The Charmed Kitchen

Christmas Tree Coffee Cake

This Christmas “tree” has become a tradition around here. I make one as a gift for a dear friend every year. If you are looking for something to serve for Christmas morning, or even as a dessert option, I suggest you make this coffee cake. The dough is prepared, then chilled before rolling. You can do that a day, or even two, ahead of time. The rolls are filled with a pineapple and cream cheese mixture and are very tasty.

The rolls are arranged in a tree pattern before baking. Then, after baking,  the “tree” is topped with a light glaze and gently sprinkled with red and green sugars. So pretty, and not that hard to make. As an added bonus the recipe makes 2, so you can keep one for home and perhaps gift one to a friend. Who are we kidding? You will keep them both for yourself- just invite more people over.

Here is the recipe.

Christmas Tree Coffee Cake

Dough:
4-4 1/2 c. bread flour
1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2 t. salt
2 packages active dry yeast
3/4 c. milk
1/2 c. water
1/2 c. butter
1 egg
Filling:
1 lb. Cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 t. nutmeg
dash salt
1/4 t. vanilla
1 (20 oz.) can pineapple in its own juice drained and squeezed dry
Topping:
11 Maraschino cherries, halved
2 c. powdered sugar
3 T. milk
red and green sugars

For dough in large mixing bowl combine 2 cups of the flour with the sugar, salt and yeast. Heat together the milk, water and butter until very warm. Add to flour mixture and beat 2 minutes. Add egg and 1 more cup of flour and beat 2 more minutes. Stir in enough of the remaining dough to make a stiff batter, about 1 cup. Cover bowl tightly with foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 3 days before using. For filling combine all ingredients for the filling except the pineapple and beat until smooth. Stir in pineapple and set aside until ready to use. Remove dough from fridge cut in half. Roll out one piece on lightly floured surface into a 10×11- inch rectangle. Spread with half the filling, leaving an inch at the end of 11-inch side. Roll up from eleven- inch side. Use thread or dental floss to cut through dough in 1-inch pieces by placing thread under roll and crossing ends. Pull outward and thread should cut through dough. If you aren’t having any luck you can always use a knife, but they tend to flatten the rolls. On a greased baking sheet arrange the slices (you should have 11) into a tree shape. Start with one on the top and then a row of 2 below then 3 and then 4. The last roll will serve as the trunk. Cover dough with plastic wrap and set in a warm place to rise. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. When dough is risen, about 1-2 hours bake in a 375- degree oven for 15 minutes then cover edges with foil to prevent over browning and return to oven for 10 minutes more. Cool on wire rack. Place half a cherry in the middle of each roll. Make a glaze with powdered sugar and milk and drizzle over. Sprinkle with the sugars. Makes 2 trees, 11 rolls each. Can be frozen up to a month ahead . defrost in a 350 -degree oven for 10 minutes and apply toppings.

Cookie Candies

There are so many cookies I bake this time of year, I could never pick a favorite. There are some cookies that are a MUST bake, however. These cookie-candies are one of them. They get their name because, once decorated, they look like little pieces of candy. Under the sprinkles are rich and tasty oatmeal shortbread cookies. The dough is easy to handle. You just shape small amounts into shapes like circles, squares and ovals. They hold their shape. After they are shaped and baked, the cookies are dipped in chocolate and then in assorted toppings.  Pretty and tasty.

Cookie-Candies

1 c. butter

¾ c. powdered sugar

1 T. vanilla

2 c. flour

½ c. rolled oats

½ c. chocolate chips

¼ c. milk

finely chopped nuts

assorted sprinkles

shredded coconut

Cream together butter, sugar and vanilla. Stir in flour and oats. Shape teaspoonfuls of the dough into different shapes like rounds, ovals, cones cubes etc. Try to make them look like little candies. They will hold their shape very well while baking. Bake in a 325- degree oven for 20-25 minutes on an ungreased baking sheet. Cool. In microwave safe dish combine chocolate and milk and melt. Dip tops of cookies in chocolate mixture and then in one of the toppings you have. Chocolate topping will harden up after a while. Makes about 4 dozen.

