One More Christmas Treat

 

Merry Christmas! Yes, Christmas is only three days away, but I have one more treat to share with you. If you've been hanging around the café for a while you probably know what that treat is. There are many things to like about this particular treat, but the best one is that it won't add an ounce to your waistline.

Today I'm sharing a recipe for my favorite holiday scent. It's easy, natural and makes your whole house smell like Christmas. Are you ready?

Here's what you'll need:

• 1 orange
• 1 lemon
• 4 4-inch cinnamon sticks
• 1/4 cup whole cloves
• 3-4 bay leaves
• 1 quart water

Cut orange and lemon into quarters. Combine fruit, spices and water in large saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer as long as desired, adding more water as needed. Mixture can be covered and refrigerator for several days to be reused.

See, I told you it was easy.

Before I go, I want to wish you all a very merry Christmas. Yes, we ooh and ahh over the Christmas trees and the beautiful decorations, but let's stand in awe of the manger where the son of God stepped down from the glory of heaven to be born in a lowly stable, taking on human flesh. Jesus understands our pain and our grief as well as our happiness because He experienced them, too. He loves us so much and that is certainly something to celebrate.

Merry Christmas!

Award-winning author Mindy Obenhaus is passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. She lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, two sassy pups, countless cattle, deer and the occasional coyote, mountain lion or snake. When she's not writing, she enjoys spending time with her grandchildren, cooking and watching copious amounts of the Hallmark Channel. Learn more at mindyobenhaus.com

Mom's Christmas Candy Things

What is it about Christmas that makes us nostalgic?

One of my Facebook friends posted a question: if you could go anywhere in place or time, where would you go?

I thought about fabulous places in history or wonderful scenic beauties...but then I thought, "I just want to go home. Back fifty or sixty years to the time when I didn't know much outside my small world, just so I could give my mom a little girl hug."

The reality is that it is impossible - 

although sometimes I hope that in heaven we'll be able to fully live in the best memories from our lives over again...

But that's where nostalgia comes in. I was blessed with a happy childhood, and I know my mother had a lot to do with that. Christmas time is when I remember her the most. I find myself talking about her, looking forward to my annual jigsaw puzzle (which I've always disliked, but she and my grandmother loved!) and making the old recipes that we used to make together.

So today I'm sharing one of my mom's favorite Christmas recipes. I suspect it hit the favorites category because it is so easy!

One change though - our weather is different this year than it was back in 2012 when I first shared this post. This year we're still in late fall, with temperatures in the 50's. Quite a difference!

Enjoy!

Mom's Christmas Candy Things

Are you ready for Christmas? We are up here in the north where it's six degrees as I write this. Let me see if I can help you get in the Christmas spirit :)

Cue music...

Light the tree...



...add some ornaments...


  ...it's time for Christmas!!!!






I'm sharing a super-easy-peasy family favorite with you today.

This recipe has been around in our family for at least fifty years - from back in the days when our Christmas tree looked like this:

Don't laugh! Those were the good old days! 

(In case you can't tell, I'm the cute little kid on the right. This picture is from around 1961.)

Mom's Christmas Candy Things

Ingredients:

1 package white almond bark

1 Tablespoon crunchy peanut butter

1 cup salted dry roasted peanuts

1 cup Rice Krispies, or your favorite crisp rice cereal

1 cup miniature marshmallows

Melt the almond bark, following the directions on the package, but be sure you don't let the stuff get too hot - you don't want to melt your marshmallows.

Next, stir in the peanut butter, peanuts and cereal. Finally, mix in the marshmallows.

Drop by spoonfuls onto baking parchment or wax paper.

Decorate with your favorite sprinkles and let them cool.

Now is that easy, or what?

Cue more music: here

Back to 2020!

As we head toward the end of this incredible year, I find myself reflecting on the past twelve months. What would we have done differently last December if we had known what would take place? I have a feeling I would have hugged people a little more.

What would you have changed last Christmas?

Jan Drexler has always been a "book girl" who still loves to spend time within the pages of her favorite books. She lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her dear husband of many years and their active, crazy dogs, Jack and Sam. You can learn more about Jan and her books on her website, www.JanDrexler.com.

