A Very Dairy Holiday Season

This dairy-heavy recipe takes a tricky, technical dessert and simplifies it into something that you can easily whip up in 15 minutes. If you’re feeling festive, it would be delicious with a sprinkle of crushed peppermints or toffee.

Debbie doesn’t think there’s any better way to brighten up a dark winter day than with a light yet luxurious citrus dessert, and one of her favorite treats is a posset. A posset is basically a citrus pudding, but rather than being thickened with gelatin, eggs or starch, the cream is set by a reaction between the acid in the citrus and the fat in the cream. Here, she shares the classic way to make posset (with lemon), but feel free to experiment using other citrus or by steeping tea or herbs into the cream for delicious variations such as grapefruit vanilla or chamomile lemon. Possets are great on their own or can be dressed up with fresh berries, candied citrus peel or a shortbread cookie on the side.

In some cultures, currants are viewed as a symbol of healing, hope, forgiveness and renewal which leads Mickey to believe that these are the perfect scones for the holiday season and new year. Plus, the warming spices and flavorful bursts of brandied currants taste extra good on a cozy winter morning. Be sure to save the flavorful brandy mixture that remains after making your brandied currants to use for other baking projects or festive cocktails.

Panna cotta, which means “cooked cream” in Italian, is one of Alyssa’s favorite ways to showcase the delicate nature of cream, as there are no eggs or starches to compete for flavor. Here she enriches her panna cotta with tangy sour cream, balancing the sweetness and touch of bitterness in the burnt honey. She finishes the dish with juniper, something we don’t see enough in winter cooking. If you’re not a fan, try garnishing with the zest of an orange or lemon instead.

One of the most beloved ingredients in the L’Etoile kitchen is goat cheese from Dreamfarm in Cross Plains. The restaurant purchases large quantities in the spring when it is first made and freezes it to incorporate it into many different dishes all year long. When pastry chef Kristine first put a version of this cheesecake on the dessert menu, she loved how it highlighted the beautiful chèvre and how the slightly savory nature of it is complimented by the sweetness of the butterscotch.