Holiday Sweets!

Celebrate the season with decadent desserts. Keep cookies on hand for friends and family, make edible gifts of chocolate bark or surprise Santa with chocolatey Creme de Menthe brownies!

Creme de Menthe Brownies:

Ingredients
1 cups (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
11/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 (10-ounce) package Creme de Menthe baking chips (recommended: Andes)
Shaved Creme de Menthe thins (recommended: Andes)
Chocolate frosting
Frosting:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1/3 cup cocoa
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 13 by 9 by 2-inch pan.

Using an electric mixer, combine butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl; beat at medium speed until creamy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla, mixing well.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa, and baking powder. Gradually stir into butter mixture. Fold in mint chips. Spoon into greased pan. Bake for 35 minutes.

While brownies are baking, prepare frosting. Combine butter, cocoa, confectioners' sugar, vanilla and milk in a large mixing bowl; beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until dry ingredients are moistened. Beat at high speed until spreading consistency.

Remove pan from the oven and allow brownies to cool in pan on wire rack. Spread with chocolate frosting. Top with shaved mint thins.

Chocolate Cannolis:

Ingredients
1 cup unsalted pistachios
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons golden raisins
1 cup chopped bittersweet chocolate
1 cup ricotta
14 cannoli shells
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Toast the unsalted pistachios in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until crisp. Pull from oven, cool and finely chop. Place chopped pistachios in a bowl.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip the heavy cream with 1 tablespoon of sugar until it holds a soft peak. In a large bowl fold together the whipped cream, raisins, 1/3 of the chopped chocolate, 1/3 of the chopped pistachios and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Gently fold the whipped cream mixture into the ricotta. When ready to serve, spoon the filling into a pastry bag fitted with a fat round tip. Fill the cannoli shells from each end.

Blend the remaining chopped chocolate and pistachios on a plate.

To garnish: Dip each end of the cannoli into the chocolate pistachio mixture.

Cannoli can be filled and stored in the refrigerator no more than 1 hour ahead of time.

Cranberry Upside-Down Cake:

Ingredients
3 tablespoons softened unsalted butter, plus 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick)
1/2 cup sugar, plus 1/2 cup
1 pound cranberries, rinsed, picked over, and patted dry
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon minced orange rind
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons double acting baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup red currant jelly
Sweetened whipped cream, as accompaniment, if desired
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch cake pan with 3 tablespoons butter, sprinkle 1/2 cup of the sugar evenly over the bottom, and arrange the cranberries in the pan.

In a bowl with the mixer cream together the remaining 6 tablespoons butter and 1/2 cup sugar. Add the egg, vanilla, and orange rind and beat the mixture until well combined.

Into another bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir the dry ingredients into the butter mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, alternately with the milk until it is combined. Pour the batter over the cranberries and smooth the top. Bake the cake on a baking sheet in the middle of the oven for 30 to 45 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Transfer the cake to a rack and let it cool in the pan for 20 minutes. Run a thin knife around the inside of the pan and invert the cake stand.

In a small saucepan melt the currant jelly over low heat, stirring, and brush it over the cake. Serve the cake warm or at room temperature with the whipped cream, if desired.

Cheesecake Flans:

Ingredients
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup water
12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups milk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
Special equipment: 10 (3 1/2-inch) ramekins

Set a large bowl of ice water next to your stovetop. Place the sugar and 1/4 cup of water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Using a pastry brush, stir the sugar occasionally, being careful not to get any grains stuck against the sides of the saucepan, until it has all dissolved. Swirl the saucepan every minute until the sugar becomes a golden reddish-brown, about 10 to 15 minutes. Shock the bottom of the saucepan by placing the bottom in the ice water to stop the cooking, and then equally divide the caramel into 10 to 12 (3 1/2-inch) ramekins and set aside.

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.

Using an electric mixer, beat the softened cream cheese with the eggs on low speed to combine. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until completely incorporated. Add the condensed milk, evaporated milk, whole milk and vanilla extract and continue to beat together until everything is well incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Ladle the custard over the caramel into the ramekins filling them up to 1/2-inch from the rim. Place a kitchen towel in a deep baking dish or roasting pan and place the ramekins in 2 rows on top of the towel. Place the baking dish in the oven and using a pitcher, pour enough hot water into the baking dish to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins, taking care not to get water in the ramekins. Cover the baking dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake until the flan is just set, about 30 minutes. When you tap the edge of the ramekin the flan should still wobble in the center.

Carefully remove the baking dish from the oven, remove the foil and let the ramekins cool slightly. Using tongs remove the ramekins from the water and set on a towel to cool for at least 2 hours before serving. Once cooled completely, the flan can be refrigerated for up to 3 days before un-molding and serving. To serve, run a thin knife around the inside edge of the ramekin to loosen the flan, and then invert onto a plate