Christmas Star Treats Recipes

CHRISTMAS STAR TREATS™

Steps:

• In large saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat.
• Add KELLOGG'S RICE KRISPIES cereal. Stir until well coated.
• Using buttered spatula or wax paper evenly press mixture into 15 x 10 x 1-inch pan coated with cooking spray. Cool slightly. Using cookie cutters coated with cooking spray cut into stars. Decorate with frosting and/or candies. Best if served the same day.

CHRISTMAS STAR TWISTED BREAD

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast in warm water until foamy. In another bowl, combine milk, egg, butter, sugar and salt; add yeast mixture and 3 cups flour. Beat on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough., Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour., Punch down dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide into 4 portions. Roll 1 portion into a 12-in. circle. Place on a greased 14-in. pizza pan. Spread with one-third of the jam to within 1/2 in. of edge. Repeat twice, layering dough and jam, and ending with final portion of dough., Place a 2-1/2-in. round cutter on top of the dough in center of circle (do not press down). With a sharp knife, make 16 evenly spaced cuts from round cutter to edge of dough, forming a starburst. Remove cutter; grasp 2 adjacent strips and rotate twice outward. Pinch ends together. Repeat with remaining strips., Cover and let rise until almost doubled, about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375°. Bake until golden brown, 18-22 minutes. (Watch during final 5 minutes for any dripping.) Remove from oven; brush with melted butter, avoiding areas where jam is visible. Cool completely on a wire rack. Dust with confectioners' sugar.

STAR CHRISTMAS BREAD

Steps:

• Heat 200ml of milk and butter together in a microwave or saucepan until temperature reaches 110°F or 45°C (warm to the touch). Add the yeast and let stand for 10 minutes, until frothy on top.
• While yeast is activating, combine flour, sugar and salt in a separate bowl.
• Create a well in the centre of the flour. Add the yeast mixture, egg yolks and vanilla into the well. Mix into the flour until combined.
• Knead by hand for 10-12 minutes until dough is soft and elastic. If the dough is too dry: warm up the extra milk, create a well in the dough and add in half of the milk. Knead and if you still feel it's still too dry, add in the remaining amount of milk.FOR A STAND MIXER: Mix for 5 minutes on medium speed until dough is soft and elastic.
• Lightly oil a large bowl with a pastry brush or your fingertips. Place dough into bowl, turning once to coat in the oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set in a warm place for about 2-3 hours, or until doubled in size.(To check if dough is ready, gently press two fingers into dough. If an indentation remains, dough has not risen enough.)
• Punch dough down, cover and let rest for an additional 30 minutes or until doubled in size.
• While dough is rising, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
• Get your butter ready, make sure it is softened and spreadable. Then, in a small bowl, mix together brown sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
• When dough is ready, divide the dough into 4 pieces. Lightly flour a clean work surface and use a rolling pin to roll one ball out into a 12 inch/30 cm disc.
• Place a plate on top and cut away any excess dough around the plate with a sharp knife. Remove the plate. Place dough disc onto prepared baking sheet.
• Spread dough with 1/3 of the softened butter and 1/3 of the brown sugar/cinnamon mixture. This is your bottom layer (the base).
• Roll out the second ball of dough, like above, and place on top of the bottom layer. Spread with 1/3 of the butter and brown sugar/cinnamon mixture.Repeat with the rest of the dough, layering each with butter/sugar/cinnamon. (The top dough will not have any butter or brown sugar/cinnamon on it.)
• Place a small cup in the middle of the layered dough and very lightly mark a ring in the centre to use as a guide.
• Cut the dough first with four lines: 3 o'clock, 6o'clock, 9o'clock and 12 o'clock. Cut each quarter into 2 pieces, then cut each of those into 2 pieces so you end up with 16 strands connected to the middle circle.
• Take 2 strands that are side-by-side and twist them away from each other two times. Connect the two strands at the end, pinching the ends together to form a point. Do this with all of the strands and create a star flower!
• Cover star bread loosely with a damp cloth or towel and let rest one more time for 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Beat egg whites leftover from the yolk and brush whites evenly over the surface of the bread.
• Bake bread for 20 minutes or until lightly browned and golden.
• Decorate with powdered sugar (confectioners sugar or icing sugar), and a little ground cinnamon.Serve warm!

JOULUTORTTU (FINNISH CHRISTMAS STAR COOKIES)

Steps:

• In a large bowl beat together butter and ricotta cheese with an electric hand mixer. Add the flour, and mix until a soft dough comes together.
• Divide the dough in half. Shape each half into a ball and wrap each ball in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours (up to overnight), until firm.
• Preheat your oven to 425F.
• Lightly flour your countertop and roll out one section of dough to a rectangle (roughly 12 x 9 inches) that is about an 1/8 inch thick.
• Cut the dough into 3-inch squares.
• In each square, make four cuts, one from each corner, each going 1/2 - 2/3 of the way to the center of the square.
• Spoon 1 teaspoon of jam in the center of each square.
• Fold every other corner of each square over the jam. Use the beaten egg wash to moisten the corners slightly and lightly press to seal the corners together over top of the jam.
• Transfer your pinwheel cookie to a parchment lined baking sheet, placing the cookies 1 inch apart.
• Repeat with the second half of the dough.
• Lightly brush the tops of the cookies with the beaten egg.
• Bake the cookies 10-12 minutes, until golden.
• Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Once the cookies are cool, dust them lightly with powdered sugar.
• Store the cookies in an air-tight container on the counter for 3-4 days.