Minty Wreaths Recipes

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.

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.

EASY MINT THINS

Steps:

• In a microwave, melt chocolate candy coating; stir until smooth. Stir in extract., Dip crackers in chocolate candy coating; allow excess to drip off. Place on waxed paper; let stand until set., Drizzle tops with white candy coating; decorate as desired. Let stand until set. Store in airtight containers.

CINNAMON ROLL WREATH

Steps:

• For the dough: Warm 1/2 cup water and the milk in a small saucepan over low heat until a thermometer registers 100 to 110 degrees F. Remove from the heat and sprinkle in the yeast and then a pinch of granulated sugar. Set aside undisturbed until foamy, about 5 minutes.
• Whisk together the salt, nutmeg, 2 3/4 cups of the flour and the remaining granulated sugar in a large bowl.
• Beat together the melted butter, vanilla and egg yolk in a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment on medium high until combined. Add the yeast mixture and continue to mix on low until combined. Add the flour mixture and mix on low until a thick and slightly sticky dough forms. Once the dough comes together, switch to the dough hook and knead on medium speed, adding up to 1/4 cup more flour if needed, to make a soft, smooth ball that sticks to the hook, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Coat a large bowl generously with cooking spray. Add the dough, turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until doubled in size, about 1 hour. (The dough can also be tightly wrapped and refrigerated overnight. Let it come to room temperature before proceeding with the recipe.)
• For the filling: Combine the butter, granulated sugar, flour and cinnamon in a food processor and pulse until crumbly. Set aside.
• On a floured surface, roll out the dough into a 10-by-18-inch rectangle. Sprinkle the butter mixture over the dough, leaving a 1-inch border along the top edge. Tightly roll the dough into an 18-inch log. Pinch to seal at the seam and then put on the counter seam-side down. Form the log into a circle, pinching the ends together. Squeeze and roll the dough if needed so it is an even width throughout.
• Transfer the log to a parchment lined-baking sheet. Cut 16 slits across the log, about 1 inch apart; each slit should go about three-quarters of the way through the log so that it is still completely intact. Bend about a quarter of the log by turning some of the newly cut "tabs" out so that the pinwheels of filling are facing up. Continue turning the "tabs" out and bending the log until you have a ring. Butt the ends up against each other. Loosely cover the wreath with plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray and let rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake until the wreath is golden brown and puffed, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool on a rack until just warm, about 10 minutes.
• For the glaze: Whisk the confectioners' sugar, milk and lemon juice in a medium bowl to make a thick but pourable glaze, adding a little more confectioners' sugar if needed to get the right consistency. Drizzle over the wreath and let harden before serving. To serve, decorate with candied cherries and mint leaves to resemble holly sprigs.

CLEMENTINE, CRANBERRY & PISTACHIO MERINGUE WREATH

Steps:

• Heat oven to 140C/120C fan/gas 2 and cut a piece of baking parchment large enough to line your biggest baking sheet. Using a plate as a template, draw a circle roughly 28cm in diameter onto the parchment, then flip it over onto the baking sheet so the pencil marks don't come into contact with the meringue.
• Put the egg whites in a large, clean bowl and beat with an electric whisk until doubled in volume and holding soft peaks. Add the sugar 1 or 2 tbsp at a time, whisking continuously, until the meringue is stiff and shiny, and the sugar has been used up.
• Dab a blob of meringue on each corner of the parchment to stick it to the baking sheet. Using the circle as a guide, spoon 10 mounds of meringue onto the parchment in a wreath shape. Create a little divot in the centre of each one with the back of a teaspoon. Bake for 1 hr 30 mins, then leave in the oven to cool completely (overnight if you can).
• Put the cranberries and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Turn up the heat and boil for 1-2 mins, until you have a sugary syrup, but the cranberries are still whole. Leave to cool completely.
• When you're ready to serve, place the meringue wreath on a large board or plate. Pour the cream into a bowl, and add the zest and liqueur, if using. Whip until the cream just holds soft peaks. Fill each meringue crevice with a spoonful of cream, then top with 1-2 slices of clementine and some cranberries. Drizzle some cranberry syrup and sprinkle generously with pistachios, then let everyone dive in.