I know I’ll probably say this about a lot of the things I’m going to bake this season, but I’m going to say it anyways: these are one of my favourite Holiday treats. I could eat a whole batch. But I don’t. It’s all I can do to hold myself back from doing so though. They should be your favourite too: they freeze well, travel well, and look cute — perfect for that tin of cookies/treats you bring to that next get-together, no?

(I do, however, have a confession to make about them: I’m never quite sure what to call them. I’ve settled on ‘turnovers’ but they could just as easily be called ‘mini-handpies’ or even ‘empanadas’. I’m going to remind myself not to sweat it.)

The pastry is *very* forgiving and has always turned out flaky for me. (score!) You can make it a day or two ahead and keep it in the fridge, or go crazy way beforehand, and stick it in your freezer to have ready for when you need it. Another point to cheer about this pastry, is that you can make it by hand or in a food processor. I’ve done it both ways, and it’s worked great both ways for me.

Another bonus: if you’re not into mincemeat, use something else that you do like — just make sure that it has a similar texture (chunky and thick not sloppy). I’ve tried making turnovers like these with jams, and they tend to split open and ooze. A chutney would probably work great.

Afterwards, if you have mincemeat left over at the end, and want to try making something else, try making a batch of Mincemeat Muffins (another favourite!)

The Recipe:

Makes about 30 turnovers (if you plan on making more, do so in separate batches — this recipe does not double well)
Pastry from Fanny Farmer

2 cups / 500mL flour
1/2 tsp / 2mL salt
3 tbsp / 45mL sugar
3/4 cup / 185mL cold butter
2 egg yolks
4 tbsp / 60 mL water

1/2 cup / 125mL mincemeat

milk for brushing
sugar for sprinkling

How-To:

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees (F) / 215 degrees (C)

Make pastry by either

• sifting flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor. Cut in cold butter, and pulse until butter pieces are the size of peas. With the machine on, drop egg and water through chute. Continue to mix until dough comes together in a ball — this will take approximately 20 – 40 seconds.
  OR
• sift flour, salt, and sugar in a bowl. Cut in cold butter with a pastry blender or two knives, or with cold fingers — work until butter about the size of peas. Mix the egg yolk and water together, then stir into the flour mixture — a wooden or other large spoon works great for this. Continue until it comes together in a ball.

Wrap pastry in plastic wrap and chill for 20 or more minutes.

When ready to use, divide pastry into 2 or 3 sections. Start with one, and refrigerate the portions not in use. Roll pastry very thin — approximately 1/8 inch / 2mm thick. (Thinner dough bakes better in this shape.) Dip a glass or round cookie cutter that is about 3 1/4 inches / 8mm in diameter into flour, then cut out circles from the dough, re-dipping the glass or cutter in flour after each circle.

Place each circle of dough on your cookie sheet. On each circle, place 1/2 tsp / 2mL of mincemeat — I used regular cutlery teaspoons for this and only used half a spoonful for each circle of dough (it might be more than a strict 1/2 tsp /2mL.) Fold the circle in half and seal the edges first with your fingers, then with a fork. Brush each with milk and sprinkle with sugar (you could substitute an egg wash in this step if you wanted.)

Use a knife to vent the top of each turnover — stars are traditional for mincemeat, but feel free to get creative! Bake for 10 minutes — crusts should be golden around the edges. Remove to cooling rack.

Enjoy!

Notes:

• pastry works best when butter is very cold, especially when using a food processor.

I don’t make these too often because they do use a lot of candy, but with the Holidays coming I thought they were special enough to put on the list. They’re kinda fun because they look like regular chocolate cookies… until you find the surprise inside — then they’re a delight.

The night I made these, I presented some to the boyfriend/taste tester, and a big grin immediately appeared on his face, and the words “Oh! These!” popped out of his mouth. He ate one all in one bite. I bake a lot of cookies, and it’s safe to say that the boyfriend/taste tester hasn’t been given the nickname “Cookie Monster” without merit — he eats a lot of them and would even if I wasn’t baking them — so when he lights up at one in particular, you know it’s worth it.

These freeze well but the caramel will be a little less fluid after defrosting. Don’t worry — they’re still delicious!

The Recipe

From Right at Home
Makes approx. 55 cookies

1 cup / 250mL butter
1 cup / 250mL sugar
1 cup / 250mL brown sugar
2 egg
2 tsp / 10mL vanilla
2 1/2 cups / 625mL flour
3/4 cup / 185mL cocoa
1 tsp / 5mL baking soda

50 – 60 chocolate-covered caramel candies (I used 5 1/2 pkgs of Rolos)

1/2 cup / 125mL sugar

How-To

Beat butter briefly until smooth, then add in sugars and continue to mix until well combined. Mix in eggs and vanilla.

