Snow Globe Hot Chocolate Food

SNOW GLOBE COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper. Dust a work surface with flour, then flatten the cookie dough into a rectangle and roll to about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. (If the large piece dough is hard to work with, cut it into 2 equal pieces.) Use a 3 1/2-inch circle cutter to cut as many rounds as possible (you should get about 10). Transfer to a baking sheet.
• Use a 2 1/2-inch round cutter to cut the centers from the larger circles to make "O's". Using the bottom of a small gingerbread woman cutter (or other cutter with a flat base), cut the rolled center scraps into bases for the snow globes. Place the bases on the baking sheet touching the bottom of each "O" (they will fuse together when they bake). Place the cut cookies in the freezer for 20 minutes. Pat the dough scraps into a disc and chill until you can roll again and cut out more cookies to make about 1 dozen snow globes. When ready to bake, transfer the frozen cookies to 2 room-temperature baking sheets lined with parchment paper, evenly spacing 5 cookies per sheet. Bake the cookies, rotating halfway through cooking time, until crisp and golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
• For the glass centers: Set up a workspace with your decorations and cooled cookies. (You will have to work fast once the glass syrup is made.) Transfer the cookies to clean pieces of parchment set on baking sheets. Stir together the sugar and corn syrup in a 2-cup or larger glass liquid measuring cup until it looks like wet sand. Microwave until the sugar is completely dissolved and is bubbling but still clear with no caramel color, about 2 to 2 1/2 minutes. Stir and microwave 30 seconds more. (This will depend on the power of your microwave, you want the syrup to be bubbling rapidly, but before it begins to caramelize).
• Pour the syrup into the center of 2 or 3 cookies, letting it spread to fill the entire opening. Working quickly, while the syrup is still hot and has not yet begun to harden, sprinkle with the decorations of your choice. Continue, filling a few cookies at a time and reheating the syrup in the microwave for 5 to 10 seconds to keep it pourable, as necessary, until all of the glass centers have been poured.
• For the icing: Combine the confectioners' sugar and meringue powder in an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whisk to combine. With the mixer on low, add the lemon juice and 3 tablespoons water. Mix until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, and add about 1 to 3 tablespoons more water, a little at a time, to make an icing that drizzles slowly from a spoon dipped into the bowl. Increase speed to high and beat until the icing is very smooth, about 1 minute. Spoon half the icing into a pastry bag fitted with a small plain tip. (Alternatively, transfer to a resealable plastic bag and snip off a corner.) Color the remaining icing in the bowl with red food coloring and transfer to another piping bag fitted with a small plain tip.
• Pipe the white icing on the top of the snow globes, leaving a little in the bag to decorate the glass, if desired. Pipe the red on the bases. If desired, use the remaining white icing to pipe small snowmen in the glass part of the snow globes. Let sit until the icing hardens, 20 to 30 minutes.

SNOW GLOBES

Steps:

• Make the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and coat a 12-cup mini-muffin pan with cooking spray. Sift the flour, cocoa powder and salt into a small bowl.
• Beat the egg yolk and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar in a medium bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and thick, about 2 minutes. Beat in 2 teaspoons coffee and the vanilla. Fold in the flour mixture with a rubber spatula until just incorporated.
• Beat the egg white in a separate bowl with clean beaters on medium speed until foamy. Increase the speed to medium high and gradually add the remaining 1 tablespoon granulated sugar; beat until stiff shiny peaks form, about 3 minutes.
• Stir about one-third of the beaten egg white into the batter with a rubber spatula, then gently fold in the rest. Divide the batter evenly among the mini-muffin cups, filling them halfway. Bake until the cupcakes are golden brown and spring back when pressed, about 10 minutes. Poke a few holes into each with a toothpick, then brush with the remaining 1 tablespoon coffee. Remove to a rack and let cool completely.
• Make the frosting: Beat the butter and confectioners' sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on low speed until combined, then increase the speed to medium high and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes; add the mascarpone and beat until just incorporated. Beat in the vanilla.
• Spread the coconut on a plate. Cover each cupcake completely with a thick layer of frosting, then roll in the coconut. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes and up to 1 day.

SNOW GLOBE COOKIES

Steps:

• Blitz the flour, butter and caster sugar together in a food processor until the mix looks like breadcrumbs. Add the vanilla and milk, and pulse to larger crumbs. Briefly knead on a lightly floured surface into a smooth ball, then wrap and chill for at least 30 mins. Line two large baking sheets with baking parchment, then lightly oil the parchment.
• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Roll the chilled dough out on a floured work surface to the thickness of a £1 coin. Stamp out rounds using an 8cm cutter, then cut holes from the middles using a 5cm cutter. Cut small holes in the tops of the biscuits using the tip of a round piping nozzle or a straw - this is where you'll thread the ribbon for hanging. Re-roll the offcuts and continue to stamp out biscuits until all the dough is used - you'll need an even amount, as you'll be sandwiching the biscuits together (you should get about 20). Carefully transfer to the prepared sheets.
• Bake for 6 mins until just golden at the edges. Meanwhile, put the mints or sweets in a food processor or pestle and mortar, and blitz or crush until finely broken up. After 6 mins, remove the biscuits from the oven and spoon the crushed mints into the cut-out middles (use about 1 heaped tsp per biscuit). Bake for 5 mins more until the mints have just melted, but haven't started to colour (they will turn golden if left too long). The middles will look bubbly, but will settle as they cool. If the melted mints haven't reached the edges, use a metal skewer to carefully ease the molten middles to the sides. Leave on the sheets to harden, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• To make the icing, mix the icing sugar with 5-6 tsp water until you have a thick, pipeable icing. Spoon into a piping bag fitted with a small round nozzle. Decorate the bottoms of the biscuits (the melted mints will be flush with the bottoms, so this will leave more room for the sprinkles) by flooding them with icing, or piping on patterns or snowflakes. Leave to dry completely, setting aside the leftover icing in the piping bag.
• Once the biscuits are dry, carefully flip one over onto a clean tea towel so you won't damage the icing. Pipe a little of the reserved icing around the biscuit, being careful not to get too close to the middle or edges - the icing will spread when you sandwich the biscuits together. Spoon a teaspoon of sprinkles into the clear middle, making sure not to touch the icing, then sandwich with another biscuit, matching up the ribbon holes. Leave to dry completely before shaking, as the sprinkles will stick to any wet icing. Repeat with the remaining biscuits, icing and sprinkles. Thread ribbons through the holes and hang for decorations, or store in an airtight container for up to one week.