Holiday Baking - Looking for recipes!

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NewlySenior

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Location
Midwest US
I haven't done any holiday baking in a few years but I'm planning to do something this year, so I'm starting to go through recipes and accumulate ingredients. This year is the year I will finally get around to making gingerbread. If anyone has a great gingerbread recipe (even better if from 'the old days' or a genuine heirloom recipe from Europe, I would welcome it as well as any of your favorite holiday receipes.
 

Chocolate Hermits (modified from Epcot's Hermit Cookie recipe):

1 cup shortening
1 stick butter or margarine
2 cups brown sugar
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
3 eggs
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups pecans (or more....I love a "nutty" cookie)
one bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips (or more if you want)

Now if you want to make the "original" hermit cookies, leave out the chocolate chips and add 2 cups raisins and 8 oz chopped citron. But if I'm going to bake cookies, they had better be CHOCOLATE!

Blend shortening, butter or margarine, brown sugar, salt, soda & cinnamon. Add the eggs and blend. Add flour, blend. Add the pecans, blend.

There are two ways to bake these. You can make cookies by dropping spoonfuls on a greased cookie sheet or you can make bars by pressing mixture into greased baking pan . I prefer the bars.

Bake at 375 degrees. 20 minutes more-or-less for cookies. Longer for the bars. If you undercook a bit, you get nice moist chewy soft cookies and bars. Bake longer and you get firmer ones.

I only make these for Christmas because, frankly, it costs a fortune to make and it's a lot of trouble to boot. They're worth it, though, ONCE a year. And only those I love get them. Everyone else gets regular cookies....LOL.
 

Here's another "interesting" no-bake cookie that my mother used to make. You either like them or you don't. I loved them.

Orange Balls:

1 box Nilla Wafers (no substitutes, please), finely crushed
1 stick of salted butter
1 small can of frozen orange juice.
1 box powdered sugar
8 oz. flaked coconut

Cream sugar, butter and the juice (use straight from the can) together until smooth.

Add the crushed Nilla wafers and blend.

Chill mixture for 30 minutes.

Roll into small balls and roll in the flaked coconut.

Keep refrigerated until use. They can also be frozen and brought out to thaw.

As I said, some people don't like them, they are strongly flavored. Some people fall on them like ravenous wolverines. I'm one of the latter.
 
NewlySenior said:
I haven't done any holiday baking in a few years but I'm planning to do something this year, so I'm starting to go through recipes and accumulate ingredients. This year is the year I will finally get around to making gingerbread. If anyone has a great gingerbread recipe (even better if from 'the old days' or a genuine heirloom recipe from Europe, I would welcome it as well as any of your favorite holiday receipes.
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Do you like a snappy gingerbread cookie, or is a softish one ok?

I have a gingerbread cookie recipe from the early 1940s. My mom always made them for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and I made them when my kids were kids.

They're softish, kind of labor-intensive, the dough needs to age for a few days, and the cookies need to be frosted or at least decorated with icing. But they're really, really yummy.

Want the recipe?
 
jujube said:
Here's another "interesting" no-bake cookie that my mother used to make. You either like them or you don't. I loved them.

Orange Balls:

1 box Nilla Wafers (no substitutes, please), finely crushed
1 stick of salted butter
1 small can of frozen orange juice.
1 box powdered sugar
8 oz. flaked coconut

Cream sugar, butter and the juice (use straight from the can) together until smooth.

Add the crushed Nilla wafers and blend.

Chill mixture for 30 minutes.

Roll into small balls and roll in the flaked coconut.

Keep refrigerated until use. They can also be frozen and brought out to thaw.

As I said, some people don't like them, they are strongly flavored. Some people fall on them like ravenous wolverines. I'm one of the latter.
Click to expand...
LOVE IT! Definitely going to make these, always good to have something a bit citrus-y to cut through all of the chocolate :D
 
Murrmurr said:
Do you like a snappy gingerbread cookie, or is a softish one ok?

I have a gingerbread cookie recipe from the early 1940s. My mom always made them for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and I made them when my kids were kids.

They're softish, kind of labor-intensive, the dough needs to age for a few days, and the cookies need to be frosted or at least decorated with icing. But they're really, really yummy.

Want the recipe?
Click to expand...
YES PLEASE! Love chewy gingerbread. I'll probably make like the Germans and dip them in melted chocolate
 
NewlySenior said:
YES PLEASE! Love chewy gingerbread. I'll probably make like the Germans and dip them in melted chocolate
Click to expand...
Gammy's Gingies

In a large bowl, mix:
1/3 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar (packed)
1/2 cup dark molasses

Stir in 1/2 cup cold water with 2 tsp baking soda dissolved in it. To make sure all the baking soda gets into the mix, add another 2 or 3 tablespoons of water into the cup, swirl it around and add it to the mixture.

