Holiday Biscuit Wreath Recipes

Steps:

• Mix 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, the bread flour, salt, yeast and 2 1/2 cups lukewarm water (105 degrees F to 110 degrees F) in a large bowl with a wooden spoon to make a wet and sticky dough. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place until almost tripled in size, 2 to 3 hours (the top will flatten and begin to sink in the center). Divide the dough in half and transfer one piece to another bowl. Cover both bowls with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold, about 2 hours.
• Put a pizza stone or inverted rimmed baking sheet on the highest oven rack and put a broiler pan on the lowest rack; preheat the oven to 475 degrees F. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, sprinkle each piece with 1/4 cup flour, then shape each into a smooth, taut ball. Cover the bowls loosely with plastic wrap; refrigerate 30 minutes.
• Put a large piece of parchment paper on a pizza peel or another inverted baking sheet and dust with flour. Using floured hands, pick up a ball of dough and poke your thumbs through the center to make a hole. Place on the parchment, then gently stretch the dough from the center to make a 9-inch-diameter ring with a 5-inch hole in the center. Sprinkle generously with flour. Lay out another sheet of parchment, dust with flour and repeat to shape the other ball of dough into a ring. Let rest, uncovered, 15 minutes.
• Holding kitchen shears at a 45 degrees F angle, make deep cuts at 1-to-1 1/2-inch intervals all the way around both dough rings, pulling the cut sections away from the center as you go to make "leaves." Let rest, uncovered, until plump, about 15 more minutes.
• Slide one dough wreath (on the parchment) directly onto the hot stone. Carefully pour 1 cup water into the broiler pan underneath to create steam; quickly shut the oven door. Bake until the bread is golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool. Repeat with the second dough wreath, adding another cup of water to the broiler pan.

Steps:

• Adjust the oven racks to the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Brush a 12-cup Bundt pan liberally with 4 tablespoons melted butter.
• Combine the cheese, garlic, and herbs in a small bowl. Set aside.
• Open the biscuit cans and separate each biscuit. Roll the biscuits into balls. Dip each ball into the 1/2 cup melted butter, then into the cheese-herb mixture, making sure that the whole ball is covered. Place into the prepared pan. Repeat with the remaining biscuits until you have filled the pan with butter-and-herb-covered balls of dough. The balls of dough will overlap.
• Place in the oven and bake for 35 minutes. Cool in the pan then turn out onto a cake pedestal. Allow guests to use their hands to break off a roll to enjoy.

Steps:

• Remove crescent dough from packaging (do not unroll). Cut each tube into 8 slices. Arrange in an 11-in. circle on an ungreased 14-in. pizza pan. , Bake at 375° for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing to a serving platter; cool completely., In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, sour cream, dill and garlic powder until smooth. Spread on wreath; top with broccoli, red pepper, chopped celery and celery leaves.

Steps:

• Set a pizza stone or an inverted baking sheet on a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Invert another baking sheet and line it with parchment paper; set aside.
• Add 1 tablespoon of the oil, then the garlic and onion to a small saucepan over medium heat and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, 1/2 cup basil leaves, 1 teaspoon salt and few grinds of black pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer the sauce, uncovered, until the flavors are concentrated and the sauce has thickened, about 25 minutes.
• While the sauce cooks, add the remaining tablespoon oil to a small saute pan over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking it up with a spoon, until browned in spots and completlety cooked through, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat to cool.
• Roll out and stretch the dough into two 12-inch rounds on a lightly floured surface. Use a 3-inch round biscuit or cookie cutter and punch a hole in the center of each round to make rings. (Set aside the holes.)
• Put one of the rings onto the parchment-lined baking sheet. Spoon all but 1 tablespoon of the sauce on one dough ring in an even layer.Sprinkle over the sausage, pepperoni and all but 1 tablespoon of the mozzarella, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edges. Gently place the other dough ring directly on top, and pinch the edges to seal in the filling.
• Use a paring knife, cut 1- to 1 1/2-inch-wide strips into the wreath all around, like rays of the sun. (Be careful not to cut all the way through to the center; the wreath should stay intact and hold its shape once it is baked. You should have about 24 strips total.) Gently turn each strip twice to create a twist, then press the edges down on the parchment. Repeat this motion until all of the strips have been twisted.
• To make a bow, roll out and stretch the two dough cut-out holes into 6-inch long rectangles. Top one with the remaining tomato sauce and mozzarella. Place the other dough rectangle directly on top and press to seal the edges. Twist the dough with both hands in opposite directions for one full turn to form a bow that will hold its shape. Press the edges down to seal and set the bow on the prepared baking sheet next to the wreath.
• In a small bowl, whisk the egg with a few drops of water. Use a pastry brush to brush the bow and wreath with the egg wash, and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Place the baking sheet with the wreath on top of the preheated stone and bake until the bow is cooked through and golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove the bow and continue to bake the wreath until golden brown, firm to the touch and cooked through, about 25 minutes more. Chop the remaining cup fresh basil. Position the bow on the bottom of the wreath, sprinkle basil all over the wreath and top with a pinch of crushed red chile flakes.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Line a heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk the flour and baking powder in a medium bowl to blend. Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar, butter, lemon zest, and salt in a large bowl to blend. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time. Add the flour mixture and beat just until blended. Stir in the pistachios and cranberries.
• Form the dough into a 13-inch long, 3-inch wide log on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until light golden, about 40 minutes. Cool for 30 minutes.
• Place the log on the cutting board. Using a sharp serrated knife, cut the log on a diagonal into 1/2 to 3/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange the biscotti, cut side down, on the baking sheet. Bake the biscotti until they are pale golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer the biscotti to a rack and cool completely.
• Stir the chocolate in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water until the chocolate melts. Dip half of the biscotti into the melted chocolate. Gently shake off the excess chocolate. Place the biscotti on the baking sheet for the chocolate to set. Sprinkle with the sugar crystals. Refrigerate until the chocolate is firm, about 35 minutes.
• The biscotti can be made ahead. Store them in an airtight container up to 4 days, or wrap them in foil and freeze in resealable plastic bags up to 3 weeks.

