Coconut Yule Trees

Okay this is my last Christmas post, I swear!  Nothing more shaped like Christmas trees until next Christmas!  But these little coconut yule trees are worth it.  This is one of my dad's old recipes that he used to make to give to people at Christmas time, so I decided to do it too.  My mom helped me out like she used to work with him, so it was a fun and special evening for us.

Recipe-wise, these are very easy.  You simply mix together coconut, confectionary sugar, butter, cream and almond extract.  Then it gets a little sticky when you have to form the mixture into triangles (tree shapes, obviously!).  They chill for a bit, and then you can decorate.  We decorated them with some green sprinkles, and wanted Red Hot candies for ornaments but the store didn't have them, so we used some other sprinkles.  And, if you're feeling fancy, you can add trunks and coat them in melted dark chocolate - we thought that was unnecessary.  Either way, they were cute.  My mom said these were the best candies we made, and they definitely made a good addition to our candy gift boxes.

Tonight is the first night that I am both back to work and cooking dinner.  It's hard to get back into the routine!

Recipe:

coconut yule trees
from Dad's old orange recipe folders
yield about 2 dozen trees

Ingredients:
3 cups flaked coconut
2 cups confectionary sugar
1/4 cup softened butter
1/4 cup light cream
1 teaspoon almond extract
green sugar and Red Hot candies

Instructions:

1) In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients and mix well.  Drop by tablespoonfuls not a waxed paper-lined cookie sheet.  Chill for 1 hour.

2) Shape into trees.  Decorate with green sugar and candies.

Pesto Christmas Tree Pizzas

Okay so these are about a week late... but better late than never.  You will forgive me, because these pesto Christmas trees are not only delicious, but also incredibly adorable.  The idea is simple: roll pizza dough out into a triangle, cover with pesto to make it green, and "decorate" using vegetable ornaments!  In this case, it suggests thin slices of half a red onion, and diced red pepper, but you could go crazy and decorate with the prettiest veggies you have. I could see kids getting a kick out of decorating their own little pizza tree, and it could be a good way to get them to eat their vegetables (or, you know, adults who hate veggies, too!).

This meal could easily be streamlined.  You could use ready-made dough and store-bought pesto.  Just chop your veggies, roll the dough, decorate, and bake!  Dinner is ready in no time and it looks like you're Martha Stewart.  Of course, knowing me, you will not be surprised to hear that I made my own dough and pesto.  Have you made pesto before?  It was so simple.  I used Food Network's recipe, but basically all you have to do is blend together basil, garlic, pine nuts, and olive oil.  It suggested adding cheese but I thought it was good enough without it.

Obviously I struggled a bit with the rolling... have you ever tried to make pizza dough triangles?  It's a tough job!  By my second tree, I gave up making trunks!  They were adorable just the same, and soon good with the pesto, a little mozzarella, and plenty of "ornaments."  If you're missing Christmas already, whip these up - or pin it for next Christmas.  They'd actually be pretty cute if you wanted to bring a couple to your New Year's Party.

Speaking of New Year's... whoa.  2015 was pretty terrible.  But it's ending on a high note.

Recipe:

pesto Christmas tree pizzas
from A Couple Cooks
makes 4 large trees or 8 small

Ingredients:
1 pizza dough
1 red pepper
1/2 red onion
1/2 cup basil pesto
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
kosher salt

Instructions:

1) Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 550 degrees.

2) Prepare the toppings: dice the red pepper.  Thinly slice the red onion, then rinse it under cool water and pat it dry to remove some of the bite (I never knew this!)

3) When the oven is ready, roll out the dough into a triangle shape, adding a small rectangle for a trunk.  Place the dough on a floured pizza peel.  Quickly assemble the pizza.  Spread a thin layer of pesto, then sprinkle with cheese.  Add decorations of red onions and peppers, and sprinkle with kosher salt.

4) Transfer the pizza to the oven on the pizza peel, and bake until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes.  Allow to cool slightly, then serve.