Sift together in a large bowl:
5 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp cinnamon

Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients 2 cups at a time. When stirring becomes difficult, use a mixer with dough hooks.

Chill dough in a covered bowl for for 2 or 3 days.

Do not over-handle the dough. Roll out to between 1/4 inch and 1/2 inch thick. Cut with cookie cutters 1 1/2 to 2 inches across. Place 2 inches apart on lightly greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350-degrees F for 15 to 18 minutes or until no dent remains when tested with your finger.
Cool thoroughly before frosting. (confectioners sugar icing is recommended; vanilla flavored)

You can cut this recipe in half. It makes a lot of cookies.
 
Christmas crack candy(you can use any size cookie sheet, just line it with crackers and follow directions after that, you can use ritz crackers too and put any toppings on after chocolate, use your imagination. It is soooooooooooooooo good and very very addicting. There are tons of videos on youtube showing this step by step. ENJOY!!!

40 Saltines
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups Chocolate chips
nuts or other toppings

-Preheat oven to 400 degrees
-Line a sheet pan with foil and spray with cooking spray
* you can use parchment paper instead of foil for easier removal of the candy*
-Line pan with single layer of crackers
-In a saucepan combine butter and brown sugar until it gets to a full boil
-Boil 3-4 mins stirring constantly
-Immediately pour sauce over crackers and spread completely
-Bake crackers at 400 degrees for 5 minutes until toffee is bubbly
-Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over crackers
-let chocolate sit 3 to 4 mins to melt.
-Spread melted chocolate over crackers and add nuts or toppings of your choice.
-Let cool 10 15 mins and put in refrigerator.
-Break into pieces.

I put smaller fonts easier on the eyes.
 
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Murrmurr said:
My mom always said she invented that recipe, but I found it in a cookbook she got as a wedding gift in 1947. The book was published in '46. She did tweak the recipe a bit, and the one I posted is the tweaked one, exactly the way she wrote it down for me in 1972.
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nods Yes, any change you make to a recipe makes that recipe your invention. It's in Joy of Cooking I think šŸ˜…
 
Jules said:
Two of these recipes use shortening. I didnā€™t know anyone use it anymore.
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I use half and half

All butter = flat and crispy
Shortening = tall, chewy
1/2 Shortening/1/2 butter = Crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside (aka The Gold Standard in my house)

There's also a little more to it. I've made buckets of these and this is what I learned

All white sugar + Butter = flat, gets more brown, very crispy
2:1 Brown/White sugar and 1/2 Butter/1/2 Shortening = Spreads less than white sugar, but more than brown
2:1 White/Brown sugar and shortening = Like above, but more brown and very thick and chewy
 
perplexed said:
Christmas crack candy(you can use any size cookie sheet, just line it with crackers and follow directions after that, you can use ritz crackers too and put any toppings on after chocolate, use your imagination. It is soooooooooooooooo good and very very addicting. There are tons of videos on youtube showing this step by step. ENJOY!!!

40 SALTINE CRACKERS
1 CUP BUTTER
1 CUP BROWN SUGAR
1 1/2 CUPS CHOCOLATE CHIPS
NUTS OR OTHER TOPPINGS

-PREHEAT OVER TO 400 DEGREES
-LINE A SHEET PAN WITH FOIL AND SPRAY WITH NON-STICK COOKING SPRAY
* you can use parchment paper instead of foil for easier removal of the candy*
-LINE PAN WITH CRACKERS IN A SINGLE LAYER
-IN A SAUCEPAN, COMBINE BUTTER AND BROWN SUGAR. BRING TO A FULL BOIL.
-BOIL FOR 3-4 MINUTES STIRRING CONSTANTLY.
-IMMEDIATELY POUR SAUCE OVER CRACKERS AND SPREAD COMPLETELY.
-BAKE CRACKERS AT 400 DEGREES FOR 5 MINUTES OR UNTIL TOFFEE IS BUBBLY.
-REMOVE FROM OVEN AND SPRINKLE CHOCOLATE CHIPS OVER CRACKERS.
-LET CHOCOLATE SIT FOR 3-4 MINUTES TO MELT.
-SPREAD MELTED CHOCOLATE OVER CRACKERS THEN TOP WITH NUTS OR OTHER TOPPINGS.
-LET COOL FOR 10-15 MINUTES THEN PUT IN FRIDGE UNTIL COLD AND CHOCOLATE IS SET.
-BREAK INTO PIECES.
Click to expand...
Oh lord you done a bad thing showing me this recipe
 
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