Looking for a new festive snack to try this year? We’ve got you covered! Here are three of our favorite, easy-to-make recipes as chosen and shared by some of our staff.
Italian Knot Cookies
Ingredients: 6 eggs 1 ½ cups of sugar 2 sticks butter ½ cups orange juice 1 tsp. Vanilla 1-2 tbsp. orange rind/zest 5 tbsp. baking powder 6 cups flour
Mix baking powder with flour and set aside.
Beat all other ingredients together. Fold in flour mixture.
Roll into “worms” with hands and tie into a simple knot.
Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 10 minutes.
Frosting Once cookies have cooled, mix warm water and powdered sugar to achieve desired consistency. Frosting should spoon easily onto cookies, and top with nonpareils before the frosting dries
Champurrado
Ingredients: 1 ½ cups of water ½ cinnamon stick 2 oz. of “piloncillo” or ½ cup of brown sugar 3 cups of milk 1 tablet (3 oz.) of Nestle’s Mexican Hot Chocolate “Abuelita” ¾ cup of Maseca Instant Corn Masa Flour
Add ½ of cinnamon stick and the brown sugar (or piloncillo) to 1 cup of water in a saucepan and set to low/medium heat.
Allow to simmer until the piloncillo or sugar has melted, then add 3 cups of milk.
Before the milk starts boiling, add the Mexican chocolate tablet and allow a few minutes to dissolve, stirring from time to time.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl pour ½ cup of water and mix with the Maseca corn flour until you get a very creamy mixture.
Once the chocolate has completely dissolved, slowly pour the corn flour mixture into the saucepan while stirring, to make sure there are no clumps.
Turn the heat to medium-high until the Champurrado starts boiling then reduce the heat to low and gently simmer, stirring constantly.
After boiling for approximately 20 minutes and achieving a thick texture, remove from heat and let it cool slightly. You can enjoy your Champurrado hot or at room temperature!
Festive Pesto Spread
Ingredients: 12 7 oz. containers of store-bought pesto with basil (Buitoni is best because some other brands are too thick and the consistency will need some extra olive oil.) 6-8 Roma tomatoes (depending on size) 1 5 oz. container of shredded parmesan cheese 1 Baguette
Empty the pesto containers into a mixing bowl that you can cover later and put in the fridge.
Dice tomatoes into pieces no bigger than the tip of your pinky finger. Be sure to remove seeds of the tomatoes before dicing. Combine tomatoes into the bowl.
Pour about half of the container of parmesan cheese into the same mixing bowl. Mix all ingredients together with a spoon.
Add more cheese or tomatoes as needed so all three ingredients seem evenly proportioned.
For best results, cover the spread and refrigerate for at least an hour.
Just before serving, slice the baguette on the diagonal into ¼ -inch to ½ – inch thick slices.
Serve bread next to your pesto spread and include a condiment spreading knife for guests to spread the portion they want on their slice of baguette. (Bring extra spread. You will likely need to refill the serving dish.)