December 8, 2016

Chocolate Medallions —and the Nostalgia of Christmas

Natacha Sanz Caballero Desserts and Sweets candy, chocolate, Christmas, Christmas treats, dried fruits, nuts, toppings

If you’re not a baker, or even think you’re not, this is the Christmas dessert for you to make. Medallas de chocolate, chocolate medallions, with a few toppings, will be the talk of the party (don’t they look beautiful?) Nobody will know that they are so easy to make. It only requires some organization, and very few baking skills. In fact, they are not even baked! If you’re familiar with the ‘mise en place’ —which basically means having all your ingredients ready and organized—, then your work is almost done. Use a high-quality chocolate, preferably dark, and your toppings of choice. Be creative! Now is the time to finish up the bottom of your jars and bags of nuts and dried fruits. A double purpose dessert, don’t you love it?

This time of year makes me very nostalgic. I can count with one hand the number of times I’ve been back to Spain for Christmas in the past two decades. During that time, we’ve been creating family traditions at home in the United States, and also blending my Spanish and my Canadian husband’s traditions, to create our own. But with age and marriage and children came responsibilities, and I long for the carefree Christmases of my childhood and youth. I’m always nostalgic for watching my mom bake on the days and weeks before Christmas: pestiños, roscas, alfajores... The traditional Spanish Christmas desserts. Nostalgic for the turrón, the almond and honey nougat candy present on every Spanish table and that best represents the Spanish Christmas treat (I can sometimes find some at certain stores in Indiana, but out of its context, it’s just not the same). I’m nostalgic for midnight mass on Christmas Eve, almost rushing the end of dinner to make it to mass by midnight, believe it or not. I’m nostalgic for villancicos, Spanish Christmas carols, so very different from the American ones (I love them both, but now I only get the American ones). I’m nostalgic for visiting my abuelos de leche, my ‘milk grandparents’ (abuela María nursed my dad when he was born and my grandma couldn’t produce milk, a devastation in the times before formula). Abuelo Pepe roasted the absolutely best Marcona almonds I’ve ever had, and he would send us home with a number of jars full of them. Selfishly, I miss the times of no responsibility, just a helping hand in the kitchen and around the house for my mom, who masterfully organized, cooked, baked, and made the holiday extra special for everyone. Now I can only try and aspire to look like her.

But if there is one thing I’m nostalgic and miss above all things, that’s my dad. Six years after he left us, his presence still lives amongst my sisters, my mom and I. Both he and my mom were the glue, the Ying and Yang, so different, yet both swimming in the same direction. They loved and cared for each other, and for us. I remember the laughs, the hugs that left you without air, the tickle wars, his open arms welcome to any guests my sisters and I ever brought home, his generosity and his unfathomable honesty.

Christmas is the time of nostalgia, and of missing the loved ones that live in our memories and in our hearts. But it is also the time of reunions and of making new memories and traditions. Looking at these chocolate medallions makes me happy, and looking forward to having everyone at the table, wherever we are, and listening to Christmas carols, in whatever language they happen to be.

 

CHOCOLATE MEDALLIONS

Medallas de Chocolate

Ingredients:

• 12 oz good quality dark or semisweet chocolate (I used Ghirardelli dark chocolate pearls)

• The toppings of your choice! I used:

Walnuts, chopped

Dried Coconut flakes

Coarse Sea Salt

Slivered almonds

Dried cherries

Crushed candy cane (I used a mortar and pestle to crush the candy canes)

Bits of Andes chocolate mints

Lavander flowers (from my garden!)

Candied ginger, very thinly sliced

Pumpkin seeds, toasted and lightly salted

 

Prepare the trays: place a sheet of parchment paper on two or three cookie sheets

Prepare the toppings: place the toppings in individual bowls and lay close to and around the cookie sheets

In a medium saucepan, bring about 1 inch of water to a boil and then lower to simmer. Place a heatproof bowl over the steaming water in the saucepan. Add the chocolate bits or pearls and stir until melted. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and continue to stir until it reaches 90ºF on a candy or digital thermometer (don’t worry if you don’t have one, just make sure the consistency of the chocolate is not too runny, not too thick).

Using a teaspoon, scoop dollops of chocolate onto the parchment lined cookie sheets, about 2 inches apart. Using the back of the spoon, lightly spread the chocolate into disks about 2 inches wide. Top with a pinch of your toppings. You can use a single flavor, or mix a few of them (for instance, sea salt with walnuts, or coconut with almonds). Be creative!

Refrigerate for about 30 minutes and carefully remove the medallions from the parchment paper. Serve, or arrange in tin boxes, using wax or parchment paper to separate the layers. Keep refrigerated.