Steps:

• Oil a 25cm bundt tin and line with cling film, ensuring there are no gaps and the cling film comes up and over the sides of the tin. Lightly brush with more oil.
• Spoon the biscuit cake mix into the prepared tin, pressing down firmly with the back of a spoon. Bring the cling film over the top of the cake, seal and press down firmly. Transfer to the fridge and chill until the cake is completely firm, about 4 hrs. Can be prepared up to one week in advance. When the cake is set, it will easily drop out of the tin with a sharp tap.
• Next, make the holly biscuits. Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Lightly knead the gingerbread dough and roll out onto a lightly dusted work surface. Stamp out 16-18 holly leaves using a holly-leaf-shaped biscuit cutter, re-rolling the dough as needed (you can use different sizes of biscuit cutters, if you like). Transfer the biscuits to a lined baking sheet, spacing them apart. Bake for 8 mins until golden, then transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool completely.
• Divide the royal icing between two bowls and colour with the food colouring - one should be dark green, the other light. Fit a piping bag with a small round nozzle and fill with 2 tbsp of the light green icing. Repeat with a second piping bag and the darker icing. Thin the remaining icings in the bowls with just enough water to achieve a runny consistency - when you run a spoon through the bowls, the trail should settle on its own by the count of 10.
• Using the icing in the piping bags, pipe the outlines of the holly leaves on the cooled biscuits. Use each colour for half the biscuits (you don't need to use all of the icing). Fill a piping bag with one of the thinned icings, snip off the end, and use this to flood the gaps of half the biscuits (they should have a contrasting outline). If you like, smooth the icing into the gaps using a clean, fine, damp paintbrush. Repeat with the other thinned icing and remaining biscuits.
• Use the remaining icing in the piping bags to pipe over the outlines and central vein so they stand out. Leave to set overnight. The biscuits can be made up to one month in advance and stored in a cake box or sealed plastic container lined with baking parchment.
• Next, make the poinsettia flowers. Colour the 3 tbsp royal icing with the yellow food colouring gel, and the remainder with the red food colouring gel. Fit a piping bag with a leaf nozzle and fill with the red icing (the icing should be slightly stiff ). Line a chopping board with baking parchment and draw three 6cm circles on the parchment (you can use the bottom of a glass or a biscuit cutter as a guide). Flip the parchment over, then pipe three poinsettia petals as a triangle to fit within one of the circles. Pipe the next three petals between the first to create a six- petalled base flower. Repeat in the other circles so you have three separate flowers. Leave to set for 30 mins, then pipe a smaller set of six petals on top of the base flowers. Leave to set for another 30 mins.
• Fit a piping bag with a small round nozzle and fill with the yellow icing. Pipe a series of dots into the centres of the poinsettias. Leave to dry completely - this may take up to two days, as the flowers are quite thick.
• To assemble the wreath, knead and roll out the chocolate fondant icing onto a work surface lightly dusted with icing sugar until it's large enough to cover the wreath. Use this to cover the wreath, then press into position and use a 5cm round cutter to remove the fondant from the middle of the wreath. Neaten and trim the edges.
• Carefully transfer the wreath to a cake stand or board. Place the holly biscuits on top of the wreath to create a flat surface, using a little royal icing to fix them in place. Add more biscuits on top. Carefully remove the poinsettias from the baking parchment using a palette knife, then fix to the leaves using more royal icing. Finish by fixing the red sugar pearls to the wreath with royal icing. Will keep for up to two weeks in a cool place. Take the biscuits off and enjoy separately, then cut the cake into wedges.