Sweet and Spicy Cheeseball

I feel like the official sign of the holiday season is when cream cheese goes on sale at the grocery store. So many recipes growing up started with cream cheese - this cheeseball being my favourite. I have such a natural sweet tooth so I love how this recipe has the sweetness from the pineapple balanced with the tang and spice of the other ingredients. If you have pineapple-adverse people in your life, do not fret! It doesn't taste *like pineapple* - since you use crushed pineapple, it evenly distributes into the mixture to add subtle sweetness throughout vs straight-up pineapple flavour. The green onion adds savouriness, the red pepper adds some bite, and the Worcestershire sauce adds the tang. Tabasco is the final piece to bring this together with a lingering heat that makes you want to come back for more. 

After much testing, I’ve determined that this does in fact freeze! If it’s just you and your household this holiday season, stock your freezer with mini-cheeseballs for a special night in treat.

About the ingredients

Canned crushed pineapple

You want to make sure you are draining the pineapple super well before mixing into the cheeseball, otherwise you’ll have more of a spread instead of a firm cheese ball*. To drain, you can use a fine-mesh strainer and press on the pineapple with a spoon to push out the extra liquid, or you can put it in cheesecloth or a clean kitchen towel and squeeze out the liquid.

*Honestly, making a spread instead of forming into a cheeseball is a delicious, easier alternative. Sometimes I just put the “cheeseball” mixture in a bowl and call it a “spread”. 

Cream cheese

I buy the blocks of cream cheese to ensure the cheese ball can firm up. The spreadable cream cheese also works but you will have trouble keeping its shape. Again, the worst-case scenario is you make a “cheese ball spread” that you top with nuts, which honestly is a pretty delicious worst-case scenario.

Cheese

Make sure you choose a cheddar cheese with some oomph to it, like old cheddar. You want your cheese to add flavour and bite to balance the pineapple.

Nuts for the coating

I use whatever tree nuts (read: anything but peanuts) on hand to coat the outside. If you feel like adding an extra layer of flavour, you can toast your nuts before chopping them. I prefer to toast nuts in the oven (350F for 5-8 mins - when they smell toasty they are done!) to avoid burning. Anytime I toast nuts on the stove I inevitably forget about them and burn them.

How to store:

In the fridge: 

The cheeseball will be good in the fridge for 3-5 days. I prefer to wait to do the coating so it doesn’t get soggy, so I store it in the fridge tightly wrapped in saran wrap until just before serving. You could do the coating an hour before serving, place it on your serving plate, and loosely cover it with saran wrap to save you from having a mess when guests arrive!

To freeze:

This cheeseball freezes well which is truly a dream! You can make the cheeseballs well ahead of time and then just take them out of the freezer the morning of. Because of the pineapple, there might be a little bit of liquid in the saran wrap when it defrosts. That’s ok! Once you toss it in the nuts this extra liquid will get absorbed. Plus, if you properly drain and squeeze out the liquid from the pineapple, you shouldn’t have too many issues.

To defrost on the counter: it will take about 2 hours at room temperature to defrost. You can then store it in the fridge until ready to serve!

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Sweet and Spicy Cheeseball

Yields 2-4 cheeseballs, depending on size

3 hours needed for prep to serving, only 20 mins of active work

Ingredients:

2 packs cream cheese, room temperature

1.5 cups old cheddar cheese, shredded and lightly packed

1 tbsp worcestershire sauce

2 green onions, small dice, to yield ¼ cup 

½ red pepper, small dice, to yield ½ cup 

½ cup canned crushed pineapple, well drained

½ tsp onion powder 

½ tsp garlic powder  

1-2 tsp tabasco, or other vinegar based hot sauce (1 tsp is lightly spiced, 2 tsp has some kick - anywhere in between is medium spice!)

½ cup chopped nuts of your choice (pecans, almonds, walnuts) per cheeseball - up to 1 ½ cups needed

Salt and pepper

Method:

1. At least an hour before you start making your cheeseball, take your cream cheese out of the fridge! You want it to be truly room temperature, otherwise it will be difficult to properly mix it together.

2. In a large bowl, combine your ingredients. Mix until well combined. I use a sturdy spatula to stir and mix together, but some people like to use an electric hand mixer. I find this breaks up the cheese a lot so I prefer to do it by hand.

