Holiday Almanac December 23: Candy Cane Cookies

For more information on the Holiday Almanac, go here. Or to see what I've been up to on past Holiday Almanac days, check out this page.

As previously stated, I can't find candy canes anywhere in Scotland. Being only a mediocre candy cane fan myself, I'm actually sadder about the lack of Williams-Sonoma Candy Cane Bark than I am about the lack of actual candy canes, but when making as many Christmas-themed goodies as I have this month, it would be nice to have actual candy canes to work with.

In their absence, now I have these cookies, which look a little too much like Play-doh for my tastes. They're tasty enough (though the massive amount of handling required to dye, roll, twist, and shape these definitely make them a little tougher than I'd like them to be.

However, they are adorable, and if you have a kid you're excited to be baking with this Christmas, might I recommend them? I would have loved these as a kid, and I bet I'm not the only one.

The verdict:

2 spoons out of five. These taste fine, but they're just not worth all of the work that goes into them-- especially not two days before Christmas-- unless you've got a niece or a nephew or a godchild who loves to bake and wants to play in the kitchen with you.

the recipe:

Candy Cane Cookies

the directions:

Preheat oven to 190C/375F.
Mix shortening, sugar, egg, and flavourings.
Add flour and salt and stir well to combine.
Divide dough in half and add food colouring to half of dough.
Roll 1 tsp red dough and 1 tsp plain dough separately into a round noodle.
Lay noodles on top of each other and gently roll together.
Twist noodle gently like a candy cane, then shape into candy cane shape and place on ungreased cookie sheet. 
Repeat until dough is gone.
Bake 7-9 minutes until just done but not yet brown.

Makes about 4 dozen.

the ingredients:

1 c shortening
1 c powdered sugar, sifted
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp almond flavouring or Disaronno
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 c flour, sifted
1 tsp salt
Red food colouring

Holiday Almanac December 22: Jewels for your Centerpiece

For more information on the Holiday Almanac, go here. Or to see what I've been up to on past Holiday Almanac days, check out this page.

Oh man, I've been excited about this one since the beginning of the Holiday Almanac project. Household décor projects from the 1950s are always either amazing or terrible, and I was excited to see which one this would be.

But alas, it turned out to be pretty terrible. First I had to find a 'fat white candle,' which was harder than you'd think. When I did find one, it turned out to be a 'church candle,' which I think means I probably shouldn't be using it for tablescaping, but here we are.

Anyway, the instructions said to use melted candle wax to adhere small ornaments to the fat white candle, then set it on a piece of mirror for added sparkle.

But have you ever tried to use melted wax to stick something onto something else? It's not easy. And the bells I found to try to adhere are coated in some kind of plasticky paint that started smoking when I got them too close to the flame, and then the sides of the candle got scorched instead of melting... so here we are.

Never one to give up on a goal, I glued the candle to a mirror tile and piled the bells up around it, and it's just as tacky as it sounds.

Happy Christmas 1959!

the verdict:

1 spoon out of five. This was a miserable failure, but it was still kind of fun to try to do. And I got a church candle out of it, so that's not so bad.

Holiday Almanac December 21: Creamy Cider Caramels

For more information on the Holiday Almanac, go here. Or to see what I've been up to on past Holiday Almanac days, check out this page.

Well, here we have another difficult one (I thought). I was dreading Caramel Making Day for most of December, which is why I didn't actually get around to it until yesterday (knowing that I couldn't today). Since I couldn't buy the frosting mix that the Almanac recommended for making the candy, I used this recipe from Smitten Kitchen, my very favourite food blogger.

I had always been kind of on the fence about fruit with caramel, and then this summer at a friend's wedding, I tried an apricot caramel that changed my life. I've had dreams about it since July, wondering if there was ever a way I could make it myself, or if I would simply be doomed to make yearly trips to Saratoga, California, to stock up on their white-chocolate truffles filled with it.

Luckily, these turned out just as good, and just as easy, and now I want to make them all the time.

Cinnamon and Flaky Sea salt.

Seriously, I don't have a candy thermometer (which is probably the main reason I hate making candy), but even without one, these are a cinch. The apple flavour shines through in a way I didn't think would be possible, and the texture is soft, creamy, and rich without being sticky or cloying. I'm taking them to work when I go back on Wednesday because the recipe makes 64 and I can't be trusted around these any longer than necessary.

I won't kid myself and think that you'll have time to make these caramels before Christmas (or even before New Year's Eve), but if you're going to attempt one Holiday Almanac recipe, this is a good one to try on a cold and rainy January night. It'll fill your house with the smell of apples and butter, and you're friends will be so impressed with you that you might start considering candy-making as your own higher calling and quit your job to open up a candy shop. If you do, promise you'll send me some?

The verdict:

5 spoons out of five. (It's a Smitten Kitchen recipe, so of course it's amazing). These were super easy and super delicious, and the almanac recommends making them as part of an 'old-fashioned candy-making party,' which sounds like something I wish I would be invited to.