Festive Fortnight [13]: A Festive Book and Dessert Pairing Guide

Happy Christmas Eve Eve! It’s nearly Christmas and I cannot wait. Yesterday was my last day of work for the year and now I’ve got eleven days off! There will be tons of reading and relaxing and doing absolutely nothing and it’ll probably be over before I know it. Like this Festive Fortnight – tomorrow is the last post already. I feel as if we’ve only just started!

Today I’ve got a fun post for you that involves both books and baking (the perfect combination, of course). A few years ago I posted a book and dessert pairing guide, with a graphic made by Shari’s Berries. A few days ago, they got in touch with me again about a Christmas version of such a guide. It seemed like the perfect post to include in my Festive Fortnight!

Below, you’ll find twelve books about Christmas and a fitting dessert to go with them. I’ve scoured the web for recipes for these desserts – I hope there’s something to your liking! Perhaps this will provide you with some inspiration for Christmas dinner…

1. How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr Seuss – Pistachio Salad – Why this is called a salad in the US I will never know, but there you go. It doesn’t look very appealing to me, personally, but who am I to judge Christmas traditions?
2. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens – Rum Pudding Cake – Looking for a classic? This step by step recipe will make it super easy to make your own rum pudding cake, just like the Cratchits!
3. The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg – White Chocolate Peppermint Fudge – Wow, this fudge looks delicious and so very festive! Perhaps it’ll be a nice treat for Christmas Eve?
4. ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore – Chocolate Chip Cookies –  Some self-promo! This is my own chocolate chip cookie recipe, so I can vouch for its deliciousness. These have pecans in them, but you can just leave them out if you want to.
5. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis – Rosewater Turkish Delight – I’m not the biggest fan of Turkish delight, but these do look scrumptious!
6. The Nutcracker and the Mouse King by E.T.A. Hoffmann – Sugar Plum Pie – I’ve never had sugar plum pie, but this beautiful, rustic version does make my mouth water a little bit. Most fruit pies do, though.
7. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer by Robert May – Skillet Brownie Sundae – If this doesn’t look festive and sweet, I don’t know what does! Also, I’ve got the song stuck in my head now…
8. Frosty the Snowman by Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins – Almond Snowball Cookies – Okay, I take it back – these are even more festive. Some yummy cookies for Christmas Day!
9. A Charlie Brown Christmas by Charles M. Schultz – Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups – You could go the easy route and buy these in the store… Or you could wow everybody by making them yourself!
10. The Nightmare Before Christmas by Frank T. Thompson – Pumpkin Pie – Go rogue and go for the perfect Halloween treat for Christmas dessert! Why not?
11. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott – Pecan Pie – I’ve never made pecan pie, but by the looks of this I really should. I’ve also never read Little Women, for that matter…
12. Miracle on 34th Street by Valentine Davies – Chocolate Truffles – These only require a few ingredients, but I imagine they’ll taste oh so good!