Today and tomorrow are good days to prep for a special Christmas morning meal. On Thursday — that gift-opening, lounging-about, people-stopping-by kind of day — the last thing you want is to spend time in the kitchen.
Here are a few recipes to enjoy with a cup of coffee as you open gifts, or to accompany your eggs and breakfast meats. So plan now, do some assembling, then sit back and savor a sweet treat with family and friends on Christmas morning.
Poached apples and pears with creme fraiche
This seasonal fresh fruit compote can be made one day before serving and refrigerated overnight. It’s good with any egg dish and isn’t too sweet. Recipe from “Morning Food” by Margaret Fox. Makes four to six servings.
3 apples
3 pears (ripe but not mushy)
2 1/2 cups apple juice
1 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons honey
1 cinnamon stick
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange, finely chopped
1/2 cup creme fraiche* or drained yogurt
1/4 teaspoon powdered cinnamon
Peel and core apples; cut each into about 10 slices. Peel and core pears; cut each into about eight pieces. Put apple juice, wine, honey, cinnamon stick and nutmeg in a large pot; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add apples slices and citrus zest; simmer five minutes or until apples are almost tender. Add pear slices; poach for three minutes. Pour into a bowl and cover; refrigerate overnight. Serve with a dollop of creme fraiche or drained yogurt and a dusting of cinnamon.
*This is simply soured cream. It is sold in many grocery stores or you can make your own: Mix a half cup of heavy whipping cream with 1 1/2 teaspoons buttermilk. Heat in a saucepan over medium heat just until the chill is off. Pour into a glass jar, cover lightly with a piece of waxed paper, and let sit in a warm place (65 to 70 degrees) for 12 to 20 hours, until thickened. Replace waxed paper with plastic wrap or a tight-fitting lid and refrigerate at least six hours before using. Keeps up to two weeks.
Coriander-orange scones
Scones can be made ahead of time, frozen, then thawed and baked when you want them. Buy your coriander seeds whole and grind them in a spice mill or blender just before using. Recipe from “The Herbfarm Cookbook” by Jerry Traunfeld. Makes 12 scones.
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon fresh ground dried coriander seeds (not toasted)
5 tablespoons sugar, plus 2 teaspoons for topping
Finely chopped zest of one orange
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, slightly softened and cut into ½-inch cubes
3/4 cup dried currants or raisins
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole milk
Egg wash (1 large egg mixed with 1 tablespoon milk)
Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a medium mixing bowl. Stir in coriander, 5 tablespoons sugar and orange zest. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender until the largest pieces are smaller than a pea. Stir in currants; add milk and stir just until a firm dough forms. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide in half and dust with a little flour. Pat each piece into a circle 6 inches in diameter and 3/4-inch thick. Cut each circle into six wedges with a large knife. Transfer scones to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, spacing 1 inch apart. (Can cover and refrigerate overnight at this point, or wrap individually and freeze until ready to bake.)
Brush scones with the egg wash; sprinkle with additional sugar. Bake in preheated 425-degree oven until scones are a deep golden brown, 16 to 18 minutes. Lift one to check that the underside is well browned before removing from oven. Transfer to a cooling rack. Serve warm.
Quick cinnamon-pecan rolls
This recipe uses biscuit dough instead of time-consuming yeast dough. You can make the crust the night before; cover well and refrigerate until the next morning. Recipe from “Biscuits and Scones” by Elizabeth Alston. Makes 16 rolls.
Crust:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut up
1/3 cup milk
Put flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl; stir to mix well. Add butter and cut in with a pastry blender until mixture looks like fine granules. Add milk; stir with a fork until a soft dough forms. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface; give 10 to 12 kneads. Pat into a rectangle; wrap and refrigerate while you prepare topping (or overnight).
Caramel Topping:
1/4 cup plus 1/4 cup light or dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup shelled pecans, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tablespoons very soft or melted butter
Put 1/4 cup of the brown sugar, 1/4 cup of the pecans, milk and cinnamon in the bottom of an 8- or 9-inch round layer cake pan. Stir to mix well; spread evenly. On a lightly floured board, roll dough into a rectangle about 16-by-12 inches, with a long side near you. Brush dough with soft butter except for a 1-inch border along the farthest edge. Mix remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar with remaining 1/4 cup nuts; sprinkle over butter. Roll up dough jelly-roll fashion, starting from the long edge nearest you. Cut roll into 16 slices. Arrange slices, cut side up and slightly apart, on top of brown sugar mixture in pan. Bake in preheated 425-degree oven for 25 minutes or until browned. Invert immediately onto a serving plate; remove pan. Cool 20 minutes before serving.
Molasses pecan sweet bread
This quick bread bakes in about a half hour, and can be kept, wrapped and chilled, up to 2 days. Recipe from “Gourmet’s In Short Order” by Conde Nast Books. Makes one 8-by-8-inch pan.
1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup hot water
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of ground ginger
Pinch of nutmeg
1 cup pecans, toasted lightly and chopped
In a bowl with an electric mixer, beat molasses, oil and hot water until mixture is combined. Add sugar, beating until combined. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Add flour mixture to molasses mixture, a little at a time, beating until well combined. Stir in pecans. Spoon batter into a buttered and floured 8-by-8-inch cake pan. Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Cool bread in pan on a rack for three minutes, run a knife around edges to loosen, and turn bread out of pan. Cut bread into squares to serve.