One thing people look forward to during the holiday season aside from receiving gifts, is feasting on all the glorious food. If you have a sweet tooth, surely you’re already salivating at the thought of all those Christmas goodies. Now if you’re the one tasked to prepare and cook all the food for your Christmas feast, expect to have a pretty busy and probably stressful day. Fortunately, there are easy Christmas desserts you can make in a jiffy. Not only will these sweet treats give you a sugar rush, they’ll lift your spirits up once you get to taste them.
Christmas Sugar Cookies
Whisk 2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt in a large bowl. Use an electric mixer to beat 1 cup unsalted butter and 3/4 cup sugar for 3 minutes until you get a fluffy texture. Beat in 1 large egg followed by 1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract. Incorporate the flour mixture by adding it slowly and lowering the speed of the electric mixer.
Make four disks out of the resulting dough and place each in between sheets of wax paper. Place in the refrigerator for half an hour. If you’re in a hurry, put it in the freezer for 15 minutes.
Place the dough on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Cut out shapes using cookie cutters. Because you’re making Christmas desserts, use holiday-themed cookie cutters. Re-roll the leftover then put them back in the refrigerator before making cutting more cookies.
Place the cut cookie dough in an oven pre-heated to 350°F. Rotate the pans halfway through the baking process, which should take 10 to 12 minutes. Check if the edges of the cookies turn light golden brown. If they are, take them out and let cool.
Make the royal icing by beating the egg white of 3 large eggs. Continue using the mixer as you add 1 pound powdered or confectioner’s sugar in the bowl gradually. Next, add 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar. Mix for 5 to 7 minutes then transfer to a bowl and cover with a damp cloth.
Now for the fun part. Put some Christmas-y feel to your cookies using icing and other ingredients. Do this step with your children so you get to enjoy some quality time with the family.
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No Bake Christmas Doughnuts
It’s great if you have an oven at home so you can whip out Christmas desserts anytime you want. For those who don’t have one, don’t fret. You can make some no-bake Christmas desserts, too, you know?
It may come as a surprise to some but you can make doughnuts without baking. They’re actually pretty easy to make. But if you’re really pressed for time, you can just buy doughnuts and put a little bit of your touch to make your own Christmas desserts. Homemade doughnuts, however, is more fulfilling.
Making the Dough
To make your doughnut batter, combine 4 cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Set aside then mix 2 eggs, 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla in a large bowl. Set your electric mixer to medium then beat the mixture for 3 minutes. In a separate bowl, mix 1/4 cup melted butter and 2/3 cup milk.
Turn the mixer’s speed to low as you alternately add the flour mixture and the milk mixture. Cover then chill in refrigerator for 2 to 4 hours.
Chocolate Glaze
Who doesn’t love chocolate-glazed doughnuts? Turn these ordinary doughnuts into chocolate-y Christmas desserts by preparing the glaze or icing when there’s only 30 minutes of chilling time left.
First, melt 3 ounces of unsweetened chocolate and 3 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan. Remove from heat then stir in 3 cups of powdered sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla. Stir as you add 4 to 5 tablespoons warm water to get the glaze texture. You’ll know it’s done when your spoon is coated with glaze.
Powdered Sugar Icing
Mix 1 cup powdered sugar, tablespoon milk and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla in a small bowl. You can also use orange juice instead of milk. Gradually add more milk or orange juice to get the right consistency.
For chocolate powdered sugar coating, simply add 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa to the mixture. You should use milk and not orange juice with this one, though.
Cutting and Cooking the Dough
Take the dough out the refrigerator and use a doughnut cutter to cut out the round shape with a hole. Keep the dough from sticking to your cutting by dipping it in flour before cutting.
Heat oil in a deep fryer or a large saucepan. Carefully place three doughnuts at a time into the fryer using a slotted spoon with a long handle. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes. Turn once.
Take the doughnuts out once they turn golden brown. Let the oil drain back into the fryer or pan before draining them some more on paper towel. Once cool enough, dip the donuts into the glaze or coat with the powdered icing. Add the appropriate toppings to turn them into Christmas desserts.
Christmas Apple Pie
You don’t need an occasion to make some tasty pies though making some for your Christmas desserts is a wonderful idea indeed.
Pie Pastry
To make your Christmas apple pie, start off with the pie pastry. Mix 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Use a pastry blender to cut in butter and shortening. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of cold water over the mixture then toss softly with a fork. Move the moistened dough to the side of the bowl. Repeat until the dough is completely moistened.
Cut the dough in halves then knead gently using your fingers. After forming a ball, flatten with your hands to make a disk about 6 inches big. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for half an hour.
Fruit Filling
You need dried fruits such as cranberries, apricots, tart cherries and raisins. Pour boiling water over the dried fruits and let stand for 5 minutes before draining. Mix 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 2 to 3 teaspoons finely shredded lemon peel, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add the dried fruits and 4 cups of thinly sliced and peeled apples.
Building the Pie
Grab a disk of dough and roll until you make a 12-inch circle. Transfer to a pie plate by wrapping the dough around the rolling pin and unrolling it over the plate. Avoid stretching the dough as you ease it into the pie plate. Add the fruit filling then trim the edge of the pastry according to the pie plate’s size. Brush the pastry with water.
Roll another dough disk about 12 inches in diameter. Cut slits then place over the filling. Trim about half an inch beyond the plate edge then fold over the bottom pastry. Crimp the edge then brush with half-and-half. You can cover the pie with aluminium foil to keep it from overbrowning.
Bake for 35 minutes in oven at 375°F. Remove the foil then put the pie back in the oven. Take it out after 25 to 35 minutes then cool.
These are just three tasty Christmas desserts you can make to celebrate the holiday. Go to The Gentleman Pirate to check out more recipes for all occasions. You can also share our own Christmas desserts recipes in the comment section below.
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