Christmas

Le Gibassier Toddy

by:
December 19, 2010
5
2 Ratings
Le Gibassier Toddy
  • Serves 2
Author Notes

I am obsessed with Le Gibassier, a delicious, sweet, brioche-type bread studded with candied orange peel and anise seed. Obsessed. I decided to try to fashion a toddy with the delightful flavors of Le Gibassier. - hardlikearmour —hardlikearmour

Test Kitchen Notes

The flavors in hardlikearmour's toddy come together beautifully. The orange and anise hit all the right notes, with neither overpowering the other. The drink is balanced between sweet, spicy and boozy, making it sippable with just enough punch to warm you up on a chilly evening. —suchachef

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 teaspoon whole anise seed
  • 1 star anise pod (plus additional for garnish if desired)
  • 2 ounces good quality bourbon (I used Woodford Reserve)
  • 1 ounce Cointreau (or other orange liqueur)
  • Juice of 1 large orange, strained (approx. 1/3 cup)
  • 3 tablespoons simple syrup or 2 tablespoons honey (plus additional to taste)
  • 1/2 teaspoon orange blossom water (optional)
  • thin coils of orange peel as garnish if desired
Directions
  1. Bring water, anise seed, and star anise pod to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
  2. Combine bourbon, Cointreau, orange juice, syrup or honey, and orange blossom water in 4-cup glass measure or other suitable vessel. Strain anise infused water into same vessel. Taste and add additional syrup or honey if needed.
  3. Divide between two mugs, and garnish each with star anise pod and orange peel as desired. Drink with glee!
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hardlikearmour

Recipe by: hardlikearmour

I am an amateur baker and cake decorator. I enjoy cooking, as well as eating and feeding others. I live in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with my husband and our menagerie. I enjoy outdoor activities including hiking, mushroom hunting, tide pooling, beach combing, and snowboarding.

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21 Reviews

LeBec F.
LeBec F. January 8, 2014
hla, well, i'm learning again from you. had never heard of this Gibassier thing, which surprises me; have never seen it in a bakery or in a baking book. But it surely has elements i love. I would really like to make your toddy but forgive me for asking- do you think dark rum or Irish Whiskey could work , flavorwise,instead of the bourbon? i don't care for bourbon.

I LOVED Pearl bakery when we last visited. I am always looking for truly unique cookies and i remember they had one (maybe Orange something) that really impressed me. What talented folks...
(Did the Kouign Amman thing blow through Portland in the last yr? After the feature in the NYTimes, it started showing up in a few places in Boston.)

Congrats on your EP and i hope to riff on this recipe soon.
 
kiki-bee
kiki-bee November 6, 2011
Gibassier is my all-time favorite thing, both to make and to eat... sadly, I can no longer eat gluten. This might be a good substitute, though! Going to try it very soon =)
 
hardlikearmour
hardlikearmour November 6, 2011
I'm definitely a glutton for Gibassier! You should check out my recipe for Gibassier inspired muffins. I bet you could make them with one of the gluten-free AP flours.
 
gingerroot
gingerroot December 31, 2010
Cheers, hardlikearmour! Congrats on the EP! Happy New Year...looking forward to all your recipes to come...
 
hardlikearmour
hardlikearmour December 31, 2010
Thanks, gingerroot, and "right back at ya!" Happy New Year!
 
lapadia
lapadia December 30, 2010
Congrats on your EP, hardlikearmour!
 
hardlikearmour
hardlikearmour December 30, 2010
Thanks, lapadia! I was surprised and honored.
 
AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames December 30, 2010
Surprised? This one has "winner" written all over it. Still haven't tried this, but hope to within the next few days. ;o)
 
hardlikearmour
hardlikearmour December 30, 2010
Thanks, AJ! I think you'll enjoy it if you get a chance to try it. I got the fixings for making both Amanda and Merrills toddys (in order to vote fairly ;) ), otherwise I would've grabbed your White Christmas - it sounds decadently delicious!
 
lapadia
lapadia December 22, 2010
I have a sister in Forest Grove, we are hoping to take a trip south soon, will remember the Pearl Bakery; we also are hoping to get reservations at the Beast sometime, have you been there?
 
hardlikearmour
hardlikearmour December 22, 2010
I have not eaten at Beast, as it seems very meat-centric to me and I'm not a huge meat eater. Everyone I know who's eaten there really liked it, so I'm sure it's a great choice. Its kinda hard to go wrong eating in Portland; we've got some great restaurants.
 
lapadia
lapadia December 22, 2010
Love the toddy recipe, must look up the recipe for Gibassier, too!
 
hardlikearmour
hardlikearmour December 22, 2010
Thanks. If you ever make it to Portland, they have delicious Gibassier at the Pearl Bakery.
 
mrslarkin
mrslarkin December 20, 2010
Love the orange/anise combo in anything. What is this Gibassier you speak of??? I am intrigued! A quick search on the google produced this gem: http://breadbaby.blogspot.com/2008/12/le-gibassier.html And looky, looky, they've got a recipe for a Gibassier scone, too!
 
hardlikearmour
hardlikearmour December 20, 2010
Nice find! You should give the scone a whirl for sure. I'm candying some orange peel so I can try making true Gibassier, plus I may try making a brioche or challah loaf with the flavors for french toast. The lemon anise snowflake from the wild yeast blog is Gibassier-like.
 
AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames December 20, 2010
Love this recipe! Looks so good. I'm thinking it might be the perfect use for some of the extra syrup left over from my candied orange peel project (a really nice problem to have, by the way, figuring out how to use that orange syrup . . . . ) Just love the combination of anise seed and star anise with the bourbon + Cointreau. Definitely going to try this one, soon!!! ;o)
 
hardlikearmour
hardlikearmour December 20, 2010
Thanks, AJ. I love having the orange syrup from candied orange peel. It's great for sweetening tea. It does seem to crystallize fairly rapidly for me, it's only downfall.
 
Sagegreen
Sagegreen December 20, 2010
I like this, too! We could have our own le Gibassier club.
 
hardlikearmour
hardlikearmour December 20, 2010
I would gladly join a Gibassier club!
 
hardlikearmour
hardlikearmour December 20, 2010
Don't do it, Midge... you don't want to become obsessed!
 
Midge
Midge December 20, 2010
Yum, I must find a le Gibassier soon. Your toddy sounds delicious too.