Desserts

Nougabricot, the classic Québécois jam, is based on common flavours in French nougat—apricot, almond, pistachio and candied orange peel. Here, it becomes a much simpler confection: rocky road. Just melt best-quality white chocolate with a little butter, fold in plump dried apricots, nuts and candied orange, and you’ve got a sophisticated treat in a matter of minutes (minus the chilling time). Bonus points for candying your own orange peel!

And an impressive orange treat you'll want to eat right away.

This festive cheesecake for a crowd has all the flavours of the classic holiday candy and is sweetened almost entirely with white chocolate. If you can get hold of peppermint oil, it will give an even more vibrant mint taste.

Let’s just say it was a challenge to transform this classic Prairie pie—which features a graham crust filled with custard and topped with meringue—into cookie form. The key is a dry meringue-based dacquoise cookie made with graham crumbs instead of the traditional nuts. A few hours after being sandwiched with custard filling they soften up for the perfect bite-sized treat.

These gooey shortbread bars take their flavour cues from a Christmas classic: pecan- and date-laden sticky toffee pudding.