Favorite Christmas Recipes?

[RetiredGypsy]

Traditional or otherwise, what do you look forward to making (or eating) this time of year?

For the last few years, my favorite has been to boil an enormous pot of water and stuff handfuls of crab in at a time for a couple minutes until they just turn pink. This year we're scaling back since it's just us and not a house full of friends. While it'll be more work in the kitchen, it'll be less work cracking several pounds of crab. I think it all comes to a wash in overall time invested.

I'm going back to a family tradition of homemade chocolate chip oatmeal and walnut cookies. If I remember right, it was just a double or quadruple batch of Betty Crocker's recipe.

I'm also throwing in Alton Brown's recipes for hot cocoa mix and his version of a chocolate chip cookie. Both of these have been favorites in the past, and now that we're actually going to have a cold winter, I can't wait for an excuse for hot cocoa and warm cookies.

Also, these black bean brownies are amazing. I haven't made them in a couple years, but with all the other things I've picked up for the other treats, I'll have enough left over to make these too.

There's also this simple cranberry sauce from Budget Bytes, and I'm now realizing that given the opportunity, every holiday would just be an excuse to make as many desserts as possible.

I guess if I didn't gain ten pounds during the Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year's trifecta, I wouldn't need a new year's resolution to lose 10 pounds.

 

[braumeister]

I don't have the recipes, but DW is the best cookie maker I've ever known.
Unfortunately.

One of her "secrets" is that she takes the attitude that if a little is good, then more is better.

So when she makes ginger snaps she uses way more ginger than the recipe calls for. Same with chips in the chocolate chip cookies. And so forth. Man, those cookies are just incredible. And why I simultaneously look forward to and dread the holiday season!

 

[GalaxyBoy]

My tradition is Julia Child's Applesauce Fruitcake from her book, The Way to Cook.

Before you say, "Fruitcake?!?" know that this is a loaf cake with only raisins and nuts, and a heavy dose of spices. DW calls it "spice cake." In fact, I cut back on the raisins, and in looking for the links to the recipe just now I see that some folks add rum, brandy, etc. I'll have to try that. Mainly, homemade applesauce is essential to this recipe; I use Julia's recipe elsewhere in the same book.

We have this year's loaf resting now, and I plan to cut into it later tonight. Mmmm....

 

[GalaxyBoy]

So when she makes ginger snaps she uses way more ginger than the recipe calls for.

A good rule of thumb for most baked goods; I usually double the spices in cookies.

 

[braumeister]

My tradition is Julia Child's Applesauce Fruitcake from her book, The Way to Cook.

You may be aware of this, but it was determined some years ago that there are only a grand total of 147 fruitcakes in the entire world. They just keep getting re-gifted from one family to another, year after year after year ...

 

[Amethyst]

I pity the poor souls who've never tasted real fruitcake.

Made with butter, molasses, spices, brown sugar, dried apricots/cranberries/cherries/raisins, pecans, and good brandy.

No unnatural green candied "fruit" to be seen, and definitely no citron (hate that stuff).

 

[outdoorgirl02]

We make homemade pasta on Christmas Eve. We’ve perfected the gluten free recipe over the years (I can’t eat gluten). We also do homemade pies - likely cherry this year.

I have done an overnight French toast casserole a few times for Christmas morning. DH and I love it but DD, not so much.

 

[harley]

I always make gingerbread cookies based on the Colonial Williamsburg Raleigh Tavern recipe. I have to make them because DW isn't strong enough to knead in the flour. It gets pretty tough toward the end. But they are huge favorites with friends and family.

They used to have the recipe on the Colonial Williamsburg website, but they don't anymore. I found this one, and it's the same recipe I've always used. My only difference is adding 3/4 teaspoon of lemon extract. I used to use margarine back when butter was bad for you, but now that the laws of the universe have changed and butter is healthy and margarine is not, I admit that with butter they taste better.

 

[Moemg]

Since we usually have ham for Christmas dinner I make pineapple stuffing .I add cinnamon to the mix.

Holiday Pineapple Stuffing | Mostly Homemade Mom

 

[Scuba]

I have a recipe for beef tenderloin with a garlic and pink peppercorn coating. Love to make that, although this year I’m doing Dijon crusted rack of lamb for a change.

 

[Winemaker]

My mom always added some crushed candy canes into her chocolate chip cookie dough around Christmas time. Yum!

 

[Chuckanut]

A good rule of thumb for most baked goods; I usually double the spices in cookies.

I have found that I can increase the spices and flavorings (like vanilla,etc.) and cut the sugar content of baked goods by about 30%. Texture and such seems to stay acceptable, though not quite as 'light'. The benefit is that the reduced sugar allows the flavors of the added spices and other ingredients to really come through.

 

[MRG]

I pity the poor souls who've never tasted real fruitcake.

Made with butter, molasses, spices, brown sugar, dried apricots/cranberries/cherries/raisins, pecans, and good brandy.

No unnatural green candied "fruit" to be seen, and definitely no citron (hate that stuff).

+1
DM used to make one every holiday season. It never went to waste or was regifted.

 

[Bamaman]

I still love the Debbie Fields chocolate chip cookie recipe.

My sister answered her doorbell one Christmas, and Mrs. Fields was standing there with a huge tray of cookies and had made. They have been friends for years.

This Christmas won't be so festive after Debbie Fields lost her husband, Mike Rose, to pancreatic cancer. He was formerly CEO of Holiday Inns, Hampton Inn and Gaylord Hotels.

 

[pacergal]

I have several cookie recipes handed down from 3 generations ( a pinch of this and a dash of that!) that I make almost every year. And one pie recipe from my great grandmother, but I have adjusted that one to my tastes. Its not Christmas without it!

 

[gayl]

Lemon bars & cheesecake -- taking that to DS / DDIL house Monday. They never met a holiday they couldn't celebrate (but at least they cut back on gifting)

 

[Scuba]

My mom always added some crushed candy canes into her chocolate chip cookie dough around Christmas time. Yum!

That sounds awesome!

 

[Scuba]

Lemon bars & cheesecake -- taking that to DS / DDIL house Monday. They never met a holiday they couldn't celebrate (but at least they cut back on gifting)

I’m going to try a lemon cheesecake for Christmas Eve. Last year I made my first one - a Cappuccino cheesecake - which was delicious and a big hit, but VERY rich. Wanted something a bit lighter this year.

 

[Aerides]

I host christmas eve. We do stocking stuffers (mini gifts, gag gifts) with a drinks/snacks party.

I do mozzarella sticks, potato skins, mini quiches, bacon wrapped sausage rolls, mini burgers, chicken nuggets, and then we finish with my mom's mince pies.

it's terrible. It's full of carbs and sugar and garbage but it's so damn easy (all frozen boxes and popped in the oven). also lots of wine.