Cinnamon Streusel Eggnog Coffeecake #FoodieExtravaganza

Eggnog is not just for drinking. Its sweet creaminess adds both flavor and richness to baked goods, like this cinnamon streusel eggnog coffeecake!

For drinking hot, my favorite eggnog is my grandmother’s recipe which we make at least once during the holiday season. Spiked with bourbon, rum or Irish whisky, it warms body and lifts spirits, reminding me of cozy times in her bright yellow kitchen, family all round.

For drinking cold, also spiked – are you seeing a trend here? – it’s usually Borden’s eggnog, because that’s about the only brand that seems to be exported overseas.

I’ve baked with both and even made an eggnog mousse once upon a time. If you are a fan of eggnog cake, you might want to check out my eggnog pound cake and my eggnog muffins. Both are topped with a rich eggnog glaze.

This time, because I am a procrastinator, I went with the store bought. And I added an eggnog whiskey glaze just for my younger daughter, who insisted that eggnog cake needs whiskey, just like eggnog does. She is right.

Cinnamon Streusel Eggnog Coffeecake

Cinnamon Streusel Eggnog Coffeecake is light on the inside with a rich buttery streusel and a sweet whisky glaze on top, perfect for your holiday dessert or snack time.

Ingredients
For the cinnamon streusel:
1/2 cup or 65g flour
1/2 cup or 100g brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch salt
1/3 cup or 70g unsalted cold butter, cut into small pieces

For the eggnog coffee cake:
2 cups or 250g flour
1/2 cup or 100g granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup or 240ml eggnog
1/3 cup or 70g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the eggnog whiskey glaze:
1 cup or 125g powdered sugar
2 tablespoons eggnog
1 tablespoon whiskey
Pinch cinnamon

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F and 180°C. Grease and flour a 6-cup baking pan. Set aside.

To make the streusel, in a small bowl, cut the cold butter into the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt, until it looks like crumbles. Pop it in the refrigerator, if your kitchen is warm.

In a large bowl, whisk together your dry ingredients: the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients: the eggnog, butter, eggs and vanilla.

Fold the wet ingredients into the dry, until they are just combined.

 Pour the batter into your prepared pan and top with the cinnamon streusel.

Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Allow to cool completely before you turn the coffeecake out of the pan so that you don’t knock all of the streusel off.

While it’s cooling, make the glaze by mixing all of the ingredients together in a small bowl.

Once you’ve plated the eggnog coffeecake, drizzle on the eggnog whiskey glaze.

Enjoy!

Check out all the other eggnoggy recipes that my Foodie Extravaganza friends are sharing today! If these don’t get you in the Christmas spirit, I don’t know what will. Many thanks to Nichole of Cookaholic Wife for hosting this month.

• Alcohol Free Eggnog by Sneha’s Recipes
• Cinnamon Streusel Eggnog Coffeecake by Food Lust People Love
• Eggnog Banana Bread by Making Miracles
• Eggnog Cheesecake by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Eggnog Cookies by Caroline’s Cooking
• Eggnog Tasting + A Classic Recipe by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Eggnog Loaf by Passion Kneaded
• Frosted Eggnog Cookies by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Heavenly Almond Cookies by Faith, Hope, Love & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Vegan Eggnog Pudding by Cookaholic Wife

Foodie Extravaganza celebrates obscure food holidays or shares recipes with the same ingredient or theme every month.

Posting day is always the first Wednesday of each month. If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook group Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you!

If you're a reader looking for delicious recipes, check out our Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board!

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Puff Pastry Ravioli Mince Pies

If you have puff pastry in your freezer and a jar of mincemeat in the cupboard, you are ready for an impromptu potluck invitation or unexpected guests!  These little pies, made ravioli-style, are a welcome addition to the dessert table at any Christmas party or buffet table.

Mince pies are traditional Christmas fare in the United Kingdom and everyone seems to have a favorite family recipe. Historically, mincemeat fillings actually contained minced meat or ground meat as we Americans call it. Nowadays most recipes call for apples, raisins, currants, spices, suet, citrus peel and possibly a splash of brandy. I was going for quick and easy and since I don’t have a granny’s recipe, I used a good quality store-bought brand.

Puff Pastry Ravioli Mince Pies

The puff pastry shortcut makes beautiful little flakey mince pies quick and easy.

Ingredients
1 large sheet puff pastry – I buy a British brand here in Dubai and one sheet weighs 11 1/4 oz or 320g and measures approximately 13 3/4 in x 9 in or 35cm x 22.5cm.
6 tablespoons good quality mincemeat
1/4 cup or 60ml milk
Powdered sugar - optional for serving

Tools: 1 ravioli plaque

Method
Preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C and prepare your baking sheet by lining it with parchment.

Cover your work surface with cling film and lay out the puff pastry sheet.  Gently roll it a bit thinner until you have a big enough piece to cut two pieces the size of your ravioli plaque, possibly with leftovers.

Trim off any rough or dry edges.  A fresh cut always helps puff pastry rise more successfully.

