Try these holiday baking recipes from SD42 culinary students

Are you planning to do some holiday baking this week? Culinary students at School District 42 have a few suggestions for festive pastries you should try.

Jada Orieux’s Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup of butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3 cups flour

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. In a large bowl cream together butter and sugar until fluffy.
3. Beat in egg and vanilla then add baking powder and flour into mixing bowl one cup at a time mixing after each addition.
4. Divide dough into 2 portions on a floured surface roll dough.
5. Use your favorite cookie cutter to cut the cookies.
6. Place cookies on a cookie sheet and bake for 6 minutes or until lightly browned.
7. Use royal icing to decorate as you desire.

B.C. Eggnog Waffles (yields six large waffles)

Ingredients

• Four B.C. eggs         
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose lour
• 1 tbsp baking powder   
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar    
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon  
• 1/2 tsp (3 ml) Nutmeg
• 2 cups (500 ml) B.C. eggnog
• 1/2 cup melted B.C. butter, salted    
• 1 tsp vanilla

Directions 

1. Preheat waffle iron to 350 F (180 C).
2. Separate B.C. eggs and place in two separate bowls.
3. Whip the egg whites until stiff peaks and set aside.
4. In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  
5. Add the B.C. eggnog to the flour mixture and mix thoroughly (but as little as possible).
6. Stir in the eggs until just combined.
7. Add the melted B.C. butter and vanilla and mix gently until combined.  
8. Gently fold in the whipped egg whites to preserve as much air as possible.  
9. Add desired amount of batter to a waffle iron and cook until golden brown.
10. Serve warm with butter and pure maple syrup.  

B.C. Whipped Shortbread Cookies

Ingredients 

• 454 g B.C. butter, salted and soft 
• 115 g icing sugar, sifted 
• 425 g all-purpose flour 
• 65 g corn starch
• Assorted sprinkles (optional)

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 325 F.  
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and icing sugar for 2 minutes.  
3. In a separate bowl, combine sift flour and corn starch.  
4. Add the flour and cornstarch mixture to the butter mixture gradually while mixing. Continue to mix until dough resembles stiff whipped cream.  
5. Place desired sized scoops of cookie dough onto parchment lined tray.  
6. Press down lightly using a fork or stamp to form a puck.
7. Add sprinkles if desired.
8. Bake for 14 – 16 minutes or until the tops look set.  
9. Cool completely before removing cookies from the tray.

Chef Karen’s Bouche Noel (yield 8-10 servings)

Ingredients

Cooking spray

• six large eggs separated at room temperature
• ¼ tsp cream of tartar
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• ¼ cup whole milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp expresso powder
• ¾ cup AP flour
• ¼ cocoa powder
• ¼ tsp salt

For the filling and glaze:

• 2 cups whipping cream (for center of cake)
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ cup confectioners’ sugar
• ¾ cup semi sweet chocolate
• ½ cup whipping cream (for ganache)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Coat an 11 by 17-inch rimmed baking sheet or jelly roll pan with cooking spray.  Line the bottom with parchment paper (spray the parchment paper too).
2. Beat room temp. egg whites with cream of tartar until soft peaks (3 minutes), gradually add granulated sugar. Increase speed beat until stiff peaks form, 3-4 minutes.
3. Whisk the egg yolks with remaining 1/2cup of granulated sugar, oil, milk, vanilla, and expresso powder in a large bowl.
4. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl, whisk into the yolk mixture until smooth. 
5. Stir 1/3 of egg whites into the batter with a rubber spatula, then gently fold in the remaining whites in two batches.
6. Spread batter in prepared pan, bake until the cake springs back when gently pressed-10-12 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes.
7. Generously sift cocoa powder over the top of the warm cake and loosen the edges with a knife, lay a clean kitchen towel over the cake.  Place another baking sheet over the towel and flip the cake with the baking sheets to invert it onto the towel.  Remove the top baking sheet and parchment, then dust the cake with cocoa powder.  Starting at the short end, roll up the cake and the towel together into a spiral. Transfer seam-side down to a rack and let cool completely. 
8. Whip the whipping cream and ½ cup of granulated sugar until stiff peaks, add vanilla extract.
9. Gently unroll the cake. Spread whipping cream over the cake about ¼ inch from edges.  Reroll the cake without the towel. Transfer to a baking sheet.
10. Make ganache-heat cream until simmering, pour overtop of semi sweet chocolate, stir until smooth. Pour overtop of the cake.  Refrigerate until cool.
11. Transfer to a platter and garnish with raspberries, icing sugar and fresh mint.