(7) Swedish Shortbread

1 c butter, softened
½ c plus 2 T sugar
2-2½ c flour
1/3 c raspberry jam
1 c powdered sugar
1 t almond extract
2-3 t water

Blend butter and sugar, add flour and mix well. Divide dough into 6 parts. On ungreased sheets, roll or pat each part into a strip about 1½”x12”. Using knife handle, make slight indentation lengthwise down center of each strip (not too deep or cookies will break). Fill indentation with jam. Bake at 350°F for 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. In small bowl, mix powdered sugar, almond and water to make thin glaze. While still warm, drizzle glaze across strips and cut diagonally into 1” slices. Makes 60 cookies.

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This recipe makes thin buttery cookies, and we especially love the almond flavouring. Truth be told, you can use any kind of jam, not just raspberry. Our other favourite is apricot. These cookies are great to take to parties or give as gifts because they look and taste really nice.

(6) Peanut Blossoms

½ c butter
½ c peanut butter
½ c sugar
½ c brown sugar
Add:
1 egg
1 t vanilla
Blend in:
1¾ c flour
1 t soda
½ t salt

Shape into balls. Roll in sugar. Place on ungreased sheet. Bake at 375°F for 8 minutes. Remove from oven. Place chocolate kisses firmly in center. Bake 2-5 minutes longer.

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Chocolate Kisses are one of my favourite candies, so these cookies, that combine peanut butter and chocolate, are just divine. Of course, I'm the weird kind of person who usually eats the Kiss off before eating the rest of the cookie. Oh well! They're simple cookies and taste great (unless you have peanut allergies). I just wish we could get Kisses here so they were easier to make!

(5) Snowballs

1 c butter
2 c flour
½ c powdered sugar
1 t vanilla
chocolate chips and/or chopped walnuts

Roll dough into little balls and place on ungreased sheet. Bake at 300°F about 30 minutes.

Cool and roll in granulated or powdered sugar.

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These are my personal favourites. I love them so much that my mom started making them for me even when it wasn't Christmas! My second care package in college (all the way from Nigeria!) was a Tupperware container of snowballs. Yum yum! They're just a basic shortbread, but they taste phenomenal, and I particularly love 'em with chocolate chips. (I'm not a fan of walnuts anyway.) We roll them in powdered sugar, and they do look like snowballs! They've also been called "Russian Tea Cakes." They're great!

(4) Pfeffernüse

½ c shortening
¾ c brown sugar (packed)
1 egg
½ c molasses
2 t anise extract
3-1/3 c flour
½ t soda
½ t white pepper
½ t nutmeg
½ t allspice
½ t cloves
1 t cinnamon
1/3 t cardamom
1½ T grated lemon peel (about 2 lemons)

Heat oven to 350°F. Mix thoroughly shortening, sugar, egg, molasses, anise. Blend in remaining ingredients. Knead dough until of right consistency for molding.

Shape dough by level teaspoons into bals. Place one inch apart on ungreased baking sheet. Bake about 12 minutes or until golden brown on bottom. Cool. Glaze. Makes about 6 dozen.

Glaze: Combine:
1 egg white
2 t honey
¼ t ground anise
Add 1½ c powdered sugar.Beat until smooth. Put 12 cookies in a bowl. Drizzle with 2 T glaze. Toss with fork to coat. Dry on rack or waxed paper.

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This recipe, for "Pepper nuts," makes cookies that resemble ginger snaps. They're spicy good! They're even good without the glaze. (My sister and I made them last year that way because we didn't want to buy ground anise just for the cookies...cheapskates!) They also taste fine if you use black pepper instead of white pepper. My mom's been baking these for as long as I can remember, but in our family, they're strictly a Christmas cookie.

(3) Julekage

1 pkg yeast
¼ c warm water
¾ c lukewarm milk
¼ c sugar
½ t salt
½ t ground cardamom
1 egg
¼ c shortening
½ c raisins
1/3 c cut-up citron or mixed candied fruit
3¼ to 3½ c flour

Dissolve yeast in water. Add other ingredients and 2 c flour. Blend. Beat 2 minutes. Add remaining flour. Knead 4 minutes. Rise in bowl 1 to 1½ hours. Punch down. Shape into ball. Place in greased 9” cake pan; brush with butter. Let rise 45 minutes. Bake at 350F for 35 to 45 minutes until golden. Brush with butter. Glaze. Cool.

Glaze: Mix 1 c powdered sugar and 1 to 2 T water.

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This is a traditional Scandinavian Christmas bread. "Julekage" means "Christmas bread." It makes a yummy Christmas breakfast, especially warm and spread with real butter. Another of my mom's Christmas breakfast breads is Stollen, a German bread, but I can't find her recipe for it!

(2) Frosted Cinnamon Icebox Rolls

2 packages active dry yeast
½ c warm water (105F to 115F)
2 c lukewarm milk (scalded then cooled)
1/3 c sugar
1/3 c vegetable oil or shortening
3 t baking powder
2 t salt
1 egg
3 c Gold Medal® whole wheat flour
3 c Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
4 T butter or margarine, softened
½ c sugar
1 T plus 1 t cinnamon
Browned Butter Frosting (below)

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in milk, 1/3 c sugar, the oil, baking powder, salt, egg, and 1½ cups of each flour. Beat until smooth. Mix in enough of the remaining flours to make dough easy to handle.

2. Turn dough onto well-floured board; knead until smooth and esastic, 8 to 10 minutes. Place in greased bowl; turn greased side up. Cover; let rise in warm place until double, about 1½ hours. (Dough is read if an indentation remains when touched.)

