Cherry Almond Wreath Food

CHERRY ALMOND PRESERVES

Steps:

• In a stockpot, bring cherries and water to a boil; boil 15 minutes. , Stir in sugar. Bring to a full rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Boil 4 minutes. Stir in pectin. Continue to boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. , Remove from heat; skim off foam. Stir in extract. Ladle hot mixture into 11 hot half-pint jars, leaving 1/4-in. headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding hot mixture. Wipe rims. Center lids on jars; screw on bands until fingertip tight. , Place jars into canner with simmering water, ensuring that they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil; process for 10 minutes. Remove jars and cool.

CHERRY ALMOND WREATH

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm milk and water. Add the eggs, butter, sugar, salt, lemon zest, cardamom and 2 cups flour; beat until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. , Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6 to 8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. , In a small bowl, beat butter, flour, sugar, extract and lemon zest. Stir in almonds and cherries. Refrigerate. , Punch dough down. Turn on a lightly floured surface. Roll into a 30-in. x 9-in. rectangle. Crumble filling over rectangle to within 1/2 in. of edges. , Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch seam to seal. Place seam side down on a greased baking sheet. With scissors, cut lengthwise down the middle of the roll; carefully turn cut sides up. Loosely twist strips around each other, keeping cut sides up. Shape into a ring and pinch ends together. Cover and let rise for 1 hour., Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until browned. Cool for 15 minutes on a wire rack. Combine glaze ingredients; drizzle over warm coffee cake. Cool completely.

CHERRY ALMOND CRISP

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Start with the crumb mixture. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg.
• Cut the cold butter into pieces. Add the butter to the bowl and use a fork or pastry blender to cut it into the flour mixture. The mixture should resemble a moist, coarse meal. Add the slivered almonds and combine thoroughly.
• Place the still-frozen cherries in a bowl, add the remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar, cornstarch and almond extract and gently stir the cherries to combine.
• Divide the cherries between 8 ramekins (about 1/2 cup each). Top with the crumb mixture, evening out the surface.
• Bake until the topping is crisp and golden brown, about 45 minutes. If the topping appears underdone, continue baking in 10 minute increments until it's done.
• To serve: Add the heavy cream and granulated sugar to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whip. Keep in the fridge until ready to serve.
• Serve the individual crisps warm or at room temperature with a dollop of freshly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

CHERRY ALMOND WREATH

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• In a small bowl, combine the cherries, almonds, 1 teaspoons zest, and brown sugar; mix well.
• Unroll the breadsticks and place side by side. Press the seams together to form one large piece of dough.
• Spread the cherry mixture all over the dough. Roll jelly-roll fashion and press the end to the roll to form a seal. Place seam-side down on a prepared baking sheet. Join the ends together to form a large ring.
• Cut 1-inch slices in the top of the dough all the way around. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.
• While the roll bakes, stir together the powdered sugar, orange juice, and the remaining 1 teaspoons zest. Drizzle over the warm wreath.

HEALTHY CHERRY ALMOND OATMEAL SMOOTHIE

Steps:

• In a small bowl, stir together the oats and 1/4 cup hot water, and rest for 5 minutes.
• In the pitcher of a blender, add the oat mixture, the cherries, yogurt, 2 tablespoons cold water, the honey, almond extract and a pinch of salt. Blend on high speed until very smooth. Pour into a glass and serve immediately.

ALMOND WREATHS

Steps:

• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk the all-purpose flour, cornstarch and salt in a medium bowl; set aside. Beat the butter, granulated sugar, almond butter, honey and almond extract in a large bowl with a mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the heavy cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, then beat in the almond flour until well combined. Reduce the mixer speed to low; gradually add the dry ingredients and beat until just combined. Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip.
• Pipe 2 1/2-inch rings about 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets. (If the dough is too stiff to pipe, let soften slightly at room temperature.) Decorate the cookies with sanding sugar and/or nonpareils. Refrigerate the cookies until firm, about 1 hour.
• Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees F. Bake, switching the pans halfway through, until the cookies are lightly golden around the edges, about 18 minutes. Let cool completely on the baking sheets.

CHRISTMAS CRESCENT RING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Line a heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
• Unroll crescent dough; separate along dough perforations into 16 triangles.
• Overlap 8 dough triangles on prepared baking sheet, forming a 10-inch-diameter dough disk that looks like the sun with a hole in the middle.
• Press edges together to seal the dough "disk".
• Using a rolling pin, roll out almond paste between 2 sheets of waxed paper into a 9-inch diameter disk.
• Place almond disk atop dough disk.
• Spread jam over almond paste.
• Using remaining 8 dough triangles, arrange second 10-inch diameter dough disk atop jam.
• Pinch edges of dough disks to seal; tuck edges under.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.
• Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes.
• While ring is baking, make glaze by stirring powdered sugar, water, and almond extract together in a medium bowl until smooth.
• Drizzle half of glaze over warm crescent.
• Let glaze set for 10 minutes and then drizzle remaining glaze over.
• Decorate with sugar-dipped cherries and small pears, if desired.

SPINACH-ARTICHOKE WREATH

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, combine artichoke hearts, spinach, mozzarella, parmesan, red bell pepper, mayonnaise, garlic, and black pepper. Mix well, and set aside.
• Remove crescent roll dough from packages and separate into 16 triangles on a clean work surface. On a pizza stone or half sheet tray, arrange 8 triangles in a circle with the widest edges touching, about 3" from the edge of the pan (points will extend off the edge of the pizza stone or sheet tray). Matching up wide ends with those already in place, arrange remaining 8 triangles on pan pointing in the opposite direction (points will overlap in the center). Pinch dough triangles together at seams and press with fingertips to smooth.
• Spoon filling evenly over seam of dough in a continuous circle. Beginning with the last triangle placed in the center of the pan, bring point of triangle straight across filling. Next, bring point of opposite outside triangle diagonally across point of previous triangle (the filling will show). Repeat, overlapping points of inside and outside triangles around filling to form a wreath. Tuck last end under first.
• Brush top of wreath with egg wash and bake until bubbly and golden brown, 25-30 minutes. Brush surface of wreath with pesto and allow to rest at least 10 minutes before serving, with marinara sauce for dipping.