Sugared Wreath Cookies Food

EMBELLISHED WREATH COOKIES

Steps:

• Sugar Cookies: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter, sugar, and vanilla on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, orange zest, and brandy until well combined. Add dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined. On a lightly floured surface, shape dough into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate until firm, at least 45 minutes and up to overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to a scant 1/4 inch thick. Cut out shapes using a 3 1/2-inch fluted round. Use a 1-inch round cutter to cut out centers of cookies. Reroll scraps once (you should have about 16 cookies). Transfer both wreaths and cookie centers to prepared sheets, spaced about 1 inch apart. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour. Bake until set and golden around edges, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheets to wire racks and let cool completely.
• Glaze: Whisk together confectioners' sugar, egg white, and 1 teaspoon lemon juice until smooth. If necessary, add remaining 1 teaspoon lemon juice to reach desired consistency. Glaze should be opaque but not too thick as to run down the edges of the cookie once dipped. If not using immediately, glaze can be stored at room temperature, with plastic wrap pressed directly on surface, up to 2 days, or in refrigerator up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature before using.
• Working with one cookie at a time, dip cookie top-side down in glaze to coat surface, allowing excess glaze to drip back into bowl. If glaze runs down sides of cookie and is too transparent, add more confectioners' sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time. If glaze is too thick, add water, 1 teaspoon at a time. Transfer glazed cookies to a wire rack or baking sheet. Working quickly before glaze sets, decorate cookies with toppings, if desired. Let stand at room temperature until completely dry, at least 2 hours. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature overnight.

WREATH COOKIES

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time. gradually mix in the flour. Cover dough and chill until firm, about 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Roll dough into balls a little smaller than walnuts. Dip the balls in egg white, then roll them in the chopped walnuts. Place cookies 1 inch apart onto the prepared cookie sheets. Press thumb into middle of each ball to create a divot.
• Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are golden. Remove from oven and repress divots, fill the divots with 1/2 teaspoon of raspberry jam. Remove cookies to cool on wire racks.

SUGARED WREATH COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Tint dough with food color as desired. Shape dough into 2 disks, and wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
• Roll out 1 disk on a lightly floured piece of parchment to a 1/8- to 1/4-inch thickness. Repeat with remaining disk. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Using a 2 1/2-inch fluted round cutter, cut out rounds. Using a 3/4-inch fluted round cutter, cut out centers of cookies. Transfer wreaths and, if desired, fluted cutouts to parchment-lined baking sheets. Brush wreaths and fluted cutouts with water, and sprinkle generously with sanding sugar. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Bake until cookies are firm, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer sheets to wire racks; let cool completely. If desired, affix fluted cutouts and candies to wreaths using a dot of glaze.

CINNAMON ROLL WREATH

Steps:

• For the dough: Warm 1/2 cup water and the milk in a small saucepan over low heat until a thermometer registers 100 to 110 degrees F. Remove from the heat and sprinkle in the yeast and then a pinch of granulated sugar. Set aside undisturbed until foamy, about 5 minutes.
• Whisk together the salt, nutmeg, 2 3/4 cups of the flour and the remaining granulated sugar in a large bowl.
• Beat together the melted butter, vanilla and egg yolk in a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment on medium high until combined. Add the yeast mixture and continue to mix on low until combined. Add the flour mixture and mix on low until a thick and slightly sticky dough forms. Once the dough comes together, switch to the dough hook and knead on medium speed, adding up to 1/4 cup more flour if needed, to make a soft, smooth ball that sticks to the hook, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Coat a large bowl generously with cooking spray. Add the dough, turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until doubled in size, about 1 hour. (The dough can also be tightly wrapped and refrigerated overnight. Let it come to room temperature before proceeding with the recipe.)
• For the filling: Combine the butter, granulated sugar, flour and cinnamon in a food processor and pulse until crumbly. Set aside.
• On a floured surface, roll out the dough into a 10-by-18-inch rectangle. Sprinkle the butter mixture over the dough, leaving a 1-inch border along the top edge. Tightly roll the dough into an 18-inch log. Pinch to seal at the seam and then put on the counter seam-side down. Form the log into a circle, pinching the ends together. Squeeze and roll the dough if needed so it is an even width throughout.
• Transfer the log to a parchment lined-baking sheet. Cut 16 slits across the log, about 1 inch apart; each slit should go about three-quarters of the way through the log so that it is still completely intact. Bend about a quarter of the log by turning some of the newly cut "tabs" out so that the pinwheels of filling are facing up. Continue turning the "tabs" out and bending the log until you have a ring. Butt the ends up against each other. Loosely cover the wreath with plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray and let rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake until the wreath is golden brown and puffed, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool on a rack until just warm, about 10 minutes.
• For the glaze: Whisk the confectioners' sugar, milk and lemon juice in a medium bowl to make a thick but pourable glaze, adding a little more confectioners' sugar if needed to get the right consistency. Drizzle over the wreath and let harden before serving. To serve, decorate with candied cherries and mint leaves to resemble holly sprigs.

CHRISTMAS WREATH COOKIES

Steps:

• Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
• In a medium or large heavy saucepan, melt butter.
• Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted.
• Remove the saucepan from the heat and add food coloring; mix well to combine.
• In a large mixing bowl, add cornflakes. Pour marshmallow mixture over the cornflakes and gently until the cornflakes are well coated.
• Drop a heaping teaspoon of the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. Form the mixture into wreath shapes.
• Add cinnamon candies while the mixture is still warm.
• Let the wreaths sit at room temperature for about an hour to harden. Serve.

FROZEN CRANBERRY SOUFFLé WITH SPUN SUGAR CRANBERRY WREATH

Steps:

• Make the cranberry mixture:
• In a heavy saucepan combine the cranberries, the sugar, and the water and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Simmer the mixture, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until it is thickened, and let it cool completely.
• Make the Italian meringue:
• In a small heavy saucepan combine the sugar and the water and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Boil the syrup, washing down any sugar crystals clinging to the side of the pan with a brush dipped in cold water, until it registers 248°F. on a candy thermometer and remove the pan from the heat. While the syrup is boiling, in the large bowl of an electric mixer beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they hold soft peaks, with the motor running add the hot syrup in a stream, beating, and beat the meringue at medium speed for 8 minutes, or until it cools to room temperature.
• Fold the cranberry mixture into the meringue gently but thoroughly. In another bowl with cleaned beaters beat the cream until it just holds stiff peaks and fold it into the cranberry mixture gently but thoroughly. Spoon the soufflé into a 2 1/2-quart (8-inch diameter) freezer-proof glass serving bowl, smoothing the top, and freeze the soufflé, its surface covered with plastic wrap, overnight. The souffleé may be made 3 days in advance and kept covered and frozen.
• Make the spun sugar wreath:
• In a small heavy saucepan combine the corn syrup and the sugar, bring the mixture to a boil over moderate heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved, and boil the syrup until it is a golden caramel and registers 320°F. on a candy thermometer. While the syrup is boiling, oil lightly a 12 inch-square sheet of foil and on it arrange the cranberries in a 6-inch-wide wreath shape. Remove the pan from the heat and let the syrup cool for 30 seconds. Dip a fork into the syrup and drizzle the syrup over the cranberries, repeating this procedure until the cranberries are covered with the syrup and a solid wreath is formed. (If the syrup becomes too thick to drizzle from a fork, reheat it over moderate heat until it is the right consistency.) Let the wreath cool completely. The wreath may be made 2 hours in advance (preferably not on a damp day) and kept in a cool, dry place.
• Pry the wreath gently from the foil, arrange it on the soufflé, and garnish it with the mint sprigs.