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20 Special Recipes for Christmas


20 of 20

 Golden Santa Bread



Yield: Serves 8-10
Ingredients
  • 3 and 1/2 to 4 cups bread flour, spooned and leveled
  • 1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/4 cup (half stick) butter, cubed
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons yeast
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 raisins
  • 2 egg yolks, separated in 2 bowls
  • lots of red food coloring
Instructions
  1. In a large bowl or stand mixer, combine 2 cups of the bread flour and the salt.
  2. In a glass measuring cup, heat the milk, water and butter to 120°-130° in the microwave (or in a pot on the stove.) (Heat the mixture until the butter is partially melted, then stir it to melt it the rest of the way. Don't add the liquid to the yeast mixture until your finger dipped in it feels comfortably warm, but not hot.)
  3. Add the sugar and yeast to the liquid. If you are confident that your yeast is not dead, then move on to the next step. Otherwise wait 5 minutes to see if it starts to foam.
  4. Add liquid to dry ingredients; beat just until moistened. Beat in 2 eggs until smooth.
  5. Stir in enough of the remaining flour to form a dough. The dough should come together in a ball, but it's okay if it sticks a little. Add flour until you can handle the dough without it a big mess on your hands.
  6. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. (Or beat with the dough hook for 6-8 minutes.)
  7. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, at least an hour and a half, mine took 2.
  8. Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide into two portions, one slightly larger than the other.
  9. Shape the larger portion into an elongated triangle with rounded corners for Santa's head and hat. Transfer to a large greased cookie sheet.
  10. Divide the smaller portion in half. Shape and flatten one half into a beard. Using scissors or a pizza cutter, cut into strips to within 1 in. of top. Cut the strips pretty thin so that they are easy to twist. Position on Santa's face; twist and curl strips.
  11. Use the remaining dough for the mustache, nose, hat pom-pom and brim. Shape a portion of dough into a mustache; flatten and cut the ends into small strips with scissors. Place above beard.
  12. Place a small ball above mustache for nose. Fold tip of hat over and add another ball for pom-pom.
  13. Roll out a narrow piece of dough to create a hat brim; position under hat and tuck the edges underneath the base dough.
  14. With a scissors, cut two slits for eyes; insert raisins into slits.
  15. In separate small bowls, beat egg each yolk. Brush plain yolk over portions of dough that will not be red. Add red food coloring to one yolk; carefully brush over hat, nose and cheeks. (You have to do the regular yolk first otherwise the color will run.)
  16. Cover loosely with foil that has been coated with nonstick spray. Try to avoid letting the foil touch the bread, you don't want to tear your bread.
  17. Let dough rise another half hour. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes. Uncover; bake 5-10 minutes longer or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Take pictures. Bask in the admiration of whoever sees it.

20 Special Recipes for Christmas


19 of 20

 Coconut Hot Chocolate




Makes about 4 (1-cup) servings
2 cups milk (anything from fat-free to whole milk)
1 (14-ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk, light or regular
2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk (about 1/2 of a 14-ounce can)
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Whipped cream (optional)
Chocolate shavings (optional)
In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, coconut milk and sweetened condensed milk, whisking well to combine. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally so the mixture doesn’t scorch on the bottom of the pan. Once simmering, whisk in the cocoa powder until the mixture is smooth.
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Serve the hot chocolate in mugs topped with whipped cream, chocolate shavings*, marshmallows, or whatever.
*Throw some chocolate chips in a bowl. Add a small dollop of butter. (Or don’t). Melt it in the microwave. Scrape it onto a plate, or anything flat, like a baking sheet. Throw it in the freezer for 5 minutes. Then use a metal spatula to “shave” it off. Viola!

20 Special Recipes for Christmas


18 of 20

 Blueberry French Toast Caserole



Ingredients
  • 8 ounces French bread (I used half of a 1-pound loaf)
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 4 and 1/2 cups blueberries
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 4 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted 
  • powdered sugar, to garnish
Instructions
  1. Slice the French bread diagonally into 10-14 slices, each one about 1/2 or 3/4 inch thick.** Arrange in a single layer in a 9x13 inch dish.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, baking powder, and vanilla. Pour slowly over the bread, making sure to get all the bread wet. Turn the slices over and saturate them. Cover completely and chill overnight, or at least a couple hours.
  3. When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Grease a new 9x13 inch pan.
  4. Combine blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon in the greased pan. Stir until combined, then spread it out evenly.
  5. Place the bread wettest side down on top of the blueberries in a single layer. Brush with the melted butter.
  6. Bake in the preheated oven for 24-26 minutes, or until golden brown.
  7. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve immediately!

20 Special Recipes for Christmas


17 of 20

 Roasted Garlic Ratatouille




Yield: Serves 4-6
Ingredients
  • 1 head garlic
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 3/4 cup cream
  • 1 teaspoon white wine
  • 1/4 chopped onion
  • 1 package Hidden Valley Greek Yogurt Dips (not made), divided
  • 1/4 cup fresh Parmesan
  • fresh thyme, optional
  • 1 long red bell pepper
  • 1 medium-large zucchini
  • 1 large yellow squash
  • 1 eggplant*
  • grated Parmesan, to garnish
  • at least 4 ounces softened goat cheese, for spreading
  • crusty French bread
Instructions
  1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Use a sharp knife to cut off the top of the head of garlic so that the inner flesh is revealed. Remove the papery layers on the outside that come off easily (don't take them all off though, you want the head to remain intact.)
  2. Place the head of garlic on a square of aluminum foil and drizzle with 2 teaspoons olive oil. Wrap the foil around the garlic, place on a baking sheet, and roast for about 25 minutes.
  3. When cool enough to handle, squeeze the soft cloves of garlic into a small saucepan. Mash with a fork. Turn the heat to medium and add cream, wine, onion, and 1 tablespoon of the dip package. When is starts to bubble slightly, add the Parmesan. Stir until the mixture thickens slightly. Add fresh thyme to taste, if you want.
  4. Pour the sauce into a 10-inch cast iron skillet. Set aside.
  5. Use a sharp knife to cut out the top of the red bell pepper. Remove as much of the core as you can, leaving the pepper in it's original shape. Use a sharp knife or mandoline to slice the pepper into rings.
  6. Use a mandoline or a very sharp knife to slice the zucchini, squash, and eggplant.
  7. Layer the vegetables in the skillet with the sauce. Start on the outside edge. Layer them in whatever order you want, I did eggplant, zucchini, squash, then pepper. Continue layering until you run out of vegetables.
  8. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
  9. Sprinkle the remainder of the ranch packet over the vegetables. You don't have to use all of it.
  10. Cut out a circle of parchment paper that is about the size of your skillet and lay it on top of the vegetables. This keeps it from getting brown and dried out.
  11. Bake at 375 for about 38-40 minutes. Remove from the oven.
  12. Toast a slice of bread, spread it with goat cheese, and spoon some of the ratatouille on top. Enjoy!

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