Holiday Treats from My Mother's Kitchen
Every year my mother started baking for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving was finished. (That's in October for us Canucks.) Cookies, cakes, pastries, and all kinds of other goodies filled the cupboards and freezers.
I don't get to bake as much these days, but I still remember the smell of my mother's kitchen, and it's still one of my favourite memories of the holiday season.
In My Mother's Cupboards...
After six weeks of constant baking my mother's cupboards were full of goodies. Here's just a few of my favourites.
- Traditional Shortbread Cookies
- Braided Coffee Cake
- Homemade Nuts & Bolts
- Moonglow Dinner Rolls
- Granny's Pecan Pie
Tastiest Holiday Treat: Shortbread Cookies
My Mom always made about 4 or 5 different types of shortbread every year. This is my favourite of them all.
Combine the following ingredients:
1 lb. butter
1 cup fruit sugar
4 cups flour
Roll and cut into circles or shapes.
Bake in 225 degree oven (until more or less dried out).
Gotta love my mom's way of cooking. She learned from her mother and they never put complete cooking instructions on anything. At least this recipe has measurements. My granny's version of this uses handfuls and fistfuls as measurements!
Combine the following ingredients:
1 lb. butter
1 cup fruit sugar
4 cups flour
Roll and cut into circles or shapes.
Bake in 225 degree oven (until more or less dried out).
Gotta love my mom's way of cooking. She learned from her mother and they never put complete cooking instructions on anything. At least this recipe has measurements. My granny's version of this uses handfuls and fistfuls as measurements!
Tastiest Holiday Treat: Braided Coffee Cake
Our traditional Christmas breakfast while opening presents
The Dough:
Dissolve 1 pkg yeast in 1/4 cup warm water.
Combine:
1/2 cup scalded milk
1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp sugar
Let cool, and then stir in:
2 unbeaten eggs
softened yeast mixture
Gradually add 3 1/4 to 3 1/2 cups of all purpose flour to form stiff dough.
Beat well after each addition.
Cover and let rise in a warm place.
The Filling:
Cream together:
1/4 cup soft butter
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp maple flavouring
Toss dough on floured surface to coat with flour.
Divide in half.
Roll each portion into a 4x8 rectangle.
Spread with filling.
Sprinkle nuts (walnuts or almonds work best) and candied cherries over this.
Roll starting with long side.
Cut roll in half lengthwise.
Twist strips into braid, cut sides up.
Shape in well greased ring pan (8 or 9 inch size)
Cover and let rise in room until light.
Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes
Frost with Icing Sugar Icing when done.
(In true mother fashion, I'm sure she knew how to make icing sugar icing so there's no instructions for it in any of her books or boxes. So here's a recipe for Powdered Sugar Icing that should do the trick.)
Dissolve 1 pkg yeast in 1/4 cup warm water.
Combine:
1/2 cup scalded milk
1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp sugar
Let cool, and then stir in:
2 unbeaten eggs
softened yeast mixture
Gradually add 3 1/4 to 3 1/2 cups of all purpose flour to form stiff dough.
Beat well after each addition.
Cover and let rise in a warm place.
The Filling:
Cream together:
1/4 cup soft butter
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp maple flavouring
Toss dough on floured surface to coat with flour.
Divide in half.
Roll each portion into a 4x8 rectangle.
Spread with filling.
Sprinkle nuts (walnuts or almonds work best) and candied cherries over this.
Roll starting with long side.
Cut roll in half lengthwise.
Twist strips into braid, cut sides up.
Shape in well greased ring pan (8 or 9 inch size)
Cover and let rise in room until light.
Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes
Frost with Icing Sugar Icing when done.
(In true mother fashion, I'm sure she knew how to make icing sugar icing so there's no instructions for it in any of her books or boxes. So here's a recipe for Powdered Sugar Icing that should do the trick.)
What's Your Favourite Holiday Treat?
Share your favourite holiday treats here.
submit
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Reply
- Barkely Barkely Nov 11, 2007 @ 5:34 pm
- Yum, I love holiday recipes!
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Reply
- whytedove whytedove Nov 11, 2007 @ 11:57 am
- Hi Tiff, I'm not very good at it either. I am really good at making a mess trying though. ~LOL
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Reply
- writertiff writertiff Nov 11, 2007 @ 10:03 am
- I'm a horrible cook!