3. Grease 2 oblong pans, 13”x9”x2”. Punch down dough; divide into halves. Roll 1 half into rectangle, 12”x10”. Spread with half of the butter. Mix ½ cup sugar and the cinnamon; sprinkle half the sugar-cinnamon mixture over rectangle. Roll up, beginning a wide side. Pinch edge of dough into roll to seal. Stretch roll to make even.

4. Cut roll into 12 slices. Place slightly apart in 1 pan. Wrap pan tightly with heavy duty aluminum foil. Repeat with remaining dough. Refrigerate at least 12 hours bu tno longer than 48 hours. (To bake immediately, do not wrap. Let rise in warm place until double, about 30 minutes. Bake as directed below.)

5. Heat oven to 350F. Remove foil from pans. Bake until golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Frost with Browned Butter Frosting while warn. Makes 24 rolls.

Browned Butter Frosting: Heat 3 T butter or margarine over medium heat until delicate brown. Stir in 1½ cups powdered sugar, 1 T milk, and ¾ t vanilla. Beat until smooth and of spreading consistency. Frosts 1 pan of rolls.

(Note: If larger rolls are desired, roll dough into rectangle, 10”x9”. Cut each roll into 9 slices. Place in greased baking pans, 9”x9”x2”. Makes 18 rolls.

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Okay, I admit: These aren't strictly a holiday tradition in my family. Mom makes them reasonably often. But they're a year-round favourite, and she likes to make favourites at Christmas, so they often make it onto the breakfast table this time of year. They are simply to die for - the best home-made cinnamon rolls I've ever had in my life. They're right up there with Cinnabon!!

Mom tried to make these Christmas '99 when we were in the States for my sister's wedding. We were staying for two weeks in an unused apartment in a neighbourhood or retired missionaries. There was yeast in the fridge, so Mom used that for the rolls. They didn't rise at all! We had teeny tiny rolls that year, but they still tasted fine!

Yummy-in-your-tummy Christmas Countdown

Between now and Christmas, I (Saralynn) am putting up recipes for ten food items I think are essential to Christmas. This blog has become woefully neglected in the past few months as I've had a baby and my mom has now traveled to another country for two months.

SO...

I'm raiding my mother's recipe file, which she left behind, and am posting some of my own favourites. I sadly don't have Mom's recipe for cider, but I'm putting up all my other top foods & drinks from my childhood Christmases. Hope you like them!

(1) Makeover Eggnog

1¾ c sugar
¼ c flour
½ t salt
6 eggs, lightly beaten
3 t vanilla
2 t rum extract
4 c half-and-half
½ t nutmeg
2 qts milk (2%)

In large heavy saucepan, combine sugar, flour, and salt. Gradually whisk in milk and eggs until smooth. Cook and stir over low heat to 160F, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat, add extracts. Cover and chill 2 hours. Just before serving, strain eggnog. Add half-and-half and nutmeg. Makes about 3 quarts.

From Guideposts, December 2003.

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We can't get eggnog in Nigeria, so Mom has often made her own. Sometimes she uses a mix from the States, but sometimes she makes it from scratch. I'm not sure what recipe she uses, but I found this one in her recipe file, so I thought I'd throw it in. Christmas just isn't Christmas without eggnog!

All-Time Favorite Lemon Bars

1 c flour
1/4 c powdered sugar
1/2 c butter
2 eggs
1 c sugar
2 T flour
1 T grated lemon peel
1/2 t baking powder
2 T lemon juice

Heat oven to 350F. In large bowl, combine flour and powdered sugar. Cut in butter until crumbly. Press flour mixture into ungreased 8" or 9" square pan. Bake at 350F for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, in small bowl, beat eggs and sugar until light coloured. Stir in remaining ingredients. Pour egg mixture over partially-baked crust. Return to oven and bake 18-25 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool completely. If desired, sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cut in 24 bars.

Can be doubled for a 9"x13" pan. To double:
Double the ingredient amounts. Bake in a 9"x13" pan 25-28 minutes.

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This recipe is from the Pillsbury Kitchens' Family Cookbook and has been a family favourite for years. I don't usually sprinkle sugar on top. They're very sweet as it is. It's a great way to use up lemons!

Imperial Chicken

Chicken Marinade
1 large chicken, cut up in bite-sized pieces
1-1/2 t sugar
1-2 t hot sauce, such as Tabasco
dash MSG
1-2 t sesame oil
3 t oyster sauce, enough to just cover chicken

Combine marinade ingredients and marinate chicken overnight if possible or 4 hours minimum.

Vegetables
2 large green peppers, chopped
anything else like bamboo shoots, water chestnuts
1 c peanuts (unsalted)

Prepare vegetables. Heat frying pan until very hot. Add oil. Stir-fry chicken until almost cooked. Quickly place in casserole dish and cover to keep warm. Add more oil to empty frying pan. Sautee vegetables until crisp tender. Add small amount of oyster sauce if pan becomes too dry. Add peanuts at the end. Add chicken to reheat. Serve over rice.

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For the vegetables, I've always used snow peas, but really you can use anything, as the recipe notes. I also use salt instead of MSG. This recipe is from a friend at UCSD (in the early '80s) with whom I was in a cooking co-op. One day a week, she cooked a dinner for us as well as her family, and another day a week, I cooked for them as well as my family. This recipe was one she cooked for us that I liked so much I asked for a copy. Her name was Barbara; that's all I remember.