Use your ravioli plaque as a guide, and cut two pieces of puff pastry to fit.  You may have some leftover but don’t worry because we can use that for decoration.

Sprinkle the plaque lightly with flour and lay the first piece of puff pasty on it.

Gently fill the holes with about 1/2 tablespoon each of mincemeat.

Brush the second piece of puff pastry with the milk.

Carefully place the second piece, milk side down on top of the filled pastry.

Press down all around the filling, starting in the middle first and try to push out any air before sealing the sides.  Just like making pasta ravioli.

Turn the whole tray of little raviolis out onto your cling film and cut into squares.

Brush the tops with more milk.

If you have leftover dough, cut shapes or strips out of it to decorate your little ravioli tarts.  I didn’t have any tiny cookie cutters so I made ribbons.  Stars or holly leaves would be more traditional for mince pies.

Carefully transfer the ravioli tarts to your prepared pan.  If you do ribbons as well, poke the middle with a sharp knife (but don't puncture the top of the ravioli!) so they don’t come “untied” while baking.

Bake for about 12 – 18 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the little pies are golden and puffy.

Allow to cool for a few minutes, and then remove to a serving dish.  Sprinkle with a little powdered sugar, if desired.  I forgot to take a photo of this step!

Enjoy!

This week my Sunday Supper friends are sharing recipes that are perfect for a holiday buffet. If you are throwing a party or just need to bring a dish to someone else's party, we've got you covered. Check out the great list of recipes below. Many thanks to our event manager Christie from A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures for all of her hard work.

Abundance of Appetizers

• Buffalo Wing Cauliflower by April Golightly
• Charcuterie Buffet by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Pesto Goats Cheese Filo Parcels by Caroline’s Cooking
• Roasted Beet Dip with Fennel and Garlic by Cooking Chat

Sundry of Savory Dishes

• Honey-Glazed Bacon-Wrapped Ham by Palatable Pastime
• Old Fashioned Potato Gratin by The Wimpy Vegetarian
• Squash and Mushroom Gratin with Granola Topping by Take A Bite Out of Boca

Desserts by the Dozen

• Cherry Pie Blondies by Pies and Plots
• Gingerbread Cookie Cups w/ Tapioca Pudding by The Freshman Cook
• Puff Pastry Ravioli Mince Pies by Food Lust People Love
• Raspberry Topped Mini Cheesecakes by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• White Chocolate Christmas Crack Recipe by Sunday Supper Movement

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Candied Fruit Christmas Muffins #MuffinMonday

Candied fruit Christmas muffins are made with a sweet, but not too sweet, vanilla crumb, filled with a mix of chewy fruit. They smell wonderful while they bake, filling the house with the sweet scent of Christmas. Perfect for a holiday breakfast or snack time with a hot cup of tea.

I came across a recipe recently for packaging up muffin mixes as gifts over on the BBC Good Food site and I thought, what an excellent idea!  Not that I was going to make the mixes to give away – I don’t have enough friends nearby who like to bake – but the muffins called for mixed fruit with candied peel.

I don’t know if it’s nostalgia for my grandmother’s fruitcake – she made the only version I would ever eat, not too dry with the just the right mix of fruit and nuts – but candied fruit always makes me think of Christmas. What could be better for this month’s Muffin Monday than a candied fruit Christmas muffin in anticipation of the holidays?

I used my favorite make-ahead breakfast muffin recipe but I cut back on the sugar because of all the candied fruit. These are sweet enough, I promise.

Candied Fruit Christmas Muffins

The chewy fruit and spices make these muffins smell and taste like Christmas. Put these in the oven on Christmas morning and your family will pop out of bed to find out what you are baking!

Ingredients
2 cups or 250g all purpose flour
1/2 cup or 100g sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground mixed spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup or 150g candied fruit peel and fruit medley, plus a little extra for garnish, if desired
1 cup or 240ml milk
1/2 cup or 120ml canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs

Method
Preheat oven to 350°F or 180°C. Generously grease cups and top of 12-cup muffin tin or line your pan with muffin paper cups.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together your flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, mixed spice and salt, along with the candied fruit. Use your clean hands to mix the fruit in, rubbing the pieces between your fingers to separate those that are stuck together so they can be coated with the flour mixture.

In another bowl, whisk together the milk, oil, vanilla and eggs.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently fold just until dry ingredients are moistened. 

Divide your batter relatively evenly between the 12 muffin cups and top with a few pieces of candied fruit.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until muffins are golden.

Enjoy!

Check out all the other wonderful muffins my Muffin Monday group is sharing today!

• Apple Butter Muffin Tops from Farm Fresh Feasts
• Apple Streusel Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Beet Muffins from Passion Kneaded
• Candied Fruit Christmas Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Crab Corn Muffin from Kelli's Kitchen
• Fruitcake Muffins from Palatable Pastime
• Jim ‘n Nick’s Cheesy Muffins - Copycat from Making Miracles
• Shoofly Muffins from Sew You Think You Can Cook

 #MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all our of lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday, can be found on our home page.

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