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Flavored Marshmallows

Chocolate

Vanilla

Pistachio (come and be surprised if you have never had this before)

Strawberry

Cardamom

Brownies

Dark Chocolate (decadent and healthy)

Golden Raspberry

Cheesecake

Vanilla with almond crust

Golden Raspberry with chocolate crust (tart and sweet melt-in-your-mouth sensations)

Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream… in a jar…convenience for your tastebuds

Lychee Rosewater Cupcakes

Chocolate Stout Cupcakes

Biscotti

Orange Chocolate

Pistachio Cardamom

Brownie Cheesecake Cups (for those who can’t get enough of either)

Dark chocolate brownies with cherry cheesecake swirled in

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Crunchies

Really hard to resist!

Ingredients

1 2/3 cups + 4 tablespoons all purpose flour

1/3 cup spelt bran

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

2 cups chocolate chips

Pre-heat the oven to 375 F degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, bran, salt and baking soda using a wire whisk. In a bowl, with an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition to ensure that they are completely incorporated. Add the teaspoon of vanilla and beat well to incorporate.

Slowly add the flour mixture, mixing well. Stir in the chocolate chips.

For chunky cookies, drop on baking sheet using a tablespoon. You may have to shove the dough off with another spoon! For a smoother look, roll out small portions of dough in the palms of your hands and place them gently on the tray. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until golden brown. Cool for 2 minutes on the tray and then for 10 minutes on a wire rack… if you can wait. No one in my family could. We got 36 cookies, you may have more depending on the size.

Here’s a recipe for marshmallow cornflake wreaths, I found the original one in Rose Beranbaum’s book, Rose’s Christmas Cookies. I have made a few changes, mostly in the amount of vanilla and green colour, so the recipe is still hers. 

Holiday Wreaths

Ingredients.

4 cups cornflakes

7.5 oz. vanilla marshmallows (3 cups)

1/2 c (one stick) butter

1 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon green liquid color

Red cookie icing.

The cooking process in the recipe is quick, so ensure that you have all your ingredients measured or weighed out before you start. Also, if you are like me, ensure that you know where you have kept each one of these!

Cover 4 large cookie sheets with wax paper or parchment paper and grease them lightly with cooking spray. Melt the butter in a medium sized saucepan till frothy. Add the marshmallows all at once. I used homemade tahitan vanilla marshmallows made by my dear friend Pia. These really elevate these treats to some kind of a special dessert. 

Stir the mixture on low heat, till the marshmallows have dissolved and the mixture is one bubbly glob. At this point add the vanilla and green liquid food coloring and mix well. Be cautious here because the marshmallow mixture will splatter with the addition of these liquid ingredients. 

At this point transfer the mixture to a hot water bath (see note). Drop a tablespoon full of the mixture onto the greased cookie sheet and shape into a wreath (a ring) using lightly greased fingers. These will probably be an inch and a half in diameter. Work fast as the marshmallow mixture begins to harden and becomes less pliable.  

Let the wreaths set in a cool, dry space overnight. Use red cookie icing to pipe dots all around once the wreaths have set. Admire the pretty greens and eat them as soon as you can!

The Red Cookie Icing can be made by mixing 3 drops of red liquid food coloring with 3/4 cups of confectioner’s sugar. You can add additional confectioner’s sugar, if required. You do want a thick icing, not one that simply coats the back of a spoon. 

The hot water bath is created by placing the bowl with the marshmallow mixture in a larger bowl with an inch of very hot tap water. I transfer the mixture to a glass bowl before immersing in a hot water bath because glass is a slow conductor and retains heat for longer periods of time.

The homemade marshmallows have real tahitian vanilla bean, so I have used 1/2 teaspoon vanilla less than recommended in Rose’s recipe. 

Happy Holidays! Enjoy!

The winner of our Santa centerpiece cake raffle is TERRY McCARTHY. Cheers to you! Your cake will be available for pick up in time for your Christmas celebration. The cake is a peppermint flavored butter cake with white chocolate buttercream and an almond marzipan covering. 

Santa Centerpiece Cake

We thank everyone who participated in the raffle for the valuable information that you left us with. From all the views that we have, we gather that cheesecake rules as a dessert. We will certainly bake you some, so watch out for updates on the website. If you would like to purchase any of our products for holiday gifting or simply to treat yourself and your loved ones, please do so on the website as well. You can also call or leave us a message on our blog page or at our e-mail id (cultureslice at gmail dot com). 

It was great being with all of you, our neighbours! We look forward to seeing you again, in church, at the grocery store, on our way to school or simply on the street! Until then, savor the flavor!

We would love to hear what other people think about seasonal flavors. Do people want to enjoy the flavors of pumpkin, apple, cinnamon, pomeogranate, cranberry while they are in season? Or would they rather be reminded of spring with a honey-lavender splash or a raspberry tingle? Or be taken even further into summer with the smells and tastes of mango, watermelon, passion fruit? Someone please speak up, even it is Father Christmas!

Another question for fair veterans or just any one who wants to share some insight into consumer behaviour – Would you, in the holiday season, rather buy a single helping of brownies or do you think you would prefer to have a brownie sampler to share with friends and family or better still, gift to your loved ones? 

Just some musings while cooking up a new set of treats. Watch this space to see what we will finally have on our platters. I can assure you though they will be the best you will try this season. Happy Holidays!

This is a toast to Shashank and Peter (our husbands), Ayaan, Ezra, Akemi and Sophie (our kids) and all other significant persons in our lives, whose palettes and patience are both tested in all of our experiments.

While we have overcome the challenge of converting our love for cooking and sharing the joys of good food into a profession, our creativity continues to be challenged in deciding what new offerings to bring to the fairs. You could check out our previous products in our blog posts and please leave any feedback that you may have about our products. Also, let us know what else you would be interested in eating and we will get it out there!

Looking forward to hearing from you folks and also, to seeing you in the future.