Festive Pomegranate Parfaits with Pistachios

Pomegranate Compote:

1. Cut two pomegranates in halves and juice in a citrus juicer like you would juice an orange (make sure there are no chunks in the juice, strain if necessary), keeping one more pomegranate for seeds. Remove them and keep for later. See notes below if you are using store-bought pomegranate juice.
2. Transfer the juice into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Dissolve corn starch in the same amount of cold water and combine with the pomegranate juice. Cook for one more minute, then remove from the heat and let cool. Once it's cooled a bit, add the pomegranate seeds, keeping about 1/4 for the topping.

Mascarpone Cream:

1. Combine mascarpone with cream cheese and quark (Greek yogurt or my recent favorite - Icelandic Skyr will work well too). Add honey and vanilla extract and mix to combine using a silicon spatula or a spoon. Try not to overwork the cream.

Assemble:

1. You will need four Weck tulip jars or equivalent. Place a layer of cream on the bottom of each jar (about 2 tablespoons), then a layer of pomegranate, repeating until you run out of both.
2. Sprinkle the top with chopped pistachios and dried rose petals (make sure they are edible!) and decorate with cinnamon stars or other cookies of your choice for a Christmas feel. Enjoy!