As we grow up, we add all sorts of new traditions to our respective repertoires. I should probably say “as we age”, as I don’t know anyone who would venture to say that I have actually “grown up” much, particularly throughout the month of December.
Most of my traditions revolve around food in some way or other. One of my newer traditions began last year with a visit to my boyfriend’s house, which resulted in new favourite Christmas dessert and a confirmation of my dislike for Celine Dion. I swear I’m Canadian. I just prefer Johnny Reid.
We walked into the kitchen and found my boyfriend’s mother arranging ingredients (pound cake, icing sugar and crushed peanuts: yum!), with the family beagle, Duke, frantically searching floor and air for crumbs.
The afternoon turned into a flurry of desert-making, interspersed with tree decorating and taste-testing. Switch the music to Michael Buble Christmas tunes and I had a perfect visit home.
This is an old family recipe of my boyfriend’s mom’s, called “Moco Cakes”. It’s a traditional New Brunswick Christmas dessert made with a canned, crushed peanut coating. You can also try substituting crushed peanuts with crushed candy cane, chocolate, Skor bits, or any combination of things you can come up with for a new twist on an old favourite! You could also try adding cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg, or almond extract to the icing sugar and milk/hot water depending on what coating you decide to use.
This is also a really good recipe to do with a group of friends in an assembly line, as sticky fingers are hard to avoid otherwise. Hope you enjoy this easy, no-bake recipe and try out some of the variations to the coating!
“Moco Cakes”
Cut pound cake into roughly 1×1″ squares.
Mix icing sugar, milk, and hot water in a bowl until you have a relatively thin paste.
Spread your finely ground/crushed topping over a large plate, platter, or baking sheet.
Dunk squares into icing sugar and milk mixture, shake off all excess.
Roll square over topping until thoroughly coated.
Place on wax paper lined baking sheet or storage tin and allow to sit in a cool place for at least an hour to allow the coating to set.
TIP: Making a large batch? Not enough room? Place squares on wax paper lined baking sheets. Put a shot glass in each corner of all of the baking sheets you have filled, but one, then stack each baking sheet on top of another. Place toothpicks in corners and centre of top tray and cover with plastic wrap.
