Holiday Recipes

Fresh Apple Cake

Doug Church

Ingredients:

1 cup of vegetable oil
2 cups of sugar
3 eggs
3 cups of flour
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of vanilla
3 ½ cups of chopped apples…Granny Smith preferred
1 cup of chopped pecans

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees.
   
2. Line a tube pan with oiled waxed paper or use an angel food pan with oiled wax paper on the bottom.
   
3. Mix in all the ingredients in the order listed above and continue mixing until evenly distributed.  Put the mix into the cake pan chosen and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean. 
4. Serve with ice cream, whipped cream, or a caramel icing! (Very dense and very moist because of the apples!)

Blue Crinkle Hanukkah Cookies

jennifer j. rose

Ingredients:

1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup oil
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract, preferably clear
Blue food coloring
1 cup powdered sugar, for coating

Directions:

1. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.
2. Mix the sugar and oil for 2-3 minutes or until light and fluffy in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the eggs and vanilla, mixing until combined. Add the blue food coloring, the tiniest bit at a time, mixing well.
3. Add the flour mixture slowly, mixing until fully combined.
4. Place the dough in a refrigerator container, refrigerating for anywhere from two hours to a full day.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
6. Roll the chilled dough into 1” balls, adding powdered sugar to your palms if the dough becomes sticky. Roll the dough balls in the powdered sugar until fully and generously coated.
7. Place the powdered dough balls, 2” apart, on a baking sheet lined with silicone mats or parchment paper.
8. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for five minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Green Chile Latkes

Seth Kramer

My sister and brother-in-law have lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico, for over 50 years (with extended sojourns in Turin, Italy, and Whidbey Island).

The following is their recipe for Green Chile Latkes:

Ingredients:

6 russet potatoes
2 eggs
1 onion
1 green chile

Directions:

1. Peel and shred the potatoes into a dish towel and wring them dry.
2. Chop the green chile into small, fine bits. Chop the onion. Put the shredded potatoes, the chopped onion, and chopped green chile into a mixing bowl.
3. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add a spoonful or two of flour to bind. Mix well.
4. Prepare a skillet for frying with a neutral oil, like sunflower or corn oil-not olive oil.
5. Take the bowl and pour the mix out in a pancake shape onto the skillet. Cook on low flame. Fry one side until golden brown, then flip; brown until crisp.
6. And then you have Green Chile Latkes. They may be served with sour cream or applesauce.
7. A traditional New Mexican Hanukkah celebration.

Gingerbread Cookies

Cathy Stricklin Krendl

NOTE:  These cookies are for fun with your grandchildren. They are sufficiently sturdy to handle decorations and not bad to eat.

Ingredients:

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter or margarine
2/3 cup brown sugar firmly packed
1 extra large egg
1/3 cup molasses
2 ¾ cups unsifted flour (spoon flour into measuring cup)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
½ teaspoon nutmeg

Directions:

1. Cream together butter and sugar.
2. Add egg and molasses, and mix well.
3. Combine remaining ingredients.
4. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture and mix well.
5. Refrigerate dough until thoroughly chilled.
6. Using about 1/3 of dough at a time, roll out dough about ¼ inch thick on floured surface.
7. Cut into shapes and, using spatula, transfer to greased baking sheet.
8. Bake 350-375 degrees for 8 or more minutes, depending on your oven and thickness of cookies.
9. Decorations:  Decorate with Christmas candy before baking and add icing after the cookies are cool.
10. (Make your own icing or buy cans of pre-made icing of different colors. Your grandkids will prefer pre-mixed!)
11. If you want to use as tree decorations, place short straws at top of cookies before baking. Remove straws after baking.

Coconut Eggnog

Michelle Smith

Ingredients:

2 Cans (12 oz. each) Evaporated Milk
1 Can (15 oz.) Cream of Coconut
2 Cans (13.5 oz.) Coconut Milk
1 Can (14 oz) Sweetened Condensed Milk
½ cup Coconut Rum

Directions:

Mix all together and enjoy! This is a great holiday drink!

You can leave out the rum for a non-alcoholic drink or add a whole cup of rum for you adventure seekers! This drink is good any time of the year, not just the holidays!

www.bonniemichellesmith.com

Chrusciki (by Henrietta Jaskiewicz 1934 – 1991)

Stanley P. Jaskiewicz

Ingredients:

6 – 10 egg yolks
4 heaping tbsp. sour cream
1 tbsp powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp brandy
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
Flour
Grated rind of ¼ lemon

Directions:

1. Have the egg yolks at room temperature.
   
2. Mix egg yolks, sour cream, powdered sugar, vanilla and baking soda well.
   
3. Stir the yolks of 5 eggs with 2 tablespoons of sugar to make very smooth. 
   
4. Stir in 5 tablespoons of sour cream and the grated rind of ¼ lemon.
   
5. Then stir in 1 tablespoon of brandy.
   
6. Sift and measure 2½ cups of flour (enough flour to make the dough soft).
   
7. Add ½ teaspoon of salt and sift again.
   
8. Blend these sifted ingredients a part at a time in egg mixture. 
   
9. Turn it out on a flour dusted board and knead it very well.
   
10. Roll out, cut and then fry. 
    
11. (The recipe card does not say this, but I recall the frying in a pot with heated oil.  One of the recipe sites says, “On a floured surface, roll each section paper-thin to at least 12” across. Cut into 1 1/4-inch strips. Cut strips into 5-inch lengths. Make a slit in each strip. Pull one end through slit to make a bow tie.”  I recall my mother simply twisting the strips, rather than pulling them through a hole.)
    
12. Deep fry in oil at about 350-365° F for about 30 seconds, turning once using 2 forks, until lightly golden on both sides. Do not crowd.”)
    
13. Drain.
    
14. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Pumpkin “Garam Masala” Ginger Cake

Tracey Moore

(Adapted/recipe hack from French ginger pumpkin pie recipe)

Ingredients:

1 16 oz can pumpkin puree
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
½ stick unsalted butter, melted
½ cup heavy whipping cream
2-3 tbsp fresh ginger root, spoon peeled and grated fine (food processor is great for this task)
2 cups flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
½ tsp grated nutmeg
¼ tsp ground allspice
1/8 tsp ground cloves
¼-1/8 fresh ground black pepper (to taste)
½ cup dark chocolate chips
Turbinado sugar (for coating baking pan)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350. 
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine pumpkin with eggs, sugar, grated ginger, and whipping cream. Add melted butter and stir to combine.
   
3. In a different bowl, put flour, baking powder, soda, salt and spices. Stir to combine. Add flour mixture gradually to the pumpkin mixture until you have a smooth, soft, somewhat thick batter; do not overwork. Fold in chocolate chips.
4. Liberally coat the inside of a decorative fluted or bundt pan with baking spray or butter. Add generous amount of sugar to thoroughly coat the inside of the pan so cake turns out easily.
5. Pour batter in the pan. Tap pan on counter a couple of times to level batter and allow air bubbles rise to surface.  Don’t forget to lick the bowl – batter is delicious!
6. Bake cake on lower shelf of oven for approximately 40-45 minutes. The cake is done when testing knife comes out clean or with just a couple of moist crumbs (there is carryover cooking).
7. Allow cake to cool in pan on a rack for 10 minutes; put inverted plate on top of cake and turn over quickly to release the cake from the pan. Allow cake to cool on plate. Very tasty when still warm from oven, and the cake’s flavor improves as it stands.