Deviled Eggs

 

12 eggs, hard boiled
6 Tab. Mayonnaise
1 Tab. Pickle juice or vinegar
1 Tab. Yellow mustard
1 tea. Pepper
2 tea. Salt
Paprika for garnish

Slice hard-boiled eggs in half lengthwise.  Carefully scoop out yolks. Place whites on a plate and se aside. Mash yolks with a fork until no large lumps are left. Add rest of the ingredients, except Paprika and mix until blended. Spoon into the whites halves.  Sprinkle with Paprika.

Cream of Brussels Sprout Soup

  This recipe comes from Twelve Months of Monastery Soups.

2 Tab. Butter

1 pound Brussels Sprouts, sliced into quarters

1 pound potatoes, peeled and diced

2 leeks or onions, sliced

3 garlic cloves

8 cups of water

salt and pepper to taste

1 bay leaf

2 cups of milk or cream

Melt the butter in a saucepan and saute the Brussels Sprouts, potatoes, onions and garlic for 1-2 minutes, stirring continuously. Add the water and seasonings and cook slowly over low-medium heat for 40-45 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Remove the bay leaf. Add milk and stir well. Blend the soup in a blender and serve hot.

If desired, cook separately some Brussels sprouts sliced into quarters to be used as a garnish on top of the soup.

Betty Crocker Merry Christmas Cookies, dark and light

1/3 cup vegetable shortening

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

2/3 cup honey for light cookies (or molasses, for dark cookies)

1 teaspoon lemon or vanilla extract, for light cookies (or for dark cookies, 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger, 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves, 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice)

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda 

1 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl, cream vegetable shortening, sugar, egg, honey, and lemon extract until light and fluffy. Sift in flour, baking soda, and salt; stir until well blended. Refrigerate dough at least 1 hour or overnight.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease Cookie Sheets.
On a lightly floured board, roll dough 1/4-inch thick with your Rolling Pin; cut into desired shapes with your favorite Cookie Cutters. Place 1-inch apart onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are light brown. Remove from oven and cool on wire cooling racks.

Cardamom Walnut Crescent Cookies

1 cup walnuts

1 tsp ground cardamom

3/4 cup confectioner's sugar

1 cup ( 2 sticks) unsalted cold butter, cut in pieces

2 tsp vanilla extract (you can use 1 tsp almond extract instead if you like)

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

coating

1/2 cup confectioner's sugar, sifted

Put the walnuts, cardamom, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Then process until the walnuts are finely ground.
Add in the pieces of COLD butter and vanilla and pulse/process until the butter is fully incorporated.
Add the flour and salt, and pulse to combine. Then process just long enough so that the dough comes together. I do a combination of pulsing and processing so everything gets thoroughly mixed, but not over mixed.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and bring it together with floured hands. Divide it into 3 pieces. Roll each piece out into a 1 1/2 inch rope. Wrap in plastic wrap and twist the ends securely. Refrigerate for at least 1 1/2 hours. You can leave the dough logs refrigerated for up to a few days if you want to make them ahead. You can also freeze them.
Preheat oven to 350F
Working with one log at a time, (keeping the others refrigerated) cut it into 1 inch pieces, and then form those into crescents with your hands. The original recipe says to freeze the cookies for 20 minutes at this point. FYI ~ I found that didn't make much of a difference so I skipped it. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for about 12 minutes until the cookies are set but not browned. They should just be beginning to show a little golden color around the edges, but that's it.
Remove and let the cookies cool on the pan.
Coat the cookies in powdered sugar after they've cooled. You can also coat them when they are still slightly warm, your choice.
Cookies will keep for a week in an airtight container at room temperature.

Pinwheels (or similar type cookie)
white chocolate chips
spearmint leaves candies, cut in half lengthwise and then in half width-wise
mini M & M's or other small red candy

Start by melting the white chocolate (In the microwave, 30 seconds at a time, mixing in between to ensure the chocolate doesn't burn.)

Take a Pinwheel and swirl upside down in the chocolate to get a nice even coating.