3. Once combined, divide into portions to make your cheeseballs. This year, I am making smaller versions since we are gathering in small groups but here are basic measurements:

   ¾ cup for small cheese ball - good for a gathering of 4 people, yields 3-4 cheeseballs

   1 cup for medium cheese ball - good for a gathering of 6-8 people, yields 2-3 cheese balls

   1.5 cups for large cheese ball - good for a gathering of 8+ people, yields 2ish cheeseballs

4. I wrap the cheese ball tightly in saran wrap and let them set in the fridge for a minimum 1 hour before serving. If I’m saving for a future event, I freeze and then let it thaw on the counter the day of (more on this in the above article).

5. Before serving, combine finely chopped nuts with a pinch of salt and good crack of pepper in a bowl. Toss the cheese ball in the coating and serve!

Mom's Whipped Shortbreads

These are my favourite Christmas cookies. They are super simple and they just melt in your mouth. Perfect with afternoon or after-dinner tea. I like making them small because they are basically just sugar, butter and flour. They are best as a one or two-bite treat! The best thing about these cookies is they are only 4 ingredients, all of which you probably have on hand. They do take some time to firm up after they are baked so I recommend making them at least the day before you plan on serving them to ensure they aren’t too delicate to touch. 

Here are a few common questions on these cookies:

Do I need a stand mixer to make them?

No, but you definitely need an electric hand mixer if you don’t! I think it would be pretty difficult to achieve the fluffy texture you need with just hand mixing. But maybe you are stronger than me!

 Can I use unsalted butter for these?

You could but I recommend using salted butter as it is already perfectly seasoned throughout. Since this cookie has very few ingredients, this is one of the few times I recommend using salted butter instead of unsalted. Usually, I prefer unsalted because you can control the level of seasoning yourself. If you did use unsalted butter, I would add 1 tsp kosher salt.

Do I need to use cherries on top?

No, those are totally optional! I like the festive touch they add but you could do them plain, or go crazy with sprinkles. Just be gentle with toppings as you don’t want to press out any of the air you’ve built up in the dough.

Can I halve the recipe?

Absolutely. This makes about 6 dozen small cookies. All of the measurements are easily halved, so go right ahead. The cookies do freeze well if you want to make the full batch and save some for future you.

Can I pipe these cookies, or use a cookie press?

Maybe? I actually am not confident in this answer so do let me know if you experiment with them! I personally think they are cute and charming as little imperfect blobs. 

 My cookies are falling apart when I touch them!

Be patient with letting them cool. Honestly, even the first day they can be pretty delicate. Once they are fully cooled the cookies are much easier to handle. I prefer to store them in the fridge (or winter garage which is basically a fridge) because I like them cold, but that also helps keep them firm.

 How should I store the cookies?

I prefer the shortbreads cold but they keep well on the counter as well. I like to line my container with wax paper and place a piece of wax paper between each layer of cookies. I find the wax paper protects the cookies if they get moved around at all, and it’s not rough on them so they stay intact better. These also keep well in the freezer.

• Counter/room temperature: 4 weeks in an airtight container

• Fridge: 4-6 weeks in an airtight container

• Freezer: up to 3 months

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Mom's Whipped Shortbreads

This recipe makes about 6 dozen small cookies. You can halve it easily if you want less.

1 - 1.5 hour total prep and bake time

Ingredients:

1 lb or 454g of salted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup cornstarch

1 cup icing sugar

3 cups all-purpose flour

6-8 Maraschino cherries (if desired)

Method:

1. Cream together the butter, cornstarch and icing sugar for 1-2 mins until well combined using a stand mixer or hand mixer on medium speed.

2. Scrape down the sides and add in flour. Start on a low setting until the flour is incorporated and then turn up to medium-high speed for 15 mins. The mixture should almost double in size and look fluffy and cloud like.

3. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper (TIP: I prefer to use two cookie sheets so I can put one tray in as soon as the other comes out)

4. Dice maraschino cherries into 6ths and pat dry with a paper towel.

5. Drop 1 heaping teaspoon worth of cookie dough onto the cookie sheet. Place cookies 1 inch apart. Try not to disturb the cookie dough too much as you don’t want it to lose air.

6. Place a piece of cherry on top of each cookie and gently push it into place.

7. Bake for 10 mins until the bottom is lightly golden. The top of the cookie should not colour much.

8. Allow to cool on the sheet for 1-2 mins before transferring to a cooling rack. The cookies are very fragile until fully cooled - it takes 30-45 mins for them to fully firm up.

