December: The Nutcracker Party

One of the most magical traditions of Christmas, that many people share, is attending the Nutcracker Ballet, with its glittering costumes, impressive pirouettes and pas de deux, and of course, Tchaikovsky's exhilarating musical suite.  But, the price of tickets to the Nutcracker can sometimes be a little lofty, especially for a family of eight! That's why, while growing up, my family didn't attend it every single year. 
Instead, my mom would do her own version of the Nutcracker at home.
We called it the Nutcracker Party!







While E.T.A Hoffman first wrote the Nutcracker in 1816, there have been many retellings and even different variations of the original story. In each, however, Clara visits the Land of the Sweets where the Sugar Plum Fairy treats her to an array of desserts and delicacies from around the world, including places like China, Denmark, and Arabia. 

In fact, many people don't realize that each of the dances during Act II of the Nutcracker actually correspond to these different confections from their corresponding countries. For example, the Russian Dance represents candy canes, once a delicacy from Russia and the Spanish Dance represents hot chocolate from Spain.  However, when the Nutcracker ballet was created, it incorporated only a selection of the sweets mentioned in the various written versions.  Some accounts tell of balkava from Greece, egg nog from Russia, and Turkish Delight from the Mediterranean.  However, the general idea behind the story is that Clara has the opportunity to sample sweets from around the world.

 

At our Nutcracker party my mother read to us a version of the Nutcracker story, usually an abridged version of Hoffman's, and also played on the piano for us some of the music from the Ballet to familiarize us with these famous overtures and waltzes.  Then, when we reached the point in the story where Clara visits the Land of the Sweets, our mom would bring out a sampling of delicacies and confections from around the world for us to try. There were candied plums and frosted cakes, rich nougat and baklava, german spice cookies and marzipan- truly a delicious assortment of delights!

 Some years we would also watch one of the many Nutcracker films. 
Our personal favorite was "The Nutcracker Prince," an animated version, that while taking many artistic liberties, is perfect for small children. Or, for those of us willing to sit through an actual ballet, many ballet companies have professional recordings- including the famous Kirov and London's Royal Ballets- which we loved! 

This year, while fore-going the actual party, I decided to make an authentic version of the each of the sweets mentioned in the Ballet. It was such a fun undertaking and the recipes proved to be far more simple and easier than I expected!

Below is a list of the Nutcracker Sweets and their corresponding dance, in order of how they usually appear in the Ballet. If you're interested in sharing the story of the Nutcracker with your kids, or even have tickets to see it live, your children will no doubt be intrigued to taste these delicious and, in some cases, unusual confections.  

I have also included a time-saver version to make things a little easier, if you're short on time (or let's be honest, energy)! 

The Nutcracker Sweets

The Sugar Plum Fairy welcomes Clara and the Nutcracker prince to the Land of the Sweets.  Dances are then performed for them, each representing a sweet that was once only part of a fantasy world. These sweets were delicacies that were rare or from foreign countries and were difficult to obtain in the time period the Nutcracker was written.  In a day when traveling was expensive and uncommon, Clara and other little children would have heard of such delicacies but it’s unlikely they would have ever tasted them. Therefore, they belonged only in Clara’s dream world and would have delighted the minds of early readers to imagine a world where all the these sweets existed together in abundance, in

the magical Land of the Sweets!

I
Dance:  “Chocolat” or Spanish Dance

Spanish Hot Chocolate

Thick, rich chocolate delicacy.

Sweet Chocolate Version

2        C  whole milk

4 oz   milk chocolate

½ tsp. cornstarch

Pour milk into saucepan and add cornstarch. Whisk to dissolve. Heat on medium just until it boils, then remove from heat. Add chocolate squares or chips immediately and stir until completely melted. If milk cools too quickly place back over stove on low to melt. Consistently will be pudding-like.

Baking Chocolate Version

2  C whole milk 

3 oz/squares baking chocolate

1/3-1/2  C sugar

½ tsp cornstarch

Pour milk into saucepan and add cornstarch. Whisk to dissolve. Heat on medium just until it boils, then remove from heat. Add chocolate squares or chips immediately and stir until completely melted. Add sugar to desired sweetness and mix until thoroughly dissolved.   Place back on stove on medium low ONLY (higher temps will cause it to lump) stirring slowly but constantly. Mixture will thicken quickly. Remove as soon as it is thickening. Ladle immediately into cups.

Consistently will be pudding-like.

Time Saver:  Serve a chocolate bar or chocolate candies. Or have regular hot chocolate! You could dress it up with a little dollop of whip cream! 

