Peppermint Chocolate Cake

I love the combination of peppermint and chocolate. It’s just so festive and luscious. This recipe comes from the December 2012 issue of Woman’s Day magazine. If you decide to make the Peppermint Meringues, you’ll find the recipe on this site as well.

Peppermint Chocolate Cake

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 ¼ cups unsweetened cocoa
2 ¼ cups granulated sugar
¾ cup packed brown sugar
2 ¼ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
1 ½ cups whole milk
¾ cup canola oil
3 large eggs
1 ½ teaspoon peppermint extract
1 ¼ cups boiling water
20 mini candy canes
3 8oz. Packages cream cheese, at room temperature
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1-lb. box confectioners’ sugar
Peppermint meringues for decorating (optional)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat three 8 x 2-inch round cake pans with cooking spray. Line the bottoms with parchment paper; spray the paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a bowl, whisk together the milk, oil, eggs and peppermint extract. Mix the milk mixture into the flour mixture until fully incorporated. Mix in the boiling water (the batter will be thin).

Divide the batter among the prepared pans and bake until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes in the pans before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Meanwhile, crush the candy canes and make the icing. Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter in a large bowl until smooth. Beat in the confectioners’ sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

Place one cake layer on a platter. Spread 1 ¼ cups icing over the top. Top with another layer and 1 ¼ cups icing. Top with the last cake layer. Frost sides and top with the remaining icing. Gently pat the crushed candy canes all over the sides of the cake. Top with meringues (if using).

Makes 16 servings.

Peppermint Meringues

What a wonderful gift these would make! They’d also be great for decorations or just to eat all by themselves. This recipe comes from the December 2012 issue of Woman’s Day magazine.

Peppermint Meringues

2 large egg whites
¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
1/8 teaspoon peppermint extract
Red gel or paste food coloring

Heat oven to 200 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large metal or glass bowl, whisk together the egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar. Set the bowl over (but not in) a saucepan of simmering water and cook. Whisking constantly, until the sugar is dissolved and the whites are very warm to the touch, 2 to 3 minutes.

Remove from heat and, using an electric mixer, beat on low speed, gradually increasing the speed to high, until soft glossy peaks form, about 5 minutes. Beat in the peppermint.

Transfer 1 tablespoon meringue mixture to a small bowl and tint red. Using a paintbrush or a skewer and the red meringue mixture, paint 3 vertical stripes in a pastry bag fitted with a ¾-inch star pastry tip.

Carefully spook the white egg white mixture into the piping bag, being careful not to smear the red meringue. Pipe small stars (about ¾ inch) onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake the meringues until just set on the outside, 20 to 30 minutes. Slide the sheets of parchment paper onto wire racks to cool completely.

Makes 9 dozen.

Gingerbread People

This recipe comes from the December 2012 issue of Cooking Light magazine. It reminds me of the gingerbread cookies my Gran used to make when I was a child. She always made at least one gingerbread man and woman, just for me. Of course, this recipe has way fewer calories and that is always a plus.

Gingerbread People

11 ¼ oz. all-purpose flour (about 2 ½ cups)
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup packed dark brown sugar
½ cup butter, softened
¼ cup golden cane syrup
2 tablespoons molasses
1 large egg

Icing
½ cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons 2% reduced-fat milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To prepare cookies, weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt, stirring mixture well with a whisk.

Place brown sugar and butter in a bowl. Beat with a mixer at medium speed 2 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add can syrup, molasses, and egg; beat 1 minute or until well combined. Add flour mixture, and beat on low speed 1 minute or until just combined. Gently press mixture into a disc, and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for 30 minutes.

Divide dough in half. Roll each dough portion to a 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface; cut with 5-inch cutters to form 26 cookies. (Reroll scraps as necessary.) Place cookies 1 inch apart on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool on baking sheet 5 minutes. Remove cookies from baking sheet; cool completely on wire rack.

To prepare icing, combine powdered sugar and milk, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Spoon icing into a small zip-top plastic bag. Snip a tiny hole off one corner of the bag. Pipe icing onto cookies as desired.

Makes 26 cookies at 124 calories each.