Corcoran's
2022 Holiday
Recipe Book
From elk meat goulash to a home-baked take on a cult favorite cookie, taste the flavors of Corcoran’s markets this holiday season with these recipes from our affiliated agents and staff.
Jump to any recipe:
Soft Baked Gingerbread Scones
If Christmas were a pastry item, it would be these scones. They’re super soft and full of holiday spice, making them perfect to start (or finish) your winter's day.
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
3/4 cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed
1 cup buttermilk, cold
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbsp. molasses
1 tbsp. milk, for brushing
3 tbsp. turbinado sugar, for sprinkling
1. In a large bowl, whisk together all of your dry ingredients until combined. Add in the cubed butter and use your hands to smoosh down the cubes to create irregular-sized shards.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together your buttermilk, vanilla, and molasses. Slowly drizzle the buttermilk mixture into your dry mixture, tossing with one hand as you pour with the other. Mix by hand to combine into a rough ball. Cover the bowl with cling wrap and a tea towel, and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
3. While the dough is chilling, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly dust it with flour. Set to the side.
4. Once your dough is done chilling, remove it from the fridge and dump it onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough in half, then press each half down into large discs, about 1 1/2 inches or so in height. Use a sharp knife or a bench scraper to cut each disc into 4 equal triangles. Place the triangles on the baking sheet, leaving 1 1/2 to 2 inches between each scone, then cover with a tea towel and place in the fridge to chill while you preheat your oven.
5. Preheat your oven to 400°F.
6. Once the oven is preheated, remove your scones from the fridge. Brush the tops with milk, then sprinkle generously with sugar. Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the pan. Increase temperature to 425°F and bake for 8 more minutes until the edges look dry and the tops are golden. Let cool on a rack for 30 minutes. Enjoy with a cup of cocoa :)
Instructions
This recipe has been in my family for ages.
Elk Meat Goulash
Ingredients
1 lb. elk meat
1/2 cup flour
4 slices of bacon
1 sweet yellow onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1–2 cups beef stock
1 cup red wine
1 tbsp. tomato purée
1 tsp. oregano or marjoram
1 1/2 tsp. sweet paprika
1 bay leaf
1. Cut the elk into 1-inch cubes and dredge in flour*. Cook the meat in a cast iron skillet until brown. Transfer the browned cubes to a large crockpot.
2. Cook bacon in the same pan as the elk. Once cooked to your preference, set aside.
3. Sautée onions and garlic cloves in the same pan you cooked elk and bacon in. Transfer to the crockpot.
4. Add beef stock, tomato purée, and red wine to the crockpot. Mix everything around. Add oregano or marjoram and sweet paprika, and mix again.
5. Add bay leaf. Cook in the crockpot on low heat for 8 hours.
6. Add in chopped bacon. Cook for 1 additional hour.
7. Serve with butter noodles or bread.
8. Enjoy!
*You can add seasonings like salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic powder to the elk before dredging in flour.
Instructions
A cake that’s good with coffee or for dessert.
Seaton Pound Cake
Ingredients
2 sticks real butter, softened
3 cups sugar
6 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups plain flour
1/2 pint whipping cream (not whipped)
1. Cream butter and sugar using an electric mixer. With the mixer still going, add eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla. Alternately, add flour and cream.
2. Bake in a greased bundt pan at 350°F for 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hour and 30 minutes. Let cool completely before removing from the pan.
Instructions
Here is one of our family’s favorite Christmas desserts. Although Nana is no longer with us, this decadent delight lives on in her memory. Feel free to double, triple, or quadruple this recipe, as these don’t last long!
Nana’s Hello Dollies
Ingredients
1 cup crushed graham crackers
2 oz. butter, melted
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup coconut flakes
1 can condensed milk
1. Make a graham cracker crust. Mix the crushed graham crackers and melted butter and bake in a greased baking dish for 10 minutes at 325°F.
2. Add the chocolate chips, chopped walnuts, and coconut flakes on top of the baked graham cracker crust.
3. Pour the can of condensed milk over the top of everything and bake for 20 minutes.
Instructions
No visit to grandma’s house for the holidays would be complete without sneaking into her pantry and pilfering her rum balls before they made it to the snacking table! Nowadays, I always make a batch and give them as hostess gifts. They never fail to please.
Grandma’s Rum Balls
Ingredients
2 cups finely ground vanilla wafers
2 tbsp. cocoa
1 cup powdered sugar, with extra to roll balls in
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 1/2 tbsp. light corn syrup
1/4 cup rum of your choice
⅛ tsp sal
Mix dry ingredients. Add liquids slowly. Form mixture into 1-inch balls and roll in powdered sugar. Store in an airtight container.
