Eggnog Christmas Cocktail

Eggnog (egg-nog, in translation – egg cocktail) is a traditional Christmas and New Year’s drink originating from Scotland based on eggs and milk. Eggnog is distinguished by its spicy aroma and flavor of rum, cognac or whiskey.

Ingredients:

Milk – 1 glass

Cream 10-20% – 1 glass

Rum – 100 ml

Sugar – 80 g

Cloves – 2 pcs.

Pods vanilla – ½ pc.

Ground cinnamon – ½ tsp.

Ground nutmeg – ¼ tsp.

Confectionery cream – to taste

Chicken eggs – 3 pcs.

Cooking method:

Separate the yolks from the whites (whites are not needed), mix with sugar, grind well.

Heat milk with spices over low heat. After boiling, remove from heat and pour in the egg mixture in a thin stream, stirring constantly. Put the mixture on the stove again and cook until it thickens. Remove vanilla pod and clove buds.

Add cream and heat. At the very end, pour in 100 ml of cognac, rum or whiskey, which will make the drink more aromatic.

Pour the hot cocktail into glasses, garnish with a cream cap, sprinkle with cinnamon and serve.

Christmas Сake with Oranges

Ingredients:

For the dough:

Flour – 1 glass

Sugar – 150 g

Sour cream – 4 tbsp.

Orange – 1 pc.

Vanillin – to taste

Soda – 1/2 tsp.

For the filling:

Butter – 80 g

Apples – 2 pcs.

Orange – 1 pc.

Sugar – 4 tbsp.

For the decoration:

Berries – 200 g

For the glaze:

Egg white – 1 pc.

Powdered sugar – 1 glass

Orange (lemon) juice – 1 tbsp.

Cooking method:

Cut the apples into halves, remove the core, and cut into half rings. Cut the orange into half rings. Heat butter in a frying pan, add fruit and sugar and simmer over medium heat until translucent.

Cut the pulp of half of the second orange into cubes. Mix sour cream with sugar in a bowl, add vanillin, soda, orange zest and pulp, add flour.

Place the filling into a mold. Pour the dough on top and place in an oven preheated to 200 degrees for about 50 minutes.

Remove the Christmas cake from the oven, cool slightly and gently turn onto a serving platter.

Prepare the icing: beat the egg white in a mixer or blender with a glass of powdered sugar, 2 tbsp. water and 1 tbsp. lemon or orange juice. If the mixture looks thin, you can add more powdered sugar.

Pour the icing over the cake and garnish with berries.

Christmas Gingerbread Cookies

Ingredients:

For the dough:

Flour – 250 g

Butter at room temperature – 70 g

Brown sugar – 80 g

Egg – 1 pc.

Cocoa powder – 1 tbsp.

Ground ginger – 1 tsp.

Fresh grated ginger – 1 tsp.

Ground cinnamon – 1 tsp.

Ground cloves – 1/2 tsp.

Soda – 1/2 tsp.

For the glaze:

Powdered sugar – 250 g

Large egg white – 1 pc. (about 40 g)

Warm water – 2-3 tbsp.

Lemon juice – 1 tbsp.

Cooking method:

Chop the butter into cubes, mix with the sugar and eggs, beat with a mixer for 3 minutes. Add soda, cocoa, spices, ginger and flour to the mass. Knead the dough, wrap in plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator.

Roll half of the cooled dough into a layer 7 mm thick. Using cookie molds, cut out the cookies from the dough layer, place on a tray lined with baking paper and bake in an oven preheated to 180 degrees for about 10 minutes. Repeat with the second half of the dough.

Mix all the ingredients for the glaze, beat the resulting mass with a mixer for 10 minutes. Readiness is checked as follows: run the knife over the surface, if the trace persists for at least 10 seconds, the glaze is ready to be used for painting.

Place the icing in a pastry bag and paint patterns on the cooled cookies. Decorate the frosting with bright food beads, snowflakes, or colored powder. Let the cookies sit for 4 hours and serve.