9. Repeat until all of the cookies are baked.

10. Store cookies in a container lined with wax paper on the counter or in the fridge (I personally love them cold!)

Leek & Cauliflower Puree

This is one of my favourite side dishes over the holidays because it carries all the flavour of a luxurious potato side dish without feeling as heavy. I started developing this a few Christmases ago as my aunt cannot eat potatoes. Since so many holiday meals are served with potatoes on the side, I wanted her to have an option that was equally tasty without defaulting to rice. The flavour here really comes from leeks - you want them to get nice and soft and buttery. It’s ok if they brown a bit too, that’s just extra flavour! If you don’t have a food processor you could use a blender or hand blender. The other advantage to cauliflower over potato is you don’t have to worry about it turning gummy when blended!

About the ingredients

Leeks: as you will begin to notice in my recipes, leeks are one of my favourite ingredients. They add a gentle onion flavour without too much bite, and I find they pair nicely with cheese without overtaking the dish. 

How to store leeks:

Leeks should be stored in the fridge but they can be REALLY big. Since you only eat the white part of the leek, if you’re tight on space, you can always trim off the green parts before storing them in your fridge. Just dampen a paper towel and wrap the cut ends until you are ready to use.

How to clean leeks:

I always give them a good rinse on the outside - if the outer layer seems to be discolouring, I will peel that off. Again, you only use the white part, so I cut off the greens. I’ll then peek down in the layers of the white part - if it seems really dirty I will chop the leeks to whichever size I need, then give them a rinse in a colander or soak in a bowl of water to remove all the dirt. Sometimes soil can get between the layers so it’s important to give them a good clean!

What do I do with all these leeks?!:

Typically leeks come in bunches of three. This recipe will use one. For the other two, you can pretty much use them in any recipe that calls for onion. They are awesome in soups. I use them in my turkey dressing/stuffing. I have a great leek and camembert quiche recipe in the archives. They are delicious with a roast chicken - add them to the pan and the chicken fat drippings will caramelize the leeks while it roasts. THE WORLD IS YOUR LEEK.

Choosing your milk: the higher the milk fat content of your milk, the richer this side dish will be. If you are looking for a lighter side, choose 1 or 2% milk. If you’re looking for a luxurious, creamy side, go all out with 35% m.f cream. Anything in between will also be delicious! I have not tried this recipe with non-dairy milk but I think any unsweetened nut or oat milk would probably work nicely.

Cheese: in the recipe, I recommend using parmesan cheese but really, any hard, sharp cheese will work well. Asiago would be delicious. So would Grana Padano. It isn’t meant to be like… “cheesy” in flavour, just super savoury and delicious. Save your cheddar for another recipe!

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Leek & Cauliflower Puree

Serves 4-6, 30 mins prep/cook time

Ingredients:

1 cauliflower head, leaves and stalks removed

1 leek, green part removed

1 tsp, olive oil

1 tbsp butter

½ cup of milk or cream (higher the milk fat the creamier it will be)

¼ cup grated parmesan

Salt n pepper to taste

Method:

1. Prep your cauliflower - you can either boil or steam the cauliflower, your choice! First I chop the cauliflower into roughly equal pieces so it cooks evenly. Then while the cauliflower cooks, skip to step 2 to get your leeks cooking at the same time.

   • To boil: bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add in cauliflower and boil until fork-tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and place in the food processor.

   • To steam: place your steaming basket in a medium pot with 1 cm of water. Add cauliflower pieces to the steamer basket and cover with a lid. Allow to steam for 5-7 mins until fork tender. Remove cauliflower and place it in the food processor.

2. Thinly slice your leek, first by running the knife lengthwise down the white part, and then slicing crosswise. Add to a pan over medium-low heat with olive oil and butter, and a pinch of salt. Allow to cook until translucent, buttery and softened. I like to let them deeply cook, 10-15 minutes.

3. Once leeks are cooked, add to the food processor along with your milk/cream and pulse until smooth. Add in your cheese and pulse again until well combined. Taste. Does it taste like you want to eat more? If no, you probably need some more salt and pepper. Add a touch, pulse again, and taste. Continue until it tastes delicious and perfectly seasoned!

4. You can keep the puree warm on the stove in a pot, covered, over low heat while you wait for the rest of your meal. You can also refrigerate for 3-5 days to reheat!
   

