour one tablespoon at a time, if the dough seems very sticky. After kneading, your dough should be smooth and soft.
  5. Transfer the dough to a clean bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let proof at room temperature for an hour to an hour and half, or until the dough has doubled in size.
  6. Turn the dough onto a lightly-floured work surface and roll it into a rectangle about 12”x16” in size. Use a sharp knife or pizza cutter to cut the dough into 24 equal squares. Cover them with plastic wrap.
  7. Fill a large, heavy-bottomed pot with vegetable oil (about 3” deep) and heat to 375° F.
  8. Working in batches, fry 4-5 beignets at a time. Fry for 1-2 minutes on each side, until deeply golden browned. Use a slotted spoon to remove the beignets from the oil and transfer them to a paper-towel lined tray. Repeat until you have fried all of the beignets.
  9. In a large bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and granulated sugar. Toss beignets in the sugar mixture to coat and serve with vino cotto.
to make the vino cotto
  1. In a large saucepan, stir together wine, cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods, cloves, and honey.
  2. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook for about an hour and half, stirring every 10 minutes or so, until the wine has reduced by 3/4 and has slightly thickened. Let cool and then strain out the spices.
  3. You should have about 1 cup of vino cotto.

Notes:

This beignet recipe was lightly adapted from the beignet queen Joy Wilson of Joy the Baker.


You can store any leftover vino cotto in a jar in a cool dark pantry or in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

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Chocolate Truffles 3 Ways

truffles5.jpg

Happy Day 11 of 12 Days of Christmas Desserts and Happy Christmas Eve Eve to you all! Let’s talk truffles.

Truffles are a very easy, last minute homemade gift idea that really give the ‘this took me barely any effort at all but they look fancy and cute so you will think I spent hours creating this for you’ vibe. Truffles are just ganache and ganache is just chocolate and heavy cream. It’s all about the technique, so let’s get down to it.

First thing to know about ganache: The consistency of your ganache depends on your chocolate to cream ratio. For a saucy, hot-fudge style ganache, start with 2 parts cream to 1 part chocolate. For traditional, spreadable ganache, it’s a 1:1 ratio, and for scoop-able, truffle ganache, we start with 2 parts chocolate to 1 part heavy cream.

A quick note: milk chocolate has a higher milk solid content than dark chocolate, which will add more fat and cream to your mixture. This means that you would have to slightly adjust these ratios if using a milk chocolate because there would extra fat added to the mixture. For all of these ganache ratios, stick with a chocolate that is at least 52% cocoa solids, preferably a bit higher. 60%-70% is my sweet spot.

making ganache

  1. Roughly chop your chocolate. You want small pieces or else your ganache will be chunky.

  2. Heat your cream until little bubbles form around the edges. (This is called scalding and if you’re measuring, the cream will between 180°-190°F.)

  3. Immediately pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate and jiggle the bowl just a bit to get it all settled down. Let it sit for 3-5 minutes.

  4. After the mixture has rested a bit, start whisking. Whisk (fairly vigorously) starting in the very center of the bowl and working your way out. As you whisk the mixture will begin to look like chocolate milk and then will rapidly change to a smooth, glossy consistency. When the entire bowl has reached that glossy consistency, continue whisking for one minute more.

  5. Cool. For truffles, let the mixture cool for about an hour or until it’s is a scoopable consistency.

Yield: each recipe makes 10-12 truffles
Author: Anna Ramiz
Chocolate Truffles Three Ways

Chocolate Truffles Three Ways

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 15 MinInactive time: 1 HourTotal time: 1 H & 30 M
Chocolate truffles are easy and don't require many ingredients but they make you feel like a fancy confectioner. Here is a base truffle recipe along with three different flavor renditions.

Ingredients

for the chocolate pomegranate truffles
  • 8 oz chocolate
  • 4 oz heavy cream
  • 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
  • cocoa powder, for rolling
for the chocolate tahini truffles
  • 8 oz chocolate
  • 4 oz heavy cream
  • 2 tbsp tahini, stirred
  • sesame seeds, for rolling
for the sea salt and sage caramel truffles
  • 12 oz chocolate, divided
  • 4 oz heavy cream
  • 2 tbsp sage caramel, recipe below
  • Sea salt
for the sage caramel
  • 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup (113 g) heavy cream
  • 3 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 2 sprigs fresh sage (10-12 leaves)
  • 1 tsp salt

Instructions

to make the truffles
  1. Place 8 oz chopped chocolate in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan set over medium heat, bring 4 oz heavy cream to a simmer. When the cream is hot, pour over the chocolate and shake to settle. Let sit for 3-4 minutes.
  2. Starting in the center of the bowl, begin whisking vigorously until chocolate mixture becomes smooth and glossy. Whisk one minute more. Add the add-in of your choice (tahini, pomegranate molasses, sage caramel) and whisk to combine.
  3. Let mixture set at room temperature for about an hour, until it becomes scoop-able. Use a cookie scoop to portion dollops of ganache onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and then transfer to the refrigerator to cool for 15 minutes.
  4. For the chocolate pomegranate truffles: Remove them from the refrigerator and roll each one in sifted cocoa powder.
  5. For the chocolate tahini truffles: Remove them from the refrigerator and roll each one in sesame seeds.
  6. For the sea salt and sage caramel truffles: Melt the remaining 4 oz of chocolate over a double-boiler or in the microwave. Dip each truffle in the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment paper. Sprinkle the tops with sea salt and let set until chocolate has hardened.
to make the sage caramel
  1. Place butter in a small saucepan set over medium heat. Add about 6 sage leaves to the butter and cook until butter is melted. When the mixture is beginning to sizzle, transfer it to a bowl and let cool completely. Remove sage leaves and discard, set butter aside.
  2. Place heavy cream your small saucepan along with the remaining sage leaves and bring to a simmer over medium heat. When the milk begins to bubble, remove it from the heat and cover it. Let set for 20 minutes before straining out sage leaves and discarding them.
  3. Pour sugar in an even layer on the bottom of a large skillet. Set over medium heat and cook without stirring until the sugar has become liquid is beginning to turn golden. At this point, you can swirl the pan gently a time or two. Continue to cook until caramel reaches a deep amber color.
  4. Carefully remove the skillet from the heat and stream in heavy cream, whisking continually. Return the caramel to the heat and add butter. Whisk well and cook for 1 more minute. Immediately pour caramel into a medium bowl, whisk in salt, and let cool.

Notes:

Milk chocolate has a higher milk solid content than dark chocolate, which will add more fat and cream to your mixture. This means that you would have to slightly adjust these ratios if using a milk chocolate because there would extra fat added to the mixture. For all of these ganache ratios, stick with a chocolate that is at least 52% cocoa solids, preferably a bit higher. 60%-70% is my sweet spot.

Did you make this recipe?
Tag @gatheredatmytable on instagram and hashtag it #gatheredatmytable

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