Dundee Cake for St. Nicholas Day

I shared this recipe years ago. I've wanted to share it in time for St. Nicholas Day on December 6th every year since then, but would remember in the middle of December, or even in April!

But this coming weekend is the traditional time to eat this delicious cake! So here is the recipe, and just in time!

A Scottish Tradition

It's Christmastime, and one thing I love about being an American is how traditions and foods from different parts of the world blend together to become distinctly American, but still retain their roots.

Kind of like people, right?

I'm a perfect example of America's melting pot: my great-grandparents were 1) & 2) Swiss German, 3) Irish? or English? (someday I may tell you about the skeleton in that closet), 4) Irish, 5) English, 6) Scottish, 7) & 8) German.

I often talk about the Swiss and German part of my ancestry, but today we're heading north of the wall to the wilds of Scotland.

A traditional cake from Scotland is the Dundee Cake - a kind of light fruitcake. Rumor says it was developed for Mary, Queen of Scots, because she didn't like candied cherries and what-not in her cakes.

I came across this cake because I'm a Tasha Tudor fan.

She kept the tradition of making a Dundee Cake every year that was then eaten on December 6th, St. Nicholas Day. It was the start of the Advent season and a tradition her family still carries on to this day.

But the Tasha Tudor receipt (she never called them 'recipes') has candied fruit in it, and Mary Q of S wouldn't stand for that, so I started researching.

I found out the main thing that makes a Dundee Cake, other than being cakey and fruity, are the almonds.

No almonds? Then you just have a fruit cake. You might as well be English. A Low-lander. Sheesh.

I read through dozens of Dundee Cake recipes and came up with a cake all my own. I hate fruit cake, but I love this cake. I made it this weekend for our own St. Nicholas Day remembrance on Thursday.

So, (drumroll please), here's the recipe:

Jan's Dundee Cake

First, prepare your pan. I used my 8" spring-form pan, but you can also use whatever pan you have that gives you enough room for the cake to rise. A 9" round cake pan isn't high enough, but a 9" square pan should be big enough. Tasha Tudor's family uses two 9" loaf pans.

Grease your pan with butter or cooking spray, and line with baking parchment.

I cut a circle slightly larger than the bottom of my pan and laid it in the bottom.

Then I used three 5" strips of parchment to line the sides of the pan.









Now it's time to make the cake.

Ingredients:
1/2 c. whole almonds

2 1/2 cups cake flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup raisins
1 cup slivered almonds, chopped as finely as you wish

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 Tablespoons orange juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
1/2 teaspoon orange zest

First step: blanch your almonds. This is super easy!

Put your whole almonds in a bowl. Be sure you use raw almonds, not roasted or salted.

Pour boiling water over the nuts just to cover them. Let them soak for one minute. Any longer and you'll get soggy almonds. Any shorter and you won't be able to get the brown skins off.

Pour the hot water off the nuts and rinse them in cold water. Now you can slip the skins off.

It's an easy process, but a bit tedious. Employ your elves (aka children hanging about) to help.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, salt, baking powder and chopped almonds. Add your fruit pieces - I used raisins - and stir to cover the fruit with the flour.


Next, using your mixer, beat together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Then add the vanilla, orange juice, lemon extract and orange zest. Blend with a spoon or with your mixer on low speed.

Stir in the flour mixture. When it's well blended, pour the batter into your prepared pan. It will be thick - almost like a soft cookie dough rather than a cake batter.

The next step is your signature. Place the blanched almonds in a design on the top of your cake. Make spirals, sunbursts, whatever. The more almonds you use, the better.

Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for about one hour.

Test for doneness with a cake tester or toothpick. Stick it in the middle of the cake. If it comes out clean, the cake is done. But with this cake you want a few crumbs sticking to the tester - it's better for the cake to be slightly underdone than overdone.

Cool in the pan for ten minutes, then remove from the pan, place on a cooling rack and let it cool completely.

Now comes the really hard part.

really hard.....

This cake is better after it's been sitting for a few days.

Wrap it up well in plastic wrap or an air-tight food storage container, put it in a cupboard or on top of the refrigerator, and wait.

Believe me, it's worth it. I tried mine straight out of the oven, then put it away and tried it again a few days later. It definitely gets better with age...not unlike certain Scotsmen...