Instructions
Can’t get to the bakery for your chocolate chip walnut morsels? Try this homemade version of this New York City (and Sagaponack) favorite right out of your own oven.
Levain Cookie Hack
Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks/240g) unsalted butter, softened and diced
3/4 cup (135g) light brown sugar
1/2 cup (100g) sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup (about 120g) cake flour
1 1/2 cup (180g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Place butter into a bowl and turn the mixer on low.
3. Add sugars and beat butter until smooth on medium speed, about 1 minute.
4. Add the eggs and beat on medium just until incorporated with the butter and sugars, about 30 seconds.
5. Chill the mixture for 30 minutes.
6. Turn the mixer off. Add the cake flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Pulse the dry ingredients on low until the wet and dry ingredients are mixed together.
7. Pour the walnuts and chocolate chips into the batter, and stir with a rubber spatula until spread evenly into the batter.
8. Chill for 30 minutes.
9. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces, about 6 oz/170g each (or half of it if you want regular size cookies). Use your hands to shape cookies, not a cookie or ice cream scoop. The cookies are meant to be roughly shaped. Do not flatten the dough.
10. Bake 4 cookies per pan, for 11 minutes. The cookies are done when the top and bottom parts are slightly golden. Do not over bake. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving.
Instructions
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 cups (250g) walnut halves
2 cups (350g) large chocolate chips/chunks; use a mix of extra-extra dark and semi-sweet chocolate
This simple remix swaps the shredded coconuts for oatmeal.
Oatmeal Macaroons
Ingredients
4 cups oatmeal
2 cups dark brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
Combine above; let stand overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Drop on a cookie sheet; bake for 16 to 17 minutes until light brown.
Instructions
Add to the mixture:
2 eggs, well beaten
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 tsp. almond extract
For the tomato-corn salsa:
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
¾ cup frozen or fresh corn kernels
¼ cup chopped basil leaves
3 tbsp. red wine vinegar
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt to taste
Cojita cheese, crumbled, for topping
We have a holiday tradition that we call the 12 Days of Soupmas, where we deck the bowls with different soups instead of a traditional Christmas dinner. Each person brings a soup of their choosing, and we all get to sample and enjoy delicious, unique, or kitchen fails with our friends and family. This is my recipe for Soupmas this year.
Roasted Tomato-Basil Soup with Tomato-Corn Salsa
Ingredients
For the soup:
3 tbsp. plus ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups finely chopped red onion
4 oz. (~½ cup) tomato paste
6 garlic cloves, minced
½ tsp. fennel seeds
¼ crushed red pepper flakes
2 lbs. fresh heirloom tomatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 ½ tsp. kosher salt
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 (16 oz.) pkg. tofu (silken), drained
½ cup fresh basil leaves
Cracked black pepper for garnish
1. Heat 3 tbsp. oil in a large stock pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Once hot, add onions; cook for 6 to 7 minutes, until soft. Stir in tomato paste, garlic, fennel seeds, and chili flakes; cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tomato paste turns brick-red and begins to caramelize.
2. Add tomatoes and salt; stir to combine. Simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, until tomatoes start to break down and release their juices.
3. In a high power blender, mix tomato mixture till smooth. Add silken tofu, ½ cup fresh basil leaves, and ½ cup water. Blend on HIGH speed until smooth and creamy, for about 1 minute. On low speed, slowly stream in remaining ¼ cup olive oil. Separate into batches, if your blender doesn't hold it all.
4. Pour back into the pot and reduce heat to low.
5. Mix up the tomato-corn salsa by combining cherry tomatoes, corn, and ¼ cup chopped basil in a medium bowl. Stir in red wine vinegar, 2 tbsp. olive oil, and a pinch of salt.
6. Serve the soup with salsa on top as garnish, add cojita cheese crumbles, and enjoy.
Instructions
2 carrots, chopped
2 tbsp. tomato paste
2 cups (500ml) dry red wine (see Note 2)
2 cups (500ml) low-sodium beef stock/broth
2 sprigs thyme (optional)
2 bay leaves
I absolutely love making this recipe when I have a full day at home with time to give the recipe the attention it deserves.
Braised Beef Short Ribs with Red Wine Sauce
Ingredients
5 - 6 beef short ribs, about 300-400 grams or 10-14 oz each
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. pepper
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 large onion, chopped (brown, yellow, or white)
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 celery ribs, chopped
1.Preheat the oven to 160°C or 325°F.
