Community Corner

Recipe: Sugarplums

These traditional holiday cookies will be dancing in your head while you dream.

 

"The children were nest all snug in their beds, while visions of sugar plums danced in their heads."

How fun would it be to taste one of those sugar plums? Well, quite easy with these no bake, spicy, traditional English holiday cookies.

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I thought these tasted amazing - I loved the combination of all the toasted spices with the dried fruits. However, a few people mentioned that the taste of the anise seeds, which have a black licorice flavor, took over for them. If you're not a fan of anise seed, cut back (but I implore you, don't remove entirely!) the amount of anise seed you use.

These were also no bake cookies, which meant they were quick to whip up. However, they were super sticky, and I did find myself washing my hands halfway through rolling them.

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Ingredients

  • 6 ounces slivered almonds, toasted
  • 4 ounces dried plums
  • 4 ounces dried apricots
  • 4 ounces dried figs
  • 1/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon anise seeds, toasted
  • 1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds, toasted
  • 1/4 teaspoon caraway seeds, toasted
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • Pinch kosher salt
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1 cup coarse sugar

Directions

  1. Place dried fruit and almonds into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until fruit and nuts are chopped into small pieces (but before it becomes a big, sticky ball), about 20 times.
  2. Combine powdered sugar, anise seed, fennel seed, caraway seed, cardamom and salt in a mixing bowl. 
  3. Add the fruit and nut mixture and honey and mix until combined.
  4. Scoop into ½ inch balls and roll.
  5. If you're serving these immediately, roll in the coarse sugar and serve. If you're not serving immediately, place the balls on cooling racks and leave uncovered until ready to serve.
  6. The sugarplums can be stored on the cooling rack for a week, after that, store in an air tight container for up to a month.


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