Top Holiday Treats 2023

Holiday baking season is the most wonderful time of the year.

Top Holiday Treats 2023

Top Holiday Treats 2023. From Christmas cookies perfect for a holiday cookie box, to festive holiday cakes and chocolate treats to serve after an epic Christmas dinner, we are sharing our most popular and favorite Christmas dessert recipes that go beyond decorated sugar cookies.

Julekage

Julekage is a Danish Christmas yeasted bread that’s redolent of cardamom and cinnamon and chockablock with dried fruit, nuts, and candied orange peel. Don’t be daunted by the lengthy ingredient list; you are likely to have many of the items on hand and the rest are grocery staples.

Gingerbread Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

As with most gingerbreads, this cake only gets better with time. When it’s first baked, it will be light and cakey. If you wrap it and let it sit a day, it will become even more moist, and the warm spices will intensify. Either way, it’s homey and delicious and perfect for your holiday table. And if you don’t have gingerbread cookies to decorate the bottom with, don’t worry. This cake can easily stand alone and still impress.

Kransekake

Kransekake is a show-stopping Scandinavian celebration dessert that literally means ‘wreath cake.’ The tower of ring-shaped cookies whimsically decorated with royal icing is worthy of being the center of any celebration.

Arrange a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 300 degrees F.

Add the almond flour and 1 pound of the confectioners’ sugar to a food processor. Pulse about 10 times to combine. Add the egg whites and vanilla extract. Run the processor for about 20 seconds until the dough forms into a ball; it will be slightly sticky. Remove the dough from the food processor and form it into a disc. Tightly cover with plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for 20 minutes.

Spray the kransekake molds with nonstick spray and sprinkle with semolina, tapping off any excess.

Working with a quarter of the dough at a time, roll it out into a rope long enough to wrap into each mold. The width should be even and no thicker than 1/2 inch. (Keep the unused dough covered with plastic wrap.) Repeat the process until all the molds are filled. Transfer the molds to 2 baking sheets.

Bake until lightly golden, about 20 minutes, rotating halfway through. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes in the molds. Carefully remove each ring from the molds onto cooling racks for 10 minutes.

To make the royal icing, add the remaining 1/2 pound confectioners’ sugar, meringue powder and 4 tablespoons water to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk until stiff peaks form. If desired, stir a few drops of food coloring into the icing with a rubber spatula. Put the royal icing into a piping bag fitted with a small round tip. Pipe icing onto each ring and stack them, largest to smallest. Dust with confectioners’ sugar right before serving.

Cinnamon Chocolate Fudge

Giada De Laurentiis loves the combination of cinnamon and chocolate. She uses baking staples to make this easy, inexpensive fudge gourmet.

Butter the bottom and sides of an 8 by 8-inch baking pan. Line the pan with a sheet of parchment paper, about 14-inches long and 7-inches wide, allowing the excess to overhang the sides. Set aside

In a medium glass or stainless-steel bowl, combine the condensed milk, cinnamon, and vanilla. Stir in the chocolate chips and butter. Put the bowl on a saucepan of barely simmering water and mix until the chocolate chips have melted, and the mixture is smooth, about 6 to 8 minutes (mixture will be thick). Using a spatula, scrape the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle with salt, if desired. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours until firm.

Run a warm knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the fudge. Remove the fudge to a cutting board. Peel off the parchment paper and cut the fudge into 1-inch pieces. Store refrigerated in an airtight container or freeze.