2. Sprinkle beef all over with salt and pepper.
3. Heat oil in a large ovenproof pot over high heat. Add half the ribs and brown aggressively all over (~5 to 7 minutes total). Remove ribs and repeat with remaining ribs, then remove to a separate plate. (See Note 1.)
4. Turn heat down to medium. Add onion and garlic into the same pot and cook for 2 minutes.
5. Add carrot and celery, cook for 5 minutes until carrot is softened and sweet.
6. Add tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. (See Note 2.)
7. Add wine, broth, thyme and bay leaves. Stir until tomato paste is dissolved.
8. Return beef into liquid, arranging them so they are submerged (See Notes 3 and 4).
9. Cover with lid and transfer to the oven for three hours, or until the meat can easily be pried apart with forks. (See Note 5 for other cooking methods.)
10. Remove beef carefully, keeping the meat on the bone. (See Note 6.) Cover to keep warm.
11. Strain all liquid in the pot, pressing juices out of the vegetables. (This is optional; you can skip if you don't mind chunky sauce) Return sauce into pot, bring to simmer and stir. Adjust as necessary: Simmer to reduce/thicken, add water to thin, and season with salt and pepper if needed. (See Note 7.)
12. Place beef on a serving plate, spoon sauce over the meat. Serve!
NOTES
1. Brown – As with most slow cooked dishes like Beef Stew and Pot Roast, we start by aggressively browning the beef short ribs. This is where we get a ton of flavor on both the beef and in the sauce (from the brown stuff – fond – left on the base of the pot).
2. Soffritto – After that, we slowly sauté garlic, onion, carrot and celery. The longer you take here, the better the flavor base! This is called a soffrito. Then add the tomato paste (to thicken the sauce and a touch of sour) and cook that off for a bit to take the raw edge off.
3. Braising liquid – then add the beef broth/stock, red wine, thyme (optional) and bay leaves (essential).
4. Add ribs – Carefully return the ribs into the pot. Arrange them so they are fully submerged as best you can. If some bits stick out, don’t worry – they will cook just fine too, and the steam keeps those bits nice and juicy.
5. Slow cook – Plonk the lid on and then either slow cook in the oven (my favourite), stove, slow cooker or pressure cooker!
6. After cooking – The liquid will be reduced and the meat should be extremely tender. Check with two forks to ensure it is fall apart. Then carefully remove using a slotted spoon, keeping the meat as attached to the bone as you can (but it will not be attached because if the meat is falling apart, this means the ligaments holding the meat to the bone have melted).
7. Strain the sauce and adjust. It’s optional to take out the chunks to make the sauce super smooth and glossy, like you get at fine dining restaurants. Strain it back into the pot, then reduce to thicken if needed, and adjust the salt and pepper.
Instructions
This clever casserole is easy to make and sure to be a crowd-pleaser.
Russian Dressing Chicken Bake
Ingredients
1 package of skin-on chicken thighs (4 to 6 thighs)
1/2 bottle of Russian dressing
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 package of onion soup mix
Salt and pepper to taste
1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
2. Mix all ingredients together.
3. Cover and bake in the oven for 25 minutes.
4. Uncover and bake until desired level of browning is achieved and chicken is cooked through, for an additional 5 to 15 minutes.
5. Serve with steamed rice.
Instructions
Soft Baked
Gingerbread Scones
Elk Meat
Goulash
Seaton
Pound Cake
Nana’s
Hello Dollies
Grandma’s
Rum Balls
Levain
Cookie Hack
Oatmeal
Macaroons
Roasted Tomato-Basil Soup with Tomato-Corn Salsa
Braised Beef
Short Ribs with
Red Wine Sauce
Russian Dressing Chicken Bake
Eve Hlavatovic, Corcoran Legends Realty (Westchester, NY)
Parker Eyrich, Corcoran Perry Real Estate (Denver, CO)
Beth Ferester, Corcoran Ferester Realty (The Woodlands, TX)
Sky Young, Corcoran Cayman Islands (Cayman Islands)
Jackie Dunphy, Corcoran’s East Hampton Office
Jessica Buchman, Corcoran’s Park Slope Union Office (Brooklyn, NY)
Robin Miller, Corcoran Baer & McIntosh (Rockland County, NY)
Corey Marie Birger, Corcoran Reverie (Walton County, FL)
Kirk Schultze, Corcoran Pacific Properties (Hawaii)
Karen Bail, Corcoran Pacific Properties (Hawaii)