I will be selling cookies again this year. A two pound box is $20. If you purchase three or more boxes, the price goes down to $18 per box. There are about 10 different varieties of cookies and about 3 dozen cookies in all. Cookies will be available for pick up starting December 21- first day of Winter, right up until Christmas. You can order anytime. The sooner I know, the better. Just drop me an email at Judi_strauss@att.net.

Angel Wings/Chruschiki

Angel Wings are what a lot of people call these fried, delicate cookies. In my family, we also call them Flancate (Slovenian) or Chruschiki (Polish). After posting a picture on Facebook, I learned they have even more names. Many nationalities make versions of these cookies.

The dough is a mixture of 8 eggs yolks, white wine, a little salt and flour. Very similar to pasta dough. They are a tradition in my family. I try to make them at least once during the holidays.

I use a  pasta machine to roll out the dough. You can roll them out by hand, but a pasta maker makes the job a lot faster and easier. Also, if the cookies sit around and start to dry out before you can fry them, they tend not to grow as much. They are cut, shaped then fried. They puff up a lot when fried. More than doubling in size.

Once cooled, they are dusted with powdered sugar. Because they are rolled so thin, a single batch can make a hundred cookies or more.

Part of the fun of making them, is watching someone eat one for the first time. They are delicate and will sometimes fall apart when you go to bite into one. Then there is the powdered sugar. Let’s just say you don’t want to be wearing black.

Angel Wings/ Flancate / Chruschiki

8 egg yolks

2 ½ -3 c. flour, plus extra for rolling

½ c. white wine – I sometimes use sherry

1 t. salt

oil or shortening for deep frying

powdered sugar for sprinkling

Combine egg yolks, wine and salt mixing until smooth. Stir in 2 cups of the flour and continue adding flour until dough is very firm, but still pliable. It is better to add more flour later than to add too much too soon. Knead or mix the dough in a mixer for 5-8 minutes. Kneading dough, or mixing in a stand mixer strengthens the dough. Divide dough into thirds, cover and allow to rest 1 hour.

On lightly floured surface, roll dough out into thin strips. Cut strips diagonally into 1 ½ inch wide pieces. Cut a small slit in middle of dough and pull one end through, pulling until dough is long and somewhat twisted. Work with small amount of dough at a time to avoid drying out. Dry dough will tear and be hard to work with. You can use a pizza cutter or a pastry wheel with a zigzag edge. Cook dough, a few pieces at a time in a skillet with either oil or shortening 2 inches deep and heated to a temperature of 375 degrees. Pastry will cook in 30 seconds or so. Remove when lightly brown and drain on paper toweling. Cool and dust with powdered sugar. Makes at least 100, depending on how thin you can roll them. We have gotten as many as 200 from a single batch.

Note: If you have access to a pasta machine, the rolling time will be greatly reduced. Use the machine to roll the dough uniformly and quickly. There is no substitute for experience. After making a batch you will learn just how the dough should feel and how thick to roll the dough. If too thick, the dough is not as tender. Too thin and they fall apart to easily. Also, get a friend or two to help you. The are a lot of jobs to do and the time will fly with some assistance. Besides, you’ll have plenty to share with family and friends.

I will be one of the vendors at this Pop Up Holiday Shop. The event is Saturday December 17th, from 2-5. It is at the Euclid Brewing Company at 21950 Lakeshore Blvd. in Euclid.  Hope to see you there. I will have my books and seasoning mixes, along with wine jelly, beer bread mixes, baked goods, cranberry apple preserves and much more.

Details follow below.

Kim Fry, of the Euclid Brewing Company, wrote: this:

A number of local artisans will be selling stocking stuffers and other small gifts at a Pop Up Holiday Shop hosted by Euclid Brewing Company on Saturday, December 17, from 2 to 5 p.m.

“Our customers often tell us they wish we had more local businesses in the available storefronts in downtown Euclid,” said EBC owner Doug Fry. “By hosting the pop up shop, we hope to help our community imagine a robust shopping district on the Moss Point block.”

A pop up shop is a short-term retail event that is often held in an empty storefront and features the products and merchandise of local artists and makers.