{2020 note - That line about certain Scotsmen was a nod to my favorite Scottish actor, Sean Connery. But, alas, Mr. Connery is no longer with us. He is one who certainly got better with age!}

The great thing about this recipe is that you can play with it and make it your own!

Here are some ideas of different additions you can make to the batter:

candied cherries
candied peel
sultanas
dried cranberries
currants
dried blueberries
whole almonds
ginger marmalade


So, are you ready to try this departure from traditional fruit cake, or are you one of the 50% of Americans who love those bricks of .....whatever they are?

Jan Drexler has always been a "book girl" who still loves to spend time within the pages of her favorite books. She lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her dear husband of many years and their active, crazy dogs, Jack and Sam. You can learn more about Jan and her books on her website, www.JanDrexler.com.

The Day AFTER Christmas

One of my favorite childhood Christmas memories is actually for the day after Christmas. I remember waking on a bright, sunny morning and looking at the stack of presents on my chair. I only remember one of them, and I cringe now to think how much I loved that mustard-colored sweater. But it must have been awfully special because that memory stuck with me for almost half a century.

I hope your Christmas was lovely and that you had or helped create memories that will stick with others for so long a time.

If you find time, amidst the post-Christmas bustle, to stop by and comment today, I hope you will share some of your favorite Christmas memories.

I'm sharing two of our memories from yesterday - you may notice a theme.

This little guy is our newest ornament, hung in memory of my husband.

Fenway's ready for Spring Training!

Love, Cate

Christmas Treats - Memories in the Making

Can you believe it? Christmas is only a week away! Actually, our Christmas is going to stretch that entire week. Our two boys will be here Christmas Eve and Day, daughters #1 and 3 will arrive the 27th with their families, and daughter #2 and her crew will join the madness on the 29th. Yes, now is the time for me to get my holiday baking on.

Perhaps I'll start with a little Spritz. (recipe here) Definitely a classic and oh, so easy to make. And if you want to change up the flavors, you can go with either almond or vanilla extract. Hmm...I wonder how they would taste with an orange or lemon flavor added? I just might have to do a little experimentation. 

Thumbprint Cookies (recipe here) are another classic. I just love the pecan coating.

And, of course, sugar cookies (recipe here).  

I can't tell you all the memories I have of decorating sugar cookies, both with my kids and when I was young. The most vivid one is of going to my great-aunt Gladys's when I was a little girl. She never married or had any children of her own, but every year she used to invite her nieces and nephews to her place to decorate Christmas cookies. She had a very small kitchen, though, and one year I bumped into my cousin, sending his plate of unadorned cookies careening toward the floor where they promptly broke.

Aunt Gladys, a retired school teacher, looked at me very matter-of-fact and said, "Mindy, you'll just have to share your cookies."

I can still feel my bottom lip quivering. I didn't want to share my cookies. I'd waited all year for those cookies. Sniff, sniff.

Of course, there was no arguing with Aunt Gladys, so Jeff went home with half of my cookies.

To this day, I can't tell you what those cookies tasted like. But I have such fond memories of decorating them. And isn't that what the holidays are all about. Sharing memories and making new ones.

In addition to cookies, we have the candies. Not really baking, but essential nonetheless.

Everything from Buckeyes, aka peanut butter balls (recipe here)...

 To Pretzel Turtles (recipe here)...

 As well as the ever-popular fudge (recipe here).

Just last week I told you the fond memories fudge holds for me, that it was the one thing my mom made every Christmas. 

Yes, making/eating these holiday treats/staples is like having cherished old friends visit. You love spending time with them, but by the time the holidays are over, you're glad to see them go. Mostly because you've overindulged and January marks a fresh start.

What treats will you be baking/making this week? Do you have memories that are wrapped around cherished holiday recipes? I'd love to hear them.

As I close out this post, I want to wish all a blessed holiday season. For some, this will be a challenging time as they face their first Christmas without a precious loved one. Even in our sorrow, may we keep our focus on the true meaning of Christmas. A baby born in a stable Who was and still is the hope of the world. 

Merry Christmas!

