Holiday Recipes - Traditions - or just something you want to share

[Chipmunk]

I have been wanting to post this for a couple of days now since I was baking the other day for an annual Christmas party that I attend with some other mothers. I love to bake but I am also not one of those people that keeps up with my clutter very well so I don't have a lot of space - but making cookies is my favorite and I am so glad that my mother was able to get reprint copies of her 1950's Betty Crocker cookbook that she received as a wedding present (in 1950) because it has two of my favorite cookie recipes in it, Snickerdoodles and Oatmeal Raisin cookies.  I am not sure if I can actually post those recipes on this open public forum since they are copyright but I am willing to send them in a PM if you would like. 

Most Snickerdoodle cookies I ever taste at the store or even other bakeries are always soft and just never like the ones my mom made for us. I always thought it was the cream of tarter in them but a local bakery said their recipe used it and they were still soft as well. My mother's cookies always puffed up and cracked and then when they cooled they were crisp. They are the best milk dipping cookie I have ever had in my opinion!!  You roll them in a cinnamon sugar mixture but I have a child that became allergic to cinnamon so I started rolling them in either green or red crystal sugar and they make the prettiest Christmas cookies. I love my smallest metal cookie scoop to help me get the appropriate rounded size that I need and you may also use a small melon baller, you just have to tap out the dough.

My mother's Oatmeal Raisin cookie recipe called for molasses and those you had to cook just right (mostly don't over bake) so that they came out warm and soft but when they cooled they still tended to stay slightly chewy and not too crisp. My child with the cinnamon allergy also became lactose intolerant so one year I was trying to figure out what cookies I could make and I realized both of these recipes used shortening instead of butter. And I substituted a smaller amount of nutmeg for the cinnamon in the oatmeal cookies and I was back in business with baking for my kids! 

Since I don't bake as often, I started buying the Crisco shortening bricks. It is a little more expensive but if unopened it lasts longer and honestly, it is easier to cut and measure or use the entire brick than it is measuring out your shortening in a measuring cup. A tip - if you are measuring shortening or peanut butter and you have to also measure sugar, if you are able to do it in the same measuring cup, do your shortening first then your sugar and you can easily scrape out the remainder of your shortening or peanut butter.  - Just a cooking tip from my mother who was a Home Economics teacher.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, Happy Holidays to all! I look forward to your reply.

[VintageGal]

Good morning chipmunk!
I’m so excited for this discussion about holiday food traditions. One that is a must in my home that usually begins in the fall is to make my mothers recipe for pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. It’s funny, I sent my sailor a batch and my mother sent him about three batches not knowing that I had already mailed mine!
Another dessert that my mother always makes around the holidays, specifically with my sailor in mind, is her apple crisp. Did I mention that my sailor is the first grandchild out of seven? Spoiled and he knows it <3 tears... My mother-in-law makes fudge and my sister-in-law bakes candy cane bread. The candycane bread is filled with cherries and cream cheese and it is a favorite with the nieces and nephews!

So the Christmas traditions that I have made with my children and that I had growing up was to have Pillsbury orange sweet rolls on Christmas morning along with my pampered chef recipe for ham and egg breakfast casserole. I could of course look up a recipe to make homemade orange sweet rolls but the tradition is and always will be from Pillsbury lol that’s my story and I’m sticking to it! My son would say its because I like to avoid baking. HA! Yeah. 

Another request from the children is to make the Ruth’s Chris steak House recipe for their sweet potato casserole. Which is whipped sweet potatoes topped with a crushed pecan, melted butter, flour, and  brown sugar topping. It’s amazing! 

Chipmunk, thank you so much for giving us a place to share our Christmas foodie traditions! Merry Christmas! 

[Chipmunk]

VintageGal - My mother always made a special yeast bread for Christmas versus her cinnamon rolls she made many Saturday mornings to have for our Sunday breakfast. I remember one year she made a braid that she filled with cherry pie filling!!  I never perfected yeast bread well enough to whip it out. So we used Pillsbury as well both orange and cinnamon (pre-allergy) and it became a tradition to place the rolls in the shape of a Christmas tree. Two cans required, and then the children would decorate the tops with Christmas sprinkles. I love to make sugar cookies but somehow, my kitchen space and lots of kids and things - well I don't get as many cookies made as I have sprinkles for so they get used whenever possible. 

I am sure your sailor shared his cookies! Those and the Candy Cane Bread sound wonderful!!

[warriorprotector]

Thank you for starting this Chipmunk! Will add once I'm near my computer...doing from phone is hard. Lol! 

[Phoenixmom]

What a Great Idea Chipmunk, loving this !

[Phoenixmom]

So here is a tradition that we do for Christmas:

Mexican Buñuelos:

• 2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon of butter melted and already cool
• About ¾ cup of warm water *
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence **
• About 2 cups of vegetable oil to fry the Buñuelos
• Sugar to sprinkle

Instructions

Mexican Buñuelos

• In a large bowl mix flour, baking powder, 1 Tablespoon of sugar and ½ teaspoon of salt.
• Form a well in the center and add the egg, melted butter and vanilla. Mix until mixture resembles a coarse meal. Slowly add the water a tablespoon at a time, mixing and kneading until you have a soft and smooth dough. This will take less than 5 minutes. Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and let it rest for 30 minutes.
• While the dough is resting prepare your working area with a rolling pin, a large dish with paper towel or open paper bags, extra flour for rolling the circles, a large frying pan with the vegetable oil ready for the moment you start frying the Buñuelos.
• Divide the dough in 12 small balls and cover. Heat ¾ inch of oil the large frying pan.
• Place one of the dough balls in your already floured working surface and stretch with your rolling pin. Roll out each ball to forma a circle as thin as possible without breaking the dough.
• To give that extra stretching to the Buñuelo, place on the inverted bowl or clay pot covered with the pastry towel and pull the edges very gentle. The Buñuelo should be thin almost transparent. Before cooking, some people like to place all the already former buñuelos over a clean tablecloth, in a large table, making sure they don’t touch each other. This step will dry the dough, the buñuelos will be even crispier, and absorb less oil while cooking.
• Fry the buñuelos in very hot oil until they are golden and crispy. This step will take a few seconds. Place the buñuelos on a plate covered with paper towels to drain the excess oil. Serve warm or at room temperature and sprinkle with sugar. If you do not sprinkle the sugar right away they can still be nice and crispy for another day and just add the sugar at serving time. If you prefer to serve them warm, place them in your oven in a low setting for 5 minutes. Now, we need some hot chocolate to go along with the buñuelos.

Notes

*Anise tea is very often used instead of plain water and vanilla lending a sweet aroma to the buñuelos. To make anise tea, place 1 ½ cup of water in a small saucepan. Bring the water to a boil, add the anise seeds and set aside to cool. Strain and use the amount needed to make a dough.

** You can also use orange liqueur or essence instead of vanilla. 

[Chipmunk]

Phoenixmom - those sound so yummy!!