II
Dance: Arabian Dance

Arabian Coffee

(Turkish Delight)

Arabian coffee is brewed according to the Turkish method. I substituted Turkish Delight, since I did not want to serve coffee. 

 Time Saver:  Buy "Fruit Bites" at your local store. These are essentially the same thing as Turkish Delight, but fruit flavored, instead of the traditional rose water flavor, and much easier to come by!  

III
Dance:  Chinese Dancers

Chinese Tea

                          (Chinese Tea Cookies)

        I made authentic chinese tea cookies, instead of serving actual tea.      

                     Tradition holds that the red dot in the center is for good luck!

Time Saver:   Buy some fortune cookies! You can get these at an Asian market or probably buy them from a Chinese restaurant. 

IV
Dance: Russian Dancers

Russian Candy Canes

Once only a rare delicacy from Russia

Time-Saver: None needed here. Just pick up a pack next time you're at the store- They're usually 10 for $1.00.

V
Dance:  Dance of the Danish Marzipan Shepherdesses or  Dance de Mirlitons (Reed Flutes)

Danish Marzipan Cookies

I decorated mine to look like the Mouse King! 

Marzipan Cookies - Betty Crocker

To decorate them like the Mouse King- use a heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut dough. Once baked, frost using a frosting tube or cut a tiny hole in the corner of a plastic bag to squeeze frosting through and decorate as seen above. 

Time-Saver:  You can buy store-bought marzipan or add a few drops of Almond extract to a regular sugar cookie recipe for a marzipan flavor. 

VI
Dance: Mother Gigogne et les Polichinelles

Ginger Bon Bons

While today Mother Ginger’s little children are called Bouffons, they were originally called Bons Bons (word for "candies").  These are real ginger bon bons.

Time-Saver:  You can get ginger flavored candies or serve Ginger Snap cookies. Or any other ginger-flavored treat!

VII
Dance: Sugar Plum Fairy and Cavalier Pas de Deux

(Real) Sugar Plums

Don't let the internet fool you! Today, candy manufacturers would have you believe sugar plums are either sugar glaceed dried plums or plum-flavored gummies with a sugar coating.  But REAL Sugar Plums were derived in Europe in the 1600s and are not actually plums at all. That's because the word "Plum" meant any dried fruit in those days. They consist of a mixture of chopped dates, dried fruit, nuts, honey, orange zest and spice rolled into a small ball and dusted with confectioner's sugar. 

Filling: 

2/3 C raw almonds

2/3 C Cashews

2/3 C old-fashioned rolled oats

2 tsp Cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cloves

2 tsp. whole chia seeds (I'm not sure how necessary this ingredient is- you could try it without them and see). 

Pinch salt

1 tbsp. finely grated fresh ginger

1 1/2 tbsp Molasses

1 tsp. vanilla

Up to 2 tbsp milk, as needed

Coating: 

White Chocolate or Almond Bark

Place almonds, cashews, oats, spices, chia and salt in food processor and process until it becomes like very fine meal. Add remaining ingredients and process until it starts to clump into a ball. It should stick when you pinch it with your fingers but not be wet! Only add milk if it is necessary to get it to stick. 

Scoop dough and roll into small balls. Place on plate in freezer and chill for about 20 min. 

Meanwhile, melt chocolate or almond bark. Dip frozen balls into chocolate to coat. Freeze again until hard. Remove from freezer and dip an additional time. Freeze. When hardened, dust with cinnamon. 

Time-Saver:  Get the modern, gummy version of Sugarplums available at some candy stores or online.  


And last but not least...

Some Interesting Nutcracker Facts 
(that your kids might be interested to know):

In the original story, Clara's name is Maria. 

The dancers in the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy wear tutus that cost anywhere between $5,000 to $8,000!  

The tutus worn by dancers are hand-sewn and covered in more than 200 jewels each. 

It takes 15 meters of net to make one tutu, and all of the net in the Nutcracker's tutus would stretch the length of 6 football fields. 

It takes 40 hours to make one tutu. 

If the stitchers worked 24 hours a day, it would take more than two straight months to sew all of the costumes for the Ballet. 

Each pair of handmade pointe shoes cost as much as $90 and are imported from London.  In one typical season of the Nutcracker, about 162 pointe shoes will be worn, totaling around $150,000. 

The first time the Nutcracker was performed as a ballet was in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1892. It was considered a failure. Tchaikovsky blamed his music. He died a year later, never to know what a HUGE international success it would later become. 


" Clara knew that someday her love for the Nutcracker would take her back to that magic kingdom where wonderful things await all who have eyes to see them." 

The Nutcracker, E.T.A. Hoffman