Tastiest Holiday Treats: Mom's Nuts & Bolts
These are way more tasty than any store-bought version!
Melt in large pan (I always use the turkey-sized roasting pan):
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 tbsp worcester sauce
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp celery salt
1/2 tsp onion salt
1/2 tsp paprika
Then add:
2 cups cheerios
2 cups pretzels (sticks are best)
2 cups cheese tidbits
1 1/2 cups peanuts (optional)
Mix well.
Leave in oven at 250 for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 tbsp worcester sauce
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp celery salt
1/2 tsp onion salt
1/2 tsp paprika
Then add:
2 cups cheerios
2 cups pretzels (sticks are best)
2 cups cheese tidbits
1 1/2 cups peanuts (optional)
Mix well.
Leave in oven at 250 for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
Tastiest Holiday Treats: Moonglow Dinner Rolls
Who says holiday treats have to be sweets and snacks?
I had to include my mom's dinner rolls in my tastiest holiday treats because this was the only time of year she made them. Mind you, she always made about 10 or 12 dozen and we had enough for Christmas, Boxing Day, and to give a few bags away to friends too.
So here they are... Moonglow Dinner Rolls
In a small bowl, place:
1 pkg dry yeast
1/4 cup lukewarm water
1 tsp granulated sugar
and let stand for 10 minutes.
In a large bowl, place:
3/4 cup scalded milk
1 tbsp shortening
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
and let cool.
When cooled, add:
1 well beaten egg and the yeast mixture
Then add 2 1/2 cups sifted flour and work until smooth.
Place dough in a greased bowl and cover.
Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Roll on floured board and spread with soft butter.
Fold over and wrap in wax paper, then refrigerate.
Repeat this process 3 times, allowing at least 1/2 hour between punching down.
After last time, remove from fridge, then
Divide in half and roll each into a circle and cut in eighths.
Roll each wedge into crescents.
Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size.
Brush with egg whites and sprinkle with poppy seeds or sesame seeds if desired.
Bake at 400 for 10 to 12 minutes.
(Wow... just typing recipe out made me tired. I can understand now why my mom only made these once a year!)
So here they are... Moonglow Dinner Rolls
In a small bowl, place:
1 pkg dry yeast
1/4 cup lukewarm water
1 tsp granulated sugar
and let stand for 10 minutes.
In a large bowl, place:
3/4 cup scalded milk
1 tbsp shortening
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
and let cool.
When cooled, add:
1 well beaten egg and the yeast mixture
Then add 2 1/2 cups sifted flour and work until smooth.
Place dough in a greased bowl and cover.
Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Roll on floured board and spread with soft butter.
Fold over and wrap in wax paper, then refrigerate.
Repeat this process 3 times, allowing at least 1/2 hour between punching down.
After last time, remove from fridge, then
Divide in half and roll each into a circle and cut in eighths.
Roll each wedge into crescents.
Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size.
Brush with egg whites and sprinkle with poppy seeds or sesame seeds if desired.
Bake at 400 for 10 to 12 minutes.
(Wow... just typing recipe out made me tired. I can understand now why my mom only made these once a year!)
Tastiest Holiday Treat: Granny's Pecan Pie
The secret is finally out!
I have to admit I never developed a liking for pecan pie, but it was a favourite with everyone else in our family. And it was always a bone of contention between my mother and my grandmother. You see, Mom could never get her pie to turn out as well as my granny's and could never figure out why considering that she was using the same recipe, or so we thought.
It wasn't until after my granny had passed away that we found out that she had changed the recipe just a bit before giving it to my mom!
Here it is... My granny's pecan pie:
Beat 3 eggs well.
Add 1 cup sugar,
1 cup white corn syrup,
1/4 cup melted butter,
1 teaspoon vanilla,
and 1 cup chopped pecans
to the beaten eggs.
Pour into an uncooked pie shell and cook in preheated 350F oven for 30 to 45 minutes until set as custard.
It wasn't until after my granny had passed away that we found out that she had changed the recipe just a bit before giving it to my mom!
Here it is... My granny's pecan pie:
Beat 3 eggs well.
Add 1 cup sugar,
1 cup white corn syrup,
1/4 cup melted butter,
1 teaspoon vanilla,
and 1 cup chopped pecans
to the beaten eggs.
Pour into an uncooked pie shell and cook in preheated 350F oven for 30 to 45 minutes until set as custard.
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