The Pop Up Holiday Shop will be held in the brewery’s tap room located at 21950 Lakeshore Blvd. between the Lakeshore Coffeehouse and Back Alley Antiques.

“So, on that Saturday, we’ll have a trio of shops to visit for last-minute gifts,” Fry said. “Come have lunch at one of three restaurants on the block – Paragon, Beach Club Bistro or Great Scott Tavern – then stroll down the sidewalk and shop!”

Find some treasures at the antique store, stock up on holiday coffee beans available at the coffeehouse and shop for notecards, jewelry, baked goods, seasonings and more in the tap room. Complimentary snacks and cider will be served.

Fry thinks this will be Euclid’s first-ever pop up shop; events like these have been happening all over Cleveland for years. Follow Euclid Brewing Company on Facebook to learn about the Pop Up Shop vendors, which were still being finalized at press time.

After the shopping is done, the tap room will remain open for its regular hours until 8 p.m. Six beers are always on tap. This month, Cherry Christmas Ale is featured.

Euclid Brewing Company’s tap room is open Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 4 to 8 p.m. Pints, growlers, and tasting flights can all be purchased. The tap room doesn’t have a kitchen, but patrons may bring in food from nearby restaurants, or from home. Watch EBC’s Facebook page to learn about special hours, events and what’s on tap.

Vanilla Shortbread Cookies with Coffee/Cinnamon Filling

Certain cookies bring back special memories for me. More so around the holidays. Most memories are of making cookies with my mom. This cookie though, is one I used to make with my friend, Kim. She really loved coffee and the coffee-cinnamon filling made these one of her favorites. The cookies are tender, and not too sweet. The filling, which sandwiches them together, is what makes them special. It is a buttery mix of cinnamon and coffee flavors. They pair so well together.

Use a cookie press to make any shape you like for these cookies. Once baked, two halves are put together in little sandwich cookies. These are a big hit, whenever I make them.

Vanilla Shortbread with Coffee/Cinnamon Filling

1 c. butter
½ c. powdered sugar
½ t. vanilla
2 c. flour
¼ t. baking powder

Heat oven to 375-degrees. Cream together butter, sugar and vanilla. Blend in flour and baking powder. Using flower design of cookie press to make 1- inch cookies on ungreased baking sheet. Bake about 7 minutes, or until very lightly browned. Cool and then put two cookies together with coffee filling.
Note: You can make these cookies in almost any cookie press design that is symmetrical. I have made strips, trees and stars among others. Makes about 2 dozen double cookies.

Coffee/Cinnamon Filling

2/3 c. powdered sugar
2 T. butter, softened
1 t. instant coffee dissolved in 1 t. boiling water
1 t. cinnamon
Beat all ingredients together until smooth. Add a few drops of water if too dry.

Chocolate Truffles

These decadent little bites of chocolate are always a nice gift for the holidays. I like to take a box to parties as a thank-you to the host or hostess. They just melt in your mouth. Truffles are simple to make, too. Only 4 ingredients, and you can make a batch in no time.

You’ll need 12 ounces of bittersweet chocolate. You can use 2 cups of chocolate chips or splurge and get a really nice high end chocolate. Just up to your own taste and budget. I prefer a really dark chocolate for these, but use what you like.

You can also add different flavor extracts, if you like. Orange or vanilla work well. You might want to add nut extracts, too, for a different flavor. Instead of rolling in cocoa powder, you can also roll the truffles in finely grated nuts for a different spin.

Another thing to remember- one of the rules when working with chocolate- always wear brown.

So here is the recipe for a classic, simple treat.

Chocolate Truffles

1/3 c. Whipping cream

6 T. butter, cut into small pieces

12 oz. bittersweet chocolate, grated or chopped coarsely, or you can use chocolate chips

Unsweetened cocoa

Heat cream to boiling in small saucepan. Stir in butter and cook until melted. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate until melted. Place in shallow bowl and chill until firm, at least a couple of hours. Roll mixture into 1-inch balls and roll in cocoa. Sometimes the mixture is quite firm and hard to roll into perfectly smooth balls. You can roll them out as smooth as you can, roll in cocoa and then roll again to smooth out. You might want to give them another roll in the cocoa after that.  Makes about 30.