The Freshman Cook: December 2012

 Today, I wanted to make a dessert that would utilize my contributions to the 2012 Deck The Halls Giveaway, and give you a great recipe that would be perfect for Christmas dinner.  Every Christmas I make a special dessert for our special meal. Usually it is a decadent cheesecake topped with chocolate ganache and cherries. This year I wanted to change it up a bit, so I will be making this decadent Holly and Eggnog Tart. Do you notice a theme here? But, no worries! Because it is a special occasion dessert, I don’t think there are calories! 😉  My contributions to this fun giveaway include a Wilton Tart Pan, a Wilton Pastry Mat, and some Wilton Mini Cookie Cutters. Here’s my recipe, and then the giveaway!!!!!

Holly and Eggnog Tart

Crust

 2 cups Flour

2/3 cup Shortening

2 teaspoon Sugar

2-4 tablespoons Water

1 egg

Red  and Green Food Color

Filling

 (adapted from Pillsbury)

 1 envelope Unflavored Gelatin

1 1/2 cups Eggnog

1 cup Confectioners Sugar

1/4 cup Butter, softened

2 8oz. Cream Cheese, softened

1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon Vanilla

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Mix all your crust ingredients except for the water.

I mixed with a food processor, but a fork will work also.

Add the water a tablespoon at a time, and mix well in between.

I ended up using 4 tablespoons. Roll the dough out to the

size of your tart pan.

Pick up the dough and place it into your pan. Press 

the dough close to the sides all around.

Take your rolling pin and roll over the top of the tart pan.

This will release all the dough around the top.

If some of your sides seem thick with dough, 

push the dough into the sides again, and then roll the rolling pin

over the top to remove any excess.

With your extra dough, cut out 12 holly leaves and 

make 12 small round balls of dough~3 for each 

cluster of holly leaves.

Make some egg wash by adding a little water

to a beaten egg. Brush the edge of your crust with the egg wash.

Then brush the bottoms of the leaves and the balls with the egg wash.

and arrange them on the crust.

Now split the egg wash between two small bowls.

Use food color to make one bowl red and one bowl green.

With a small brush, paint the leaves green and the balls 

red. for the berries.

Place parchment paper or foil crumbled up

 under the center leaf to hold it up until

it is done baking.

If you don’t use the paper or foil, the leaves will be droopy.

Bake for 9-11 minutes. Cool completely.

Once the crust is cooled remove the paper. There will

be marks in the crust where the paper was, but don’t

worry because you will be covering it up.

As your crust cooks and then cools, start on your filling.

Pour 1/2 cup of eggnog into a small sauce pan, 

and sprinkle the unflavored gelatin over it.

Let it stand for 1 minute to soften the gelatin.

After the minute, cook the eggnog on medium until the 

gelatin is dissolved. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine the confectioners sugar, 

cream cheese, and butter. Beat until light and fluffy.

Gradually add the nutmeg, vanilla, gelatin mix, and the rest 

of the eggnog. 

Beat on high until smooth. 

Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

You want the filling to to feel thick when you stir it.

 Fill your cooled crust with the filling.

Refrigerate for 4 hours before serving.

Cut and enjoy!

and now……

2012 Deck the Blogs Giveaway!!

Welcome to the 2012 Deck the Blogs Giveaway hosted by Dreaming All Day with co-hosts Pint Sized Baker, The Freshman Cook and This Gal Cooks. We have also teamed up with Pick Your Plum to make this giveaway even more awesome with a $75 box worth of PYP goodies!! Needless to say, we are all super excited to offer all of these amazing prizes to 5 lucky winners, and want to wish everyone a wonderful Christmas/Holiday season from our families to yours and more importantly, we sincerely want to thank you for taking the time to visit our blogs, and read/view our social media posts over the past year!!

  1. $75 Pick Your Plum Box 2. $25 Williams-Sonoma eGiftcard 3. 1 Dozen Cake Pops made by Pint Sized Baker herself! 4. (1) Wilton Pastry Mat, (1) Wilton Tart Pan, (1) Mini Holiday Cookie Cutter Set 5. (2) Jars of Jam from Stonewall Kitchen
a Rafflecopter giveaway