12 Days of Christmas Treats: English Pudding Petits Fours, Chocolate Raspberry Wreaths

Editor’s Note: Welcome to the 2014 edition of The 12 Days of Christmas Treats! Over 12 days we’ll bring you a new, scrumptious recipe for a holiday cookie, cake, or other sweet treat. Whether you leave them out for Santa or simply sample them all yourself is up to you, we just encourage you to try them all! Leave your comments below each recipe and upload a photo if you make your own batch at home. Season’s Eatings!

by Amy Johnson, Director of Communications & Administration, Rocket Sports Media

PHILADELPHIA, PA — Today’s post is actually a deal: two recipes in one!  Fresh red raspberries add a perfect touch of holiday color to your dessert tray, and we’ve got a couple of different ways to use them.  First up, it’s an elegant bite-sized treat with English Pudding Petits Fours.  These little bites of cake and sweet Italian cheese are an indulgence which are hard to put down.  Then we’ve got kid-friendly White-Chocolate Raspberry Wreath sugar cookies!

English Pudding Petits Fours
Recipe Courtesy: Food Network Magazine

Prep/Cook Time: 30 minutes
Yield: about 24 pieces

Ingredients: 
1 loaf of pound cake (use a frozen one if you’re short on time)
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 pint red raspberries

1. Cut the outside crust off of all four sides of the pound cake.  Cut remaining cake into 1-inch cubes.

2. In a bowl, whisk together the mascarpone cheese and the confectioners’ sugar until smooth and creamy.  (Add a tbsp of dry sherry, if desired.)

3. Top each cube of pound cake with a dollop of the mascarpone mixture and a raspberry.

White Chocolate Raspberry Wreaths
Recipe Courtesy: Food Network Magazine

Prep/Cook Time: 30 minutes
Yield: about 24 cookies

Ingredients:
4 oz white baking chocolate
2 pints red raspberries
24 sugar cookies (I used Pillsbury refrigerated sugar cookie dough)
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

1. Break white chocolate into small pieces and place them into a heat-safe bowl.

2. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil on the stove and place the bowl onto the top of the pot to melt the chocolate.

3. After a few minutes of constant stirring, the chocolate will be completely melted and creamy.

4. Dip the bottom of each raspberry into the white chocolate.

5. Use the chocolate like “glue” and arrange the raspberries in a circle around the outer edge of each sugar cookie, then sprinkle with a dusting of confectioners’ sugar.  Snow-covered red Christmas wreaths!

Be sure to check back tomorrow for our next holiday recipe – a Maple Butter Kiss cocktail! And if you missed any of our previous recipes in this series, take a moment to check them out below:

Day 1 – Chewy Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies
Day 2 – Lemon-Ginger Wafers
Day 3 – Santa Hat Brownies
Day 4 – Walnut-Maple Sandies

Photo credits: Amy Johnson

Tags: baking, cake, chocolate, christmas, cookies, dessert, featured, game day meal, holiday, holidays, raspberries, sugar, treats, white chocolate