Date Fudge (and filled chocolates!)

The holidays are filled with indulgence - those decadent truffles, chocolate-hazelnut balls, rich breads, fruitcake and cookies of all kinds are everywhere! While they are delicious and a perfect special-occasion treat, they definitely don't do our bodies any favours... nor do they exactly help our eternal New Years' goals of being healthier and losing weight!

That said, if I had to choose just one indulgence to enjoy over the holidays, it would be chocolate. I am a "dark" lover all the way, so I could justify mowing through a few Ghirardelli Twilight Delight bars over a week or two under the pretense of using them for antioxidant therapy... right? I'm really not a fan of the saccharine milk stuff playing the part of chocolate, so the more plain old cocoa I can finagle into a bar or cake the better. When I finally got around to making this year's batch of filled chocolates (new fillings every year are becoming a signature trend with me), I not only whipped up a batch of Espresso Fudge Filling, but an equally rich, sweet and fudgy filling from Back to Her Roots that just so happens to be sugar free, a source of fruit and other vital micronutrients too!

This creamy, thick spread is perfect for filling cookie sandwiches and layer cakes, spreading onto cupcakes and brownies or even smearing onto a nice grainy piece of toast. With no fat or sugar added, it's surprisingly light for being so lush! To keep with the "healthy" theme I used my favourite stevia sweetened dark chocolate bar for the shell and filled little take-out ketchup cups instead of standard chocolate moulds for more "filling" space. Nobody who tastes the finished product believes its vegan, gluten free, sugar free and made with nature's candy instead of the refined stuff usually found at the store.

Holiday (and Anyday) Cooking with Gay Lea

My Mom's Fabulous Shortbread

Do you have a holiday cookie tradition at home? Around here, December means shortbreads - and between gifting and eating, we can easily burn through 7 (double) batches of cookies between December first and January 31st. Now, our family is pretty simple when it comes to our shortbreads - butter, icing sugar, flour and an egg yolk are all we need for perfection. Of course, shortbreads are nothing without butter, and a lot of it (those aforementioned batches of cookies use up 7 lbs)! Over the years, we've tried different kinds based on availability and price, but we always seem to come back to the classic salted variety from Gay Lea. It not only packs our cookies with flavour, but has featured in many other recipes on this blog, from sweet to savoury, holiday breakfast brioche to Sunday night dinner and (especially) birthday desserts!

You may remember back in 2010 that I featured some amazing recipes from Gay Lea right before the holidays. Well this year, the Ontarian butter-makers are back - with a spiffy recipe website and their yearly contest! While my family is hard pressed to eat anything but my mom's shortbreads at the holidays (even my cookies are passed up!), that doesn't mean those on my giftee list miss out! There are so many delectable-looking things on the recipe site that I wouldn't even know where to start, except that I saw Butter Tart Shortbread Bars - one (of my many) kryptonite desserts listed. I haven't made them yet, but they are for sure on my shortlist! Other honourable mentions my family picked out were Herbed Cottage Cheese Primavera with Pasta, Light and Luscious Pasta Toss, and the Heritage Triple Butter Sticky Cinnamon Buns.

For the holidays, Asiago and Prosciutto Shortbread Crackers make a great appetizer, or you can cap off a meal with the decadent Chocolate Candy Cane Cheesecake. With the kids out of school for the holidays, Winter Wonderland Snowman Shortbreads make for a fun afternoon too! I know - how can you possibly choose?

Of course, Gay Lea is more than just butter (although if I had to choose, it would be my favourite product). The company also manufactures cottage cheese, sour cream, whipped cream, lactose free "Lacteeze" and Ivanhoe cheese. What are you waiting for? There's a world of possibilities waiting for you to discover.

Crispy Cinnamon Twists (Coming Soon!)

 

Citrus and Herb Roast Chicken

Caramel - Almond Latte Swirls (Coming Soon!)

Nutella - Peanut Swirls (Coming Soon!)

Cracker Jack Bread (Coming Soon!)

