When the weather outside is frightful, be sure your snacks are so delightful. That’s our motto when it comes to snow days. Whether you’re surrounded by kids or you have your home (blissfully) to yourself, be sure to have the ingredients kicking around to make at least one of these warming winter treats. From cheesy to oozy to chocolatey, we have just the thing to take the edge off those chills. (Have we mentioned how much we love sweater weather?)
1. Roasted Garlic and Black Pepper Raclette
If you’re not in Switzerland and don’t have an enormous wheel of raclette at your disposal to melt by a fireplace, don’t fret. This garlicky raclette fondue-style dip is spiked with white wine, crème fraîche, heavy cream and more cheese. Dip roasted fingerling potatoes in it while sipping hot toddies or white wine with friends, and you won’t even miss the roaring fire.
2. S’mores Pie
Another way to recreate the soothing effects of an actual fireplace, if you don’t have one, is this shareable s’mores pie. Less gooey and messy than its inspiration, it comes together in less than an hour thanks to that easy-breezy graham cracker crust. Swirled on top? It’s not homemade marshmallow, but something much simpler: a delightful meringue.
3. Chicken, Spinach and Gruyère Turnovers
Savory and satisfying, these turnovers can be made in advance, then plated with a big green salad for supper or doled out as snacks to hungry family members. Slip them into freezer bags and bake them as appetites demand on snow or rain days. It’s a combination of ingredients—spinach, a splash of cream, chicken and nutty Gruyère—that never gets old, no matter the weather.
4. Mini Ricotta Doughnuts
Though we call them doughnuts, you could also call these gorgeous little ricotta numbers fritters. Whatever you call them, they’re delicious, and much simpler than the average doughnut. Just heat canola oil in a pot, drop in tablespoons of ricotta batter, wait three minutes, and you’ve got golden fritters to rival whatever the best restaurant in your town is serving as an appetizer. Best of all, you can drizzle them in a thyme-honey-lemon zest sauce you’ll want to slather on every baked good from here on out.
5. Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie
The only thing better than a whole tray of chocolate chip cookies? One giant chocolate chip skillet cookie, served warm and dolloped with ice cream. Cookies are a little time-consuming, if you want to get through that whole batch of batter. These are not, and are ready in just 40 minutes. Don’t skip the finishing touch of flaky sea salt, which will brighten the sweetness of the chocolate and look pretty, to boot.
6. Beaufort, Chive and Black Pepper Gougères
A fancy way of saying “warm cheese puffs,” gougères are the French treat you didn’t know was missing from your life. These employ Beaufort, a raw French cow’s milk cheese that’s like a more subtle sibling to Gruyère. Serve them warm, if at all possible, and have another tray ready to pop in the hot oven if you have a ton of guests. Nothing disappears as fast as these do.
7. Hot Chocolate and Churros
Who knew it was possible to improve upon hot chocolate? Or doughnuts? Mexico knew. These hot chocolate and churros belong together just as much as chocolate and vanilla do. A flurry of cinnamon sugar dusted over the churros makes them just the thing to dunk in a simple, straightforward hot chocolate recipe. Bonus: Kids will love dunking the churros into the cocoa, and might be (temporarily) distracted from cabin fever.
1 comment
Thanks for this memento.