Monday, September 07, 2009

Holiday Cookies 2009 - Classes

I'll be teaching Holiday Cookies 2009, a demo class, at Shermay's Cooking School on 10 October 2009 (Saturday), 11 October 2009 (Sunday), 24 October 2009 (Saturday) and 25 October 2009 (Sunday) - the October schedule has all the necessary details. For all inquiries, please call the school at +65 6479 8442 or email shermaycs@yahoo.com.sg

Practice makes perfect, they say, and this applies as much to baking a cookie as it does to everything else one may wish to develop some semblance of proficiency at, be it playing Mozart's piano Concerto No. 15 in B-flat Major or pulling off some Nitro Circus-esque freestyle motocross double backflip. Hence the commencement of holiday-themed classes early on, because believe you me, the season will be upon us before we know it, and wouldn't it be nice to have squeezed in a couple of trial runs before the home-baked gifting begins? Anyone touched by the OCD all too well knows that one of the greatest ironies (and least-admitted truths) in life is that the appearance of effortlessness, of seemingly artless perfection, takes effort.

Anyways, before I digress too much...if only all manner of effort were as pleasurable to undertake as the effort undertaken to master a cookie recipe, I can only imagine I would be a whole lot better at a whole bunch of other things!

On the menu:

Pecan Snowballs
Also known as Russian Tea Cakes and Mexican Wedding Cookies, these delectable and delicate special occasion cookies, rich with butter and finely ground pecans, are the very definition of melt-in-the-mouth - most people find it virtually impossible to stop at one when it comes to these buttery morsels.

Basler Brunsli
Flourless, nuanced with spice and kissed with a touch of Kirsch, this scrumptious and utterly unique almond-and-chocolate cookie (using Valrhona Equatoriale Noire 55% Dark Chocolate and Valrhona Cocoa) is based on a Swiss Christmas specialty. The easy-to-handle dough, rolled out thickly, can be cut into any shape you fancy - I especially like little trees (see first picture of post) and stars.

Fig Pillows
If you aren't familiar with buccellati or cucidati, the festive cookie that's a Sicilian favourite, think of these as the haut de gamme cousin of the humble Fig Newton. A sumptuous and complex sticky fig filling - accented with spice and redolent of Marsala - is encased by a friable cinnamon-and-vanilla-bean scented dough, this fig bar really belongs in a league of its own.

Raspberry & Cranberry Crumble Bar Cookies
A crisp brown sugar-and-oatmeal crust topped with a filling of raspberry preserves and dried cranberries, this simple and simply delicious number is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.

I'll put up another post soon with details on the Bonus Section with Extra Recipes, Ideas & Serving Suggestions. This includes:

Orange Marmalade & Cherry Bars
A crisp brown sugar-and-oatmeal crust topped with a filling of orange marmalade and dried cherries

Apricot Bars with Orange Blossom Water, Saffron & Pistachios
A crisp brown sugar-and-oatmeal crust topped with a filling of apricot jam flavoured with orange blossom water and saffron

Nutella Bars
A crisp brown sugar-and-oatmeal crust topped with a Nutella filling

Sticky Date Pockets
A sticky date filling encased by a friable cinnamon-and-vanilla scented pastry

Zesty Raisin Stuffed Cookies
A raisin and candied lemon peel filling encased by a friable lemon scented pastry

8 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi joycelyn,

will this be the only holiday class? or there will be another one with a different menu.

8:53 pm, September 08, 2009  
Anonymous E.L said...

Wow! What a delish menu. I would bake these anytime of the year - to save such delicacies for Christmas only seems such a shame. But they are festive indeed. Makes me wish it is Christmas now!

10:27 pm, September 09, 2009  
Anonymous keiko said...

Dearest Joycelyn - can't believe we're talking about Christmas already, but your lovely creations make me look forward to the festive season. I totally agree with E.L's comment about being able to enjoy these little beauties all year around :) Take care, kxx

6:45 am, September 10, 2009  
Blogger Chiara Ulivi said...

I'm afraid it's a little bit far for me. It's such a wonderful all of this! I'll wait for more :)
Many many compliments!!

10:03 pm, September 10, 2009  
Anonymous Nat said...

Love it all!

Dearest J, I often wonder about the extent and depth of your tableware collection - you have such exquisite yet individual taste, makes me want to go find the same crockery, cutlery, glass, linens for my table! And how do you store and organise all this?

Do share; I've been reading Kuidaore for a long time, and have yet to read any essays about your personal favourite tableware brands.

I know here and there you do sometimes discreetly slip in your favourites.

But please consider putting together a must-have tableware list for all the admirers of your dreamy tableware!

11:30 pm, September 12, 2009  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dear J, those Xmas cookies look absolutely fantastic! But I also admire your artistic photography.
Cheers!

4:10 am, September 13, 2009  
Blogger Élena said...

Where can I find a recipe for those fig bars? They look just like something my family would love :)

3:47 am, September 14, 2009  
Anonymous Bill Medifast said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

4:24 am, September 16, 2009  

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