This Christmas season, we received a tin can of yema balls, each one perfectly caramelized and wrapped like candy. My friend has outdone herself again. I'm still searching for her recipe for the Chocolate Chip cookies that she gave 2 Christmases ago when I just gave birth and was nursing. It seems that the best hostesses in Manila all seem to have one or a few signature desserts, and they can give away home baked goodies for Christmas. My mother-in-law herself has Food for the Gods, and perhaps, any self-respecting homemaker must master at least one baked recipe.
This is why Home for the Holidays: Over 60 Treats to Enjoy at Home or Give as Gifts is a welcome publication. Authors Aileen Anastacio and Angelo Comsti are familiar names in the dessert world as owner/chef of Goodies N' Sweets and The Food Barn respectively and as contributors to Yummy Magazine.
The recipes in the book are organized into Bottled, Boxed and Bagged. In their recent launch in National Book Store, they featured a dessert buffet..
The easiest to make is the Olive Tapenade (p.40) as you just put ingredients in a food processor.
The authors' favorite sweet baked dish is the White Toblerone Cheesecake (p102).
While the best savory treat is the Caviar Pie (p90).
The cheapest to make are cookies, which they have several recipes of, from Chocolate Chip Espresso Cookies (p134) to Death by Chocolate Cookies (p136), Gingerbread Cookies (p138) and Holiday Sugar Cookies (p140).
The Chocolate Mint Cupcakes (p 86) are worth breaking my holiday diet for.
Here is my own attempt at the Jam Thumbprints (p70). It was easy to make. As an occasional baker, I think I need more instructions on the molding part than may have been assumed in this recipe. They did not end up to be the flower and star shapes my daughter S had hoped they would be. I decided against gifting the cookies to my friend whose shop has the Marks and Spencer version that I take from the cookie jar at every visit. However, my husband actually liked the flaky cookies I baked. I used Bonne Maman strawberry jam for the middle but they ended up a bit tart.
Because of the time that actual production would entail, I won't be able to give baked goods away this Christmas. I'll give this book instead, and let my friends discover their own signature baked dish.
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