Nothing took the “merry” out of my “Christmas” more than my daughter telling me one day before Christmas Eve that her French class was having a holiday party at school the next day and I had to make 25 crepes with less than 24 hours to produce them. After working all day at the doctor’s office and trying to squeeze in that last bit of Christmas shopping, two words kept running through my head… “Bah Humbug!” That vision of sugar plums dancing through my head suddenly turned sour.
As I hung up my nursing coat and put on my apron and took a few deep breaths I remembered that crepes were not the only thing I needed to make by Christmas Eve. This year I was assigned to holiday dessert duty, which meant bringing 1 or 2 desserts to Christmas dinner. I had to wonder why, because to be honest, I am not the best cook in the family, by far! Why not salad duty, or better yet, beverage duty? If only the Elf on our Shelf could bake!
Either way, I had to come up with a few quick and easy desserts (plus the crepes) tout suite! My silent night soon became a night filled with sugary countertops, topping-filled bowls, curious, yet hungry teenagers, a room full of smiles, and an aroma of sweet smelling home baking! Here’s what I did:
Ginger Orange Cookies
This recipe makes a yummy chewy gluten-free treat everyone will enjoy.
- 2 ½ cups almond flour
- 1 ¼ cups sugar
- 4 egg whites
- 2 tablespoons and ¼ cup chopped orange peel
- dried cranberries
- 1 tablespoon of chopped ginger
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
Finely chop all items, then puree almond flour, sugar, egg whites, orange peels and ginger in a food processor. Add cranberries and puree until smooth. Pour into bowl and refrigerate overnight. Next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place parchment paper on baking sheets. Pour confectioners’ sugar in bowl. Roll cold dough into 1 inch balls into sugar and place on baking sheet. Cook for 15 minutes or until cookies are light golden brown. Cool cookies before serving.
Very Merry Cherries
- 1 cup of Bing cherries
- 1 cup of bourbon
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 – 2 pieces thickly sliced ginger
In a pot, boil bourbon, sugar, and ginger. Simmer over medium-low heat and cook until sugar dissolves, which should take about 5 minutes. Place cherries in a jar, pour the bourbon mixture into the jar of cherries and refrigerate for 1 – 2 days. Serve alone, over ice cream or as a brownie garnish.
These two desserts are easy crowd-pleasers and low key efforts. The key is to give yourself two days to make them, one day to prepare and chill, and the next to bake.
