Sugar Plums and Buddy the Elf

Hey there, how was your weekend? Did you do anything festive? Get some shopping accomplished? Watch your favorite Christmas movie?

Well, this weekend I bombarded my evenings with all the holiday dvds we owned and there's not much. I started off watching Holiday Inn (for the first time) and enjoyed it immensely. With a duo like Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby you can never go wrong with an evening of entertainment and music. Then I proceeded watched the Burl Ives classic, Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer. Initially I was bit creeped out with the animation and how every male figure seemed to have this loud and obnoxious voice of "daddy-knows-best". But I pushed through it and enjoyed it for the aesthetic purpose of this being a movie enjoyed by many during this time of year. 

All strangeness aside, my favorite movie of the weekend would have to be Jon Favreau's Elf. It's easily one of my top Christmas cheery movies that gets me in the mood for baking and singing out loud. What struck me this time around was when Will Ferrell said he would find his dad and they would make snowmen and eat sugar plums. I thought, yeah, what are sugar plums really? 

After some research on what sugar plums are and how you make them I found one recipe that I will probably try this week or next depending on what I've set out to do and if I can achieve it. Tell you about it later.

This recipe is from Saveur.com. If you want more holiday baking ideas that will definitely make you the talk of the table check out their "Christmas" recipes. You'll find recipes showing you how to make your own Alfajores (Dulce de Leche Cookie Sandwiches) to Nutmeg Cake and Mexican Eggnog. Mmmmm happy kitchen times ahead.

Sugar Plums

2 cups whole almonds

1/4 cup honey

2 tsp. grated orange zest

1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground allspice

1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

1 cup finely chopped dried apricots

1 cup finely chopped pitted dates

1 cup confectioners' sugar (the site suggest you redust before serving because the sugar plums absorb the sugar after some time)

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Arrange almonds on a baking sheet in a single layer and toast in oven for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool, then finely chop.

• Meanwhile, combine honey, orange zest, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg in a medium mixing bowl. Add almonds, apricots, and dates and mix well.

• Pinch off rounded teaspoon-size pieces of the mixture and roll into balls. (Rinse your hands often, as mixture is very sticky.) Roll balls in sugar, then refrigerate in single layers between sheets of waxed paper in airtight containers for up to 1 month. Their flavor improves after ripening for several days. 

For a pretty picture of what it looks liked click here. 

For all you Buddy the Elf lovers here's another YouTube video that I thought you might enjoy.