Holiday Brioche

 Note: I was provided vouchers for free Gay Lea products for the purposes of this review. All opinions and photos expressed on this website are my own, however I am not responsible for the opinions expressed on the linked sites. I received no monetary compensation for my participation.

Mocha - Nola

I'm an "early" person - if you talk to me before 3PM, chances are I'll be coherent and able to complete tasks with some sort of efficiency. Other members of my family (and most of my friends), however, are so far in the opposite camp that if you call them before 2PM on a Saturday you get sent straight to voicemail. My stepdad is positively hopeless without his morning coffee, and even my early-riser mom needs her java before beginning the daily grind.

I may not need a cuppa to start my day, but that doesn't mean I don't like the occasional mug (or vat... you know, depending on the schoolwork load at the time) in my day. I prefer it black and strong, but my mom likes a little chocolate with hers... and really, can there be a better pairing than chocolate and coffee? When I was planning my "granola gifts" for this year's holiday boxes, I definitely wanted to pay tribute to the heaven-sent pairing, as well as give a nod to the meal where most of the caffeine is consumed - breakfast! So I created a bitter-sweet melange of breakfast cereal, oats, wheat bran, three hits of coffee and chocolate covered raisins that baked up crunchy, chunky and perfect for mixing into yoghurt, topping berries, munching out of hand or filling tortillas spread with almond butter (breakfast of champions, I tell you). I even came up with a great way to present this creation as a gift - use an empty coffee can! You know you have one... and if not, you need to try harder ;-).

What fills your cup to start the day? Are you a coffee or a tea guzzler? Hot lemon water? Nothing 'till noon? Let me know!

Strawberry Preserves with Grandpa's Sherry (Toast Topper #37) #12WksXmasTreats

For the last recipe in my list of contributions to the 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats hosted at Meal Planning Magic, I wanted to share probably the most personal, special preserve I made this year. My grandfather was, in his own right, a good cook - especially for his generation of men who were generally happy to sit back and let the women of the house fix dinner. Along with his fantastic scrambled eggs, curry, and hummus, Grandpa also made his own (rather potent) sherry. For years, the liquor was referred to as the family "cure all" medicine - a shot of it (or a tablespoon for the kids) would basically scare any cold or flu from your system before it even hit your stomach!

It's been almost a year and a half since Grandpa passed away, but our liquor cabinet is still packed with a few bottles of his famous booze. In honour of him, I decided to make use of it in a few jars of strawberry preserve that I'm giving to family this Christmas as a way to rekindle some good memories around the Christmas tree. Along with the sherry, the loose-set jam I adapted from The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving: Over 300 Recipes to Use Year-Round by Ellie Topp and Margaret Howard is comprised of strawberries macerated overnight in sugar and cooked with a hint of vanilla and lemon juice. A spoonful of this on a slab of his favourite Challah on Christmas morning would be just what he would do, but it is equally at home on ice cream, pancakes, oatmeal or yoghurt.

So this is for you, Grandpa... and for everyone out there with memories of someone special. Have a Merry Christmas - and enjoy the other contributions to the #12WksXmasTreats below!

Red Velvet Latte Mix

It's been ages since I've had a real latte. I'm not talking about the syrupy sweet, cream-laden confections called lattes in the popular coffee shops, but the simple espresso + milk version you can find in Italy. To me, a coffee drink should taste like coffee first, with nuances of other elements as accents. 

I had been kicking around the idea of a red velvet latte drink ever since the "holiday coffees" started coming out in the cafes around here. I wanted it to be full of espresso flavour, but also have a touch of tang, a hint of sweet cocoa and (of course) the vibrant red hue of the popular dessert - and after testing, tweaking and more tasting I finally found the perfect combination of ingredients for an instant latte mix. It can't be easier - whisk in some boiling water (or water and hot milk if you prefer) for an instant cup of (sugar-free) "grown up" cake batter. If you must, a dollop of whipped cream transforms a brunch delight into a decadent afternoon or dessert treat.