Maple Sriracha 'Bits and Bites'

My mom always made “bits and bites” in December to have on hand whenever people popped in to visit over the holidays. I love the toasty, warm flavour of these, and over the years I’ve started to make them in Toronto for my annual “January Party” with my own twist - adding in maple syrup and sriracha! Even though this year there won’t be parties or company stopping in, these make for a great snack with a movie on a winter's night and they keep super well. If you are doing gift drop-offs for friends, pick up some fun tins from a local shop, and you can gift a homemade treat! 

This recipe makes A LOT, but you can easily half the recipe if desired. I recommend making the full version so you have snacks forever.

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Maple Sriracha ‘Bits and Bites’

Yields .. a lot. Like 40 cups worth. 3.5 hours total prep/bake time.

Ingredients

Maple Sriracha Sauce

3 tbsp sriracha 

3 tbsp maple syrup 

¼ cup Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp onion powder

1.5 cups salted butter, melted (if using unsalted butter, add 1 tbsp kosher salt)

Bits and Bites Components 

1 550g box Shreddies = 11 cups

2 200g boxes Cheese Nips  = 7 cups

1 400g bag Stick Pretzels = 8 cups

1 700g can Honey-Roasted Peanuts = 5.5 cups

½ 570g Family Size box of Cheerios = 10 cups

Method

1. Preheat oven to 250F

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sauce ingredients until smooth and well emulsified.

3. Mix together your “bits and bites” components into two large roasting pans. You can also use tin foil pans (I would use the roasting pan sized ones). You want to ensure there is room in both roasters to easily stir - this will help with your stirring and also allow the air in the oven to circulate better to dry out the mixture!

4. Pour your sauce over both pans, evenly dividing the sauce. Give the mixture a good toss so everything is evenly coated - you don’t want the sauce concentrated in one area!

5. Bake in the oven at 250F for approximately 3 hours, tossing every 45 mins. Make sure you stir all the way to the bottom otherwise the pieces on the bottom will burn.

6. You are looking for the bits and bites to be dried out - you don’t want any soggy pieces. If the mixture isn’t fully dried out after 3 hours, reduce the heat to 225F and continue to bake until everything is perfectly dried and toasty!

7. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.

8. Store in an airtight container on the counter. They will keep for 1-2 months!

Ginger Molasses Cake with Apple Cider Sauce

Ginger molasses cake was a classic winter dessert growing up. We often had it around the holidays - warming, aromatic, and so cozy. Most recipes make a 9 x 13 pan which is simply too much dessert for someone living alone. This version keeps all of the comfort of the original recipes but adjusts it to make 1 circle cake pan, or 8 servings, instead of what sometimes feels like 400 servings. I’m being dramatic, but small batch baking is needed in 2020! The sauce uses pressed apple cider (the kind that comes in jugs at the farmers market), but if apple cider is out of season I’ve included a modification below for a brown sugar sauce. Served best warm with whipped cream or ice cream.

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Ginger Molasses Cake w/ Apple Cider Sauce

8 servings, 35-45 mins total

Cake Ingredients:

1/3 cup butter, room temperature

1/3 cup white sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup molasses

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 cup hot water

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Line the bottom of a 9 inch cake pan (circle) or 8x8 square pan with parchment paper and grease the sides.

2. Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in egg and continue to mix until well incorporated.

3. Mix in molasses - if using an electric mixer  beat for 2-3 mins until light and fluffy. Otherwise mix by hand for 5-6 mins until light and fluffy.

4. Add in dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. Texture should be like cookie dough.

5. Pour in hot water and mix until batter becomes looser. Do not overmix, you just want the batter to look uniform.

6. Pour into a greased and lined cake pan and bake at 375F oven for 20-25 mins, until the cake tester comes out clean.

Sauce Ingredients:

1 cup of apple cider 

¼ cup of brown sugar

2 tbsp of flour

2 tbsp of butter

Method:

1. In a small pot combine apple cider, brown sugar and flour over medium heat. Whisk until clumps of flour are gone and bring to a boil. 

2. Boil until sauce thickens (3-5 mins). Remove from heat. Add butter and whisk until combined. Serve warm over gingerbread.

** if you don’t have apple cider, you could do 1 cup of brown sugar, ½ cup water, and 1 tsp of lemon juice, plus the above flour and butter ratios for a tangy brown sugar sauce.