No Bake Christmas Log
What makes a Christmas treat a yearly favorite in your family? For me, it needs to be delicious, festive, easy to make, and universally loved, and this No-Bake Christmas Log checks all the boxes. It’s as easy as crushing cookies and nuts in a food processor and melting vegan chocolate, and who doesn’t love nuts, chocolate and cookies together? Plus, decorating it is fun for the whole family, so if you’ve been wanting to start another fun holiday food tradition, look no further!
Today I want to share a very special recipe with you. It’s a traditional Maltese Christmas Log that you’ll find on pretty much every table in my country on December 25. While some families get creative with extra ingredients, the basic premise is always the same: crushed cookies and nuts are mixed with condensed milk, rolled into a log and covered in chocolate.
The original Maltese log doesn’t exactly fit the definition of vegan, but by now you probably know that I can never resist the challenge of adapting something I love to suit my healthier way of eating!
This one honestly wasn’t that hard to adapt, but because there was no getting around the store-bought cookies (yet), I can’t say it’s 100% whole food plant-based in the sense that you’ll likely find some ingredients in the cookies that you probably wouldn’t want to consume every day.
Nevertheless, it’s a healthier version than the one we usually have without giving up what makes it so special. And I plan on making it even healthier next time around… I already have a few ideas, but you’ll have to wait for next year!
Another reason to make this log?
Kids love helping with the chocolate coating. There’s something fun and very soothing about swirling a log pattern into the chocolate coating with a fork – it’s almost like tending to a Zen rock garden, but you get to eat it later!
Now let’s talk cookies (because who doesn’t want to talk cookies?!).
You’ll see I used two kinds in this recipe, and depending on where you live, they might be unfamiliar to you. There’s a lot of leeway when it comes to the cookies you use in these logs, so don’t go crazy trying to track down exactly what I used. The closest thing to morning coffee cookies that I’ve seen in the U.S. would be Nabisco Social Tea Biscuits. I think Lorna Doones would also work, although the Social Tea cookies are a closer match.
The digestive cookies should be easier to find, especially if your store has an international foods aisle with a UK section. If not, you can use graham crackers – they’re not the same when eaten whole, but they work similarly when crushed up in desserts.
And about the nuts, you can use any mixture you’d like. I do think you need to use at least two types, but otherwise, feel free to use the ones your family loves as long as the total amount is the same as my recipe. And please do weigh everything as it doesn’t turn out the same when I measure with cups.
Any time I make a new recipe – and this is especially true when it’s a dessert – I get help from taste testers (or we can call them what they really are: hungry family members). Both my dad and my brother said this log is better than the one I usually make, which is quite a win in my book.
Also, since Christmas is the season of giving, I always like to give myself a little present by making two of these at once and freezing one for later (or cutting the one I make in half and freezing the other half if my holiday crowd will be small). There’s something special and dare I say rebellious about indulging in this holiday treat in the summer =).
Of course, you might just find yourself taking that second log out sooner when you see how quickly the first one vanishes!
Ingredients:
Makes 1 9-inch Christmas Log, about 20 slices
Dry Ingredients:
-40 g (1 ½ oz) hazelnuts, unshelled
-25 g (0.9 oz) walnuts
-25 g (0.9 oz) almonds
-25 g (0.9 oz) Brazil nuts
-25 g (0.9 oz) cashews
-25 g (0.9 oz) pecans
-75 g (2.6 oz) vegan morning coffee cookies (or similar)
-125 g (4.4 oz) vegan digestive cookies (or similar)
-1 ½ tablespoon (15 g) vegan chocolate drops/chips
-1 tablespoon cacao powder
Wet Ingredients:
-1 small can (210 ml / 7 fluid oz) Condensed Coconut Milk
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract
-juice of half a lemon
Optional: 1 ½ tablespoon aperitive drink – I used Martini & Rossi Rosso Sweet Vermouth
To cover:
-100 g / 3.5 oz vegan chocolate
Optional: A dusting of powdered sugar (for a snow-like effect)
Method:
1. In a food processor, crush the hazelnuts, walnuts, pecans and cashews. You don’t need to process them to the point where they become flour-like. I like leaving a few chunks, but not too many large bits. Be careful not to overprocess them or they’ll start turning into nut butter.
2. Transfer the crushed nuts into a large bowl. Add the almonds and Brazil nuts to the food processor and repeat step 1.
3. Transfer the crushed almonds and brazil nuts into the large bowl with the rest of the crushed nuts.
4. Add the digestive biscuits and morning coffee biscuits to the food processor. Crush into a flour-like consistency, then transfer the crushed biscuits to the large bowl with the crushed nuts.
5. Add the chocolate drops/chips and cocoa powder to the mixture in the large bowl and mix everything thoroughly with a whisk.
6. Next, add the condensed milk to the bowl and mix with a wooden spoon. It should take a few minutes to incorporate the milk well with the dry ingredients.
7. Add the lemon juice, vanilla extract and alcohol (if using), and continue mixing until it becomes quite hard to mix it further. You should feel it in your arms – It’s quite a workout!
8. Once the mixture is mixed well, lay about a foot of plastic wrap across your table or kitchen counter.
9. Take the mixture into your hand and form it into a rough, short log. Place it onto the plastic wrap and use your hands to form it into a more precise log of around 9 inches long.
10. Wrap the plastic wrap around it from the sides and use the wrap to press the log into a better shape. Make sure the plastic wrap is pressed tightly so the mixture will remain compact.
11. Place the log on a flat dish or plate and put it in the fridge. Let it sit for at least 12 hours, or overnight.
12. Take the Christmas Log out of the fridge and remove it from the plastic wrap. It should be very hard. Place it on a flat baking dish.
13. Chop the chocolate into chunks, put the chunks in a microwave-safe dish, and put them in the microwave to melt. They should be melted in about 3 minutes or so. Check with a teaspoon and make sure you don’t overheat it or the chocolate will stick to the dish and go to waste.
14. Working quickly so the chocolate doesn’t harden, use a tablespoon to pour the melted chocolate over the Christmas Log and make sure that the edges and ends are covered well.
15. Before the chocolate sets, use a fork to add a pattern to your log, as seen in the pictures above. There’s no right or wrong way to do this. I like to make mine look similar to a log in keeping with the theme of the dessert.
16. Once you’re ready, let it sit so the chocolate cools completely. Depending on the temperature in your kitchen, this can take as long as an hour.
17. If you’re adding some powdered sugar on top, do it after the chocolate has fully cooled. Using a small sifter and a teaspoon, sprinkle some icing sugar over the log for a snow-like effect. This is optional.
18. Transfer to the fridge to continue to harden and set. When it’s set completely, store it in an air-tight container in the fridge. It stores well for up to 15 days.
19. You can also freeze it by halving the log, wrapping each portion in baking paper and then in foil, and then placing the two halves in a freezer-friendly bag. It stores well for up to 6 months. Nothing beats having a slice of Christmas Log in summer!
Nutritional Facts per slice:
Calories: 181
Carbs: 13.7 g
Protein: 3 g
Fat: 12.6 g
Fiber: 1.9 g