Set for the Holidays with Anna Olson
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Shortlisted for the 2019 Taste Canada Awards Get set for holiday season success, with more than 100 savoury and sweet recipes from celebrity baker and chef Anna Olson.
Carrot Cake Sandwich Cookies
These soft, cake-like cookies are already tasty enough to be served as a treat on their own, but the cream cheese filling makes them even better. They look stunning on a holiday dessert table.
Servings 18 cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1/2 cup (115 g) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100 g) packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (150 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 cup (100 g) finely grated carrots
- 1/2 cup 50 regular rolled oats (not instant
- 1/2 cup (50 g) flaked sweetened coconut
- 1/2 cup (75 g) dried currants
Filling
- 1/2 cup (125 g) cream cheese at room temperature
- 1/4 cup (60 g) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (65 g) icing sugar sifted
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F (180C) and line 2 baking trays with parchment paper.
- For the cookies, beat the butter and brown sugar together by hand until well blended and almost fluffy, about a minute. Beat in the egg, followed by the vanilla.
- Sift in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and stir until evenly combined. Stir in the carrots, followed by the oats and coconut. Stir in the currants.
- Use a small ice cream scoop to drop leveled amounts of the batter onto the baking trays, 2 inches (5 cm) apart. It's important to drop level scoops so that the cookies bake with nice domed tops.
- Bake the cookies for about 12 minutes, until they lift easily from the tray. Cool on the trays on wire racks.
- For the filling, beat the cream cheese and butter by hand until smooth. Add the icing sugar and vanilla and beat again until fluffy and well blended.
- To assemble the sandwiches, spoon the filling into a piping bag fitted with a large plain piping tip and pipe a layer of filling over the flat side of a cookie (or use a spatula to spread a generous dollop of the filling instead). Press a second cookie, flat side down, on top of the filling.
Notes
Make Ahead: These cookies are soft, almost like a muffin. Unfilled, they can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, or frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw them at room temperature until soft. Once assembled, they will keep, refrigerated in an airtight container to preserve the cream cheese frosting, for up to 5 days.
Sausage Dressing Squares
Excerpted from Set for the Holidays with Anna Olson
“Dressing” is the term used to describe a stuffing that is not baked inside a turkey or other roast. These squares will remind you of a holiday supper, with sausage, bacon, cranberry and hint of maple. They’re always a hit when I serve them.
“Dressing” is the term used to describe a stuffing that is not baked inside a turkey or other roast. These squares will remind you of a holiday supper, with sausage, bacon, cranberry and hint of maple. They’re always a hit when I serve them.
Servings 36 Bites
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp (15 mL) extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion finely diced
- 1 stalk celery finely diced
- 1 lb (450 g) uncooked sausages (I like Bratwurst or an Italian-style sausage)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup (130 g) dry breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup (70 g) dried cranberries
- 1/3 cup (50 g) coarsely chopped shelled pistachios
- 1/4 cup (60 mL) maple syrup
- 2 Tbsp (30 mL) chopped Italian parsley
- 1 1/2 tsp celery salt
- 12 strips bacon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Lightly grease and line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch (20 cm) square pan with parchment.
- Heat a small sauté pan over medium heat and add the oil, followed by the onions and celery. Sauté until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the vegetables to cool.
- Meanwhile, cut open the sausage casings (or buy sausage meat without the casing) and place the meat in a large mixing bowl. Discard the casings.
- Add the eggs, breadcrumbs, cranberries, pistachios, maple syrup, parsley and celery salt and mix well to combine—your hands will make fast work of this task, but you can also use a spoon. Add the cooled onions and celery and mix in well. Spoon into the prepared pan, pressing down to level the mix.
- Arrange the bacon slices over the sausage, covering it completely. I like to make a bacon weave to top the sausage squares.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the bacon has browned and the meat registers 165°F (74°C) on a thermometer. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack to room temperature.
- Chill for 2 hours (or up to 2 days) before slicing into squares (they slice much better chilled than at room temperature). Before serving, preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C). Arrange the squares on a parchment-lined baking tray, bacon side down, and warm in the oven for about 10 minutes; the bacon will crisp up. Serve hot or at room temperature.
Notes
MAKE AHEAD: This recipe reheats brilliantly. You can refrigerate the pan of baked sausage dressing, covered, for up to 2 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
Excerpted from Set for the Holidays with Anna Olson by Anna Olson. Copyright © 2018 Olson Food Concepts Inc. Photography by Janis Nicolay. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.
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