Three-time Carol Award finalist, Mindy Obenhaus lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, the youngest of her five children and two dogs. She's passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. When she’s not writing, she enjoys cooking and spending time with her grandchildren. Learn more at www.MindyObenhaus.com 

Christmas Candy Traditions - Fantasy Fudge

My mom was not a big baker, but she loved her sweets. As evidenced by her numerous recipe files, where most off of the tabs designating Appetizers, Main Dishes and Side Dishes were empty, while the ones that read Cakes, Pies and Desserts were stuffed full. Granted, she never made most of the recipes, but when the holidays rolled around, there was always one thing Mom was guaranteed to make.

Fudge was, and still is, her absolute favorite Christmas treat. And I couldn't imagine the holidays without it. Yet, as I've shared with you before, I ran into a problem with her Fantasy Fudge recipe several years ago. I made it the same way, but it just wasn't as creamy. It wasn't right. 

Then I stumbled upon the greasy, yellowed recipe she'd cut off of the back of a jar of marshmallow cream all those years ago and, with a little research, I figured out the problem. Now I feel it my duty to reveal the truth to everyone like me who grew up eating Fantasy Fudge, only to be disappointed with the results from the recipe on today's jars of marshmallow cream.

 

You see, back in the day, a small can of evaporated milk contained 6 ounces. Yet somewhere along the way, the manufacturers changed the amount to 5 ounces. And even though it's an ounce smaller, the recipe for Fantasy Fudge on the backs of marshmallow cream jars still call for a small (5 ounce) can of evaporated milk. For people like me who relive memories every time they bite into a piece of fudge, that's just not right. 

So for all of you who grew up celebrating the holidays with Fantasy Fudge, here's the real Fantasy Fudge Recipe we all remember.

• 3 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup margarine (I use butter)
• 6 oz. evaporated milk
• 1 12 oz bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 7 oz jar marshmallow cream
• 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

First thing you'll want to do is line a 9x13 baking pan with aluminum foil. This is so you can lift the fudge out of the pan after it's cooled, for easier cutting.

Now spray that foil with some non-stick spray and set aside.

Melt your butter or margarine over medium-high heat in a heavy saucepan at least 3 quarts in size.

Once the butter is melted, add your sugar and 6 ounces of evaporated milk. Yes, buy the big can and store the unused portion in a mason jar or other sealed container in the fridge and use it in your next batch of mashed potatoes.

Stir that all together and continue to cook and stir until it comes to a boil.

Once it boils, keep stirring and cook for approximately 5-7 minutes, until mixture reaches soft ball stage on a candy thermometer.

What's that, you don't have a candy thermometer

Not to worry. We didn't have one when I was growing up, so I learned to do it old school.

Drizzle a small amount of the boiling mixture into a cup of cold water.

Now stick your fingers in there and see if you can form the mixture into a soft ball. If not, keep cooking, testing every minute or so.

This is what you should end up with.

Perfect!

And if you pop said soft ball into your mouth, you will be a very happy camper. Just sayin'.

So once your mixture has reached the soft ball stage, remove the pan from the heat and add the chocolate chips.

Stir until melted, then add your marshmallow cream.

This takes a little longer to stir in than the chocolate chips, because you need to make sure all the little lumps are gone and the mixture is nice and smooth.

Once it is smooth, add your vanilla and stir to mix.

And finally, if you're adding nuts (I prefer pecans), now's the time to do that.

Stir those in and your mixture should look like this.

Pour into your prepared pan and set aside to cool for at least a couple of hours. 

Do not refrigerate until completely cooled.

When the fudge is cooled and set, remove foil/fudge from pan and cut into squares.

Sorry, my lighting must have been a bit off, because these look much lighter than they really are. There were still dark, like the previous pic of the pan. Either way, the fudge is creamy and oh-so delicious. Just like Mom used to make.

And that makes me very happy.

Have you ever had a cherished recipe from your childhood that wasn't quite as good as you remembered? When you think of the holidays, what foods come to mind? What appeared in your kitchen during every holiday season?

Three-time Carol Award finalist, Mindy Obenhaus lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, the youngest of her five children and two dogs. She's passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. When she’s not writing, she enjoys cooking and spending time with her grandchildren. Learn more at www.MindyObenhaus.com