Holiday Wreath Recipes

HOLIDAY WREATHS

Steps:

• Melt margarine in a large pan over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir constantly until marshmallows melt and mixture is syrupy. Remove from heat. Stir in food coloring. Add corn flakes and stir until well coated.
• Drop mixture, by 1/4 cupful, onto cookie sheet. Using buttered fingers, quickly shape into individual wreaths. Dot with cinnamon candies

CORNFLAKE WREATHS

Steps:

• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• In a large saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the marshmallows and cook, stirring, until melted. Add the green food coloring and stir until evenly distributed. Remove from the heat, add the cornflakes and stir until well coated.
• Spray your hands with nonstick spray as needed during this step to ease in the shaping of the wreaths. Take 1/3 cup of the mixture and form an even log. Join the ends of the log together to form a wreath. Place the wreath onto one of the prepared baking sheets. Continue with the remaining cornflake mixture.
• Decorate each wreath with 3 small cinnamon candies. Let sit to firm before serving.

HOLIDAY BISCUIT WREATH

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 10-inch tube pan with cooking spray.
• Cut each biscuit into 2 half moons to make 48 biscuit pieces. Separate the pieces into 2 piles.
• Working with half of the dough, flatten a piece of biscuit in your hand and stuff it with a cheese cube and about 1/4 teaspoon fig preserves (it is easier to roll if you use the little pieces of fig from the preserves). Gather the dough around it and roll into a ball. Repeat with the remaining dough, cheese and jam to make 24 balls; set aside.
• With the remaining dough, stuff and roll each piece of biscuit with an olive.
• Toss the almonds and parsley together in a medium bowl. Toss the Cheddar, paprika and cayenne together in another medium bowl. Put the melted butter in a small bowl.
• Alternating every so often between the two flavors, dip the cheese and jam balls in butter, then roll them to coat in the almond topping; and dip the olive balls in butter and roll them to coat in the Cheddar topping. Arrange the balls in the tube pan so that the flavors are interspersed.
• Bake the bread until golden brown all over and the dough is baked through, about 35 minutes. Cool in the pan 10 minutes, then turn out onto a plate and serve warm.

HOLIDAY BERRY MERINGUE WREATH

Steps:

• Position an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 225 degrees F. Line the back of a baking sheet with parchment. Use a 12-inch bowl as a stencil: Flip it upside down and trace a 12-inch circle onto the parchment. Use a 9-inch bowl to trace a circle inside the 12- inch one. This is the outline of your wreath.
• For the wreath: Combine the egg whites, cream of tartar and salt in the very clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk on medium speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until thick and opaque, about 1 minute more. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, and beat until stiff, shiny peaks form, 13 to 15 minutes.
• Build the wreath: Using the template on the parchment as your guide, drop dollops of meringue in a line along the inside of the 12-inch circle. Use a rubber spatula to help clean off your spoon between dollops. Following the 9-inch circle and slightly overlapping the outer ring of meringue, make an inner ring of meringue dollops to fill in the rest of the template. Flatten the meringue slightly with the back of the spoon, making sure to keep a lot of peaks. Bake the meringue until it is dry, crisp, and pearly white on the outside, about 2 hours. Remove from the oven and let it cool completely.
• Meanwhile, make the cranberry sauce: Bring the cranberries, sugar and lemon juice to a simmer in medium saucepan and cook until the cranberries are soft and just begin to burst and the sugar is completely dissolved, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool completely. Gently fold in the raspberries and pomegranate seeds. Whip the heavy cream in a medium bowl until soft peaks form.
• Before serving, spread the whipped cream on the meringue. Spoon over the cranberry sauce and sprinkle with mint leaves.

HOLIDAY BREAD WREATH

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.

CHRISTMAS WREATHS

Steps:

• Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Add marshmallows, and cook until melted, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and stir in the food coloring, vanilla, and cornflakes.
• Quickly drop heaping tablespoonfuls of the mixture onto waxed paper, and form into a wreath shape with lightly greased fingers. Immediately decorate with red hot candies. Allow to cool to room temperature before removing from waxed paper, and storing in an airtight container.

HOLIDAY SALAD WREATH

Steps:

• Neatly arrange spinach in a 10- to 12-inch circle with leaf tips facing outward. Arrange arugula on top of spinach, leaving the outer tips of the spinach exposed. Scatter beets over the arugula. Arrange pieces of goat cheese around the wreath. Sprinkle pistachios on top. Season salad lightly with salt and pepper.

HOLIDAY WREATH

Steps:

• In a heavy saucepan, combine marshmallows, butter, vanilla and food coloring; cook and stir over low heat until smooth. Remove from the hat; add cornflakes and mix well. Drop by spoonfuls onto greased foil, forming a 9-in. wreath. Decorate with red-hots. If desired, form a bow with licorice and place on wreath; add Dot on top of bow.

SNOW PEA HOLIDAY WREATH

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, bring 6 cups water to a boil. Add snow peas; cook, uncovered, just until crisp-tender and they turn bright green, 1-2 minutes. Drain and immediately drop into ice water. Drain and pat dry. , In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese, garlic powder and seasoned salt. Place bowl in the center of a serving platter. Arrange snow peas and tomatoes around the bowl.

PIGS IN A BLANKET CHRISTMAS WREATH

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Unroll crescent roll dough on a clean work surface and brush generously with Dijon mustard. Cut each crescent roll triangle into 3 triangular pieces. Place a sausage at the thick end of one of the crescent roll strips and roll up, ending at the narrow end. Repeat until you have used all dough and made 24 pigs in a blanket. Reserve remaining sausages for another use.
• Arrange pigs in a blanket in a circular shape on a round pizza pan, with rolls gently touching.
• Bake in the preheated oven until dough is golden brown and puffed up, 15 to 18 minutes. Allow to cool for a few minutes before carefully transferring the wreath onto a round serving tray. If the sections come apart during the transfer, just recreate the circle shape as best as you can.
• Arrange rosemary sprigs around the outside of the wreath and place ketchup in a small bowl in the middle.