Measure out the flour, cocoa and baking soda, and combine with the wet ingredients above. Mix well until all is moistened and no dry bits are left. Refridgerate for approximately 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F) / 190 degrees (C).

Scoop dough by tablespoon (a 1 tbsp cookie scoop works really well for this). Push a candy into the dough and wrap the dough around it so that it’s fully enveloped. Place the sugar in a bowl and roll each ball of dough in it so that it is well covered, and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 7-9 minutes — the cookies should be dry to touch and slightly cracked (don’t over bake!) Allow to cool on sheet for 1 minute before removing to a cooling rack.

Enjoy!

Sometimes good things result from disasters (‘disasters’, of course, may or may not be melodramatic).

Last year I was having some friends over and thought I’d make a chocolate pretzel tart I saw in a magazine. First I over baked the crust, then, once I’d remade the crust, I found that I’d made the filling very very runny (apparently the recipe’s ratios of cream and chocolate were off).

What was the positive behind all this? I found out that my overbaked crust made a very very tasty snack and that detail got filed away for later.

Later was this weekend. I took the idea of the pretzel crust and intentionally made it into a cookie. Instead of a milk chocolate tart, I dipped it in chocolate and sprinkled on a wee bit of salt. Tastiness ensued.

Warning: this dough needs to be very cold (firm) to be workable — that means putting it in the fridge or even freezer often. That also means it is a time-intensive project. Tasty enough to be worth it, but I’m going to keep it tucked away for special occasions.

The Recipe

Makes approx. 5 dozen cookies
Inspired by Milk-Chocolate Tart with Pretzel Crust from Food & Wine

1 cup / 250mL unsalted butter
2 1/2 cups / 625mL (7oz / 200g) chopped thin pretzels
1 1/2 cups / 375mL icing sugar
1 cup / 250mL flour
2 eggs

11oz / 300g dark chocolate
2tsp. / 10mL vegetable oil

Large-flake salt (optional)

How To

Beat the butter until fluffy. Add 1 1/2 cups / 375mL (a bit more than half) of the pretzels and the sugar and combine until mixed well. Mix in the flour and egg, and continue to mix until incorporated. Finally, add in the remaining pretzel pieces, and to evenly distribute.

Divide the dough in half, and press each half of the dough between two sheets of waxed paper into a patty, and refrigerate for approximately 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F) / 180 degrees (C)

Roll each section of dough (still between the waxed paper) as thin a disk as possible — the pretzel pieces will mean that it can only get to approximately 1/4 inch / 1/2cm tall. Return to the refrigerator for approximately 20 minutes or until stiff.

Remove the top layer of waxed paper, and cut out circles — I used a 1 1/2 inch diameter egg cup. This dough does not hold shapes very well, so circles or ovals are best. The colder the dough, the better it will hold its shape. Place shapes on pans and place in freezer for approximately 20 minutes.

Bake for 9 minutes. The cookies will begin to brown around the edges, but be lighter on top. Immediately remove from pan and place on cooling racks. The cookies will begin to stick to the pans if allowed to rest for too long.

Cut strips of waxed paper or tin foil and line sheets.

When cookies have cooled, melt chocolate and vegetable oil together. Dip half a cookie, wipe away excess, and place on the prepared sheets. Garnish with a few specks of salt. When a sheet is full, place in freezer for at least 20 minutes to harden chocolate.

Remove from waxed paper, and store in a cool place until serving.

Perfect Pairings

• Milk
• Coffee

Last year for Easter I decided to send everyone home with a treat. I knew what I wanted to make (something to put the amazing chocolate-tinfoil eggs in that I saw everytime I walked by Leonidas), but wasn’t sure how to make it happen.

It finally dawned on me to make a birds nest (eggs need a nest after all) and with a little more thought, I realized I could repurpose some good old-fashioned church basement food for the job. Usually this recipe is made into either a big pan and cut into squares or else made as drop cookies on wax paper.

They’re a great treat for either kids or grown-ups, and are perfect for takeaways after get-togethers. Just call this my attempt at being a Martha.

(Please excuse the celophanewrapped&ontopofthestove version photo above — I didn’t take any photos before they were wrapped to go last year. I’m using it anyways because I want to illustrate what I’m talking about here.)

The Recipe

Adapted from the recipe “Chow Mein Noodles” found in Company’s Coming: 150 Delicious Squares
Makes 4-6

1 cup / 250mL chocolate chips
1 cup / 250mL butterscotch chips
1 1/2 cups / 375mL (4oz / 113g) chow mein noodle
1 cup / 250mL shredded coconut (optional)

How To

Melt the chocolate & butterscotch chips (either in a double boiler or a microwave oven). Mix in the noodles and coconut (if using) and thoroughly combine.

Spoon mounds onto wax paper and shape into nests. Cool in refridgerator. Place tin-foil eggs or other Easter candy into the nest and wrap if desired.

Keep refrigerated as the chocolate will get soft at room temperature.