Top with mini M and M's and spearmint leaves either, arranged attractively on the chocolate.

Let sit to firm up. 

source: Always Made with Love

Eggnog Bread

1 (16-oz.) package pound cake mix
1 1/4 cups eggnog
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon rum extract

Preheat oven to 350°. Beat all ingredients together at low speed with an electric mixer until blended. Increase speed to medium, and beat 2 minutes. Pour into a lightly greased 9- x 5-inch loaf pan.
Bake at 350° for 1 hour to 1 hour and 5 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes. Remove from pan to wire rack, and cool completely (about 1 hour)

Eggnog Glaze:
1 1/2- cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon rum extract
eggnog (enough to make a glaze to drizzle over bread)

Drizzle with eggnog glaze, sprinkle with Christmas sprinkles and let cake sit until glaze dries.

source: MyRecipes/Southern Living

Mommy's Kitchen

Russian Tea Cakes

A Bergenholtz Family Christmas Tradition

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1 cup of butter, softened and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Blend well. Stir in 2 cups flour, 1 cup of finely chopped almonds (or other nuts) and 1/4 teaspoon salt until dough holds together. Shape into 1-inch balls (@1/2 Tablespoon). Place 1-inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes. Cool slightly. Roll in powdered sugar. Cool completely. Roll again in powdered sugar.

Makes about 5 dozen.

Ice Cream Cone Christmas Trees

These require sugar ice cream cones, white frosting tinted green, various candies for decorations.

Just turn the cone upside down on a plate, and frost with the icing.

Decorate with whatever candies you have on hand or wish to use.

Use as decorations (especially nice for gingerbread house scenes) or eat as a treat!

Aunt Hattie's Hard Jelly Cake

This is the most special dessert that I know. It has been a Christmas tradition in my father's family for generations. We always called it "Aunt Hattie's Hard Jelly Cake" because my Aunt Hattie continued to make it every year until she died. The local bakery took up making it after her death, and thirty years ago they were charging $35 for a half cake! They sold so many they had to take orders for them. It sold as soon as it was put out for sale! It is that good. It takes a long time and a lot of work to make them as they require at least 14 very thin layers that are rolled out and baked on a springform pan, so if you want to make this, set aside a whole afternoon. This torte was made at Christmas time in the days before refrigeration because it tastes even better the older it gets!

2 cups sugar

1 pound shorening

3 eggs

5 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla

6 cups flour

nutmeg to taste

1 cup milk

10 pounds grape jelly

Cream shortening and sugar. Add eggs. Mix in remaining ingredients except jelly, alternating dry ingredients and liquid. Chill dough until stiff. Roll dough on a floured surface until as thin as possible (about 1/8 inch) and place carefully so as not to tear on a lightly greased springform pan. Cut off excess dough and place ring on. Bake 450 degree oven for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Spread jelly on the layer about 1/8 inch thick, taking care not to tear the layer.

Repeat process, stacking layers until anywhere from 14-24 layers high. Two pans are really necessary to simplify the process; one layer baking while the next is being prepared.

This recipe makes 2 cakes.

Steamed Christmas Pudding

This is an old fashioned Christmas recipe. In medieval times puddings were firm and cake-like, not like the custard type puddings we think of. You can substitute the raisins with figs and have a Figgy Pudding!

Grease a 6 cup mold generously. We use a heat-resistant glass bowl. Pour 1 cup boiling water over 1 cup chopped raisins. Add 2 Tab. margarine or butter. Add 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tea. baking soda, 1 tea. salt, 1/2 cup molasses and 1 egg. Mix thoroughly to blend. Pour mixture into the mold. Cover with aluminum foil. Place mold in a Dutch Oven or other suitable large pot. Fill pot half-way with boiling water. Keep pudding in boiling water on low heat for 2 hours or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from pot and let stand 5 minutes. Serve with hard sauce.

Hard Sauce

Beat 1 stick of softened butter with 1 cup powdered sugar. Add 2 tea. vanilla extract. Refrigerate for 1 hour.