Festive Holiday Baking

Are you a hybrid worker being forced to attend an office potluck? 

Do you need a dessert for your child's Christmas bake sale? 

Feel like baking something new this holiday season? 

If you answered any of those questions in the affirmative, the recipe below is just what you're looking for. Sure, there's no actual eggnog in these, but nothing is stopping you from pouring yourself a mug when you want to have one.

Ingredients

454 g white baking chocolate
115 g cream cheese, softened
60 g confectioners' sugar
1.5 g ground nutmeg, plus additional for sprinkling
1.5 g imitation rum extract

1. Melt 230 grams of the chocolate as directed on the package. Beat the cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, nutmeg, and extract in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until it's well blended and smooth. Add the melted chocolate; beat until well mixed. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or until it's firm.
2. Shape into 24 balls. Place on a wax paper-lined tray. Refrigerate again while you make the chocolate dip.
3. Melt half of the remaining chocolate in a small microwavable bowl at 50% power for 1.5 minutes, stirring after 1 minute. Using a fork, dip 1 truffle at a time into the melted chocolate. Tap the back of the fork 2 or 3 times against the edge of the dish to allow any excess chocolate to drip off. Place the truffles on a wax paper-lined tray.
   
   (If there are any "bald" spots on the truffle, cover it with the melted chocolate that remains on the fork).
   
   
4. Coat only 12 truffles at a time. Sprinkle truffles with nutmeg. Repeat with the remaining chocolate and the remaining truffles.
5. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until the chocolate is set. Store the truffles between layers of wax paper in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.

No Joke Holiday Ham

Poultry gets all the attention at holiday meals, but pork has always had a place at the Christmas table. While ham is often served on Christian holidays like Christmas and Easter, people have been eating pork products during wintertime long before Christianity. Germanic Pagans commonly served wild boar during Yuletide, while Norse Pagans sacrificed and feasted on wild boar during the Winter Solstice. Food historians believe that the holiday ham tradition is linked with cold weather months as pork could be easily carried and stored without refrigeration for long periods of time. As well, many cultures have associated pigs with abundance and good fortune, which is why a fat pig became a common gift on special occasions like births and weddings. For a ham that you would proud to serve to your friends and family as a main event or as an alternative, check out the recipe below. 

Ingredients

1 ham
125 mLmL maple syrup or honey
6 whole garlic cloves, peeled
6 bay leaves
3 whole dried hot peppers
3 star anise
2 cinnamon sticks
coriander seeds to taste
fennel seeds to taste
olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 190°C.
2. Break the star anise, cinnamon, bay leaves, and hot peppers into large pieces. Set aside.
3. place the ham In a roasting pan, . Sprinkle generously with maple syrup.
4. Deposited on the meat the whole garlic cloves and other ingredients except oil and water. Pour oil over the filling.
5. Add water to cover bottom of pan about 1 inch (2,5 cm).
6. Roast in the oven 1h30-2h. Let stand a few minutes after cooking.