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.

DIY Christmas Eggnog

With the exception of Quark's nephew on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine", egg is my favourite type of nog. Popular during the winter holiday season, eggnog originated from an early medieval British drink called posset that was made with hot milk that was curdled with wine or ale and flavoured with spices. As the popularity of the drink spread, the spirits used in the drink changed depending on the availability, which is why rum and bourbon were included in recipes popular during the American Revolutionary War. While eggnog is readily available in the dairy section of your supermarket, for the days that's it's not in season, it's easy to make the drink yourself. However, take caution as it is a food that contains raw eggs (a health risk for people with weakened immune systems or who are pregnant) and alcohol (no need to overdo it with - don't drink and drive).

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all.



Ingredients:

6 large eggs
950 mL whole milk
60 g sugar
5 mL vanilla extract
dash of ground nutmeg 

1. Wash and check your egg for any cracks or blemishes - if it seems suspect, throw it away, and find a better egg. Crack the eggs into a medium saucepan. Beat with the sugar until the colour of the egg lightens.
2. Add half of the milk and cook over low heat while stirring constantly. When the mixture (now basically a simple custard) starts to thicken up a bit and is able to coat the back of a spoon, remove from the heat.
3. Allow the mixture to sit for about 5 minutes. The mixture should be around 71.1°C and the resting period will help give time to kill off a lot of the unwanted bacteria (but not all because of the relatively low heat and short waiting time, five minutes isn't long enough for the temperature to drop low enough for the bacteria to find the conditions favorable for reproduction).
4. Add the remaining milk to the mixture and stir in the vanilla extract and nutmeg. Chill in the refrigerator for at least four hours. Serve cold within 24 hours.