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Share Your Favorite Holiday Recipes!

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Share Your Favorite Holiday Recipes!

I’m not much of a cook; I’m not disastrous in the kitchen, and I can follow a recipe well, but in the past, I haven’t done a ton of cooking–especially nothing complicated!  I always did love to bake, though.  I’m always at a loss as to what to make, because I only want to spend the time if the results are amazing!  This was totally a spur-of-the-moment kind of post; I have always wanted to do it, because I consider the Temptalia community an excellent source of knowledge!  And it’s Friday, so I think I can slide this post through  🙂

Since this was spontaneous, I jut sent an email over to my mom to ask her if she would share some of her fantastic recipes (now my mom is a fabulous cook!)  I usually look for and use recipes from AllRecipes.com, and sometimes I’ll head over to Food Network as well.  Do you have any favorite recipe sites or collectives?  I’m totally looking to the community to help me find some good things to cook this holiday season 🙂  And maybe you even have a really good recipe for a holiday doggy treat…

Share your favorite holiday recipes in the comments!

And… I am pleased to share two recipes I love that my mom does 🙂

Cherry Bombers

If you have the craving for a cheesecake but don’t have time to make it or you don’t want to feel guilty eating a big slice of a cheesecake then a cherry bomber might be just the ticket. It is quick and easy – 15 minutes to prepare, and 10 minutes to bake. Don’t ask me why our family calls this recipe, a cherry bomber… must be because it is so good and it has cherry on top. The recipe below makes 24. My mom also says you can vary the recipe by replacing the wafer with other cookies, like sugar cookies, as long as they are easy to bite into. You can also use a graham cracker crust (like a traditional cheesecake) or use a different pie filling.

  • 16 oz. of cream cheese (Philadelphia is preferred), softened
  • 2 eggs
  • ¾ cup of sugar
  • 1 tsp of vanilla extract
  • 24 vanilla wafers
  • 2 cans of cherry pie filling
  • 24 baking foil baking cups (regular size is okay)

Steps

  1. Preheat oven at 375o F.
  2. Fill 2 muffin pans with baking cups
  3. Fill 1 wafer into each baking cup
  4. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, mix the softened cream cheese and the sugar
  5. When the mixture is thickened, stir in the eggs and vanilla. Mix thoroughly.
  6. Using a small ice cream scooper, fill each baking cup with the mixture, leaving ~1/2 inches from the top (for the cherry)
  7. Add 3-5 cherries per baking cup.
  8. Bake for 10 minutes
  9. Store in the refrigerator immediately, on a wire rack, uncovered, once removed from the oven.
  10. Cover for storage, once the bombers are all chilled.

 

Turkey Stuffing

I look forward to our turkey feasts just for the stuffing. I don’t say Thanksgiving, because my mom actually cooks the whole feast three or four times a year. She says to use a large, non-stick pot using medium heat. My mom recommends adding more broth or water if the bread cubes look dry. She also says to make sure the bag of bread cubes doesn’t contain a packet of seasoning, because the flavor still seeps outside of the packet and into the cubes in the bag. The stuffing can also be frozen and reheated.

  • 1 stick of butter
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 lb. country sausage
  • 1 c. celery, chopped
  • 1 can (14.5 oz.) chicken broth
  • 1 bag (12-16 oz.) unseasoned bread cubes

Steps

  1. Melt 1 stick of butter
  2. Add 1 onion, chopped in small pieces, stir until fragrant or soft (about 1 minute or so)
  3. Add 1 lb of country sausage, stir and break into small bite sized chunk
  4. Stir in and mix 1 cup of celery, chopped small.
  5. Stir in 1 can (14.5-oz) of chicken broth.
  6. Add 1 bag (12-16oz) of unseasoned bread cubes.
  7. Stir once or twice, adjust salt to taste.
  8. Beat 1 egg and add to the mixture. Stir a few more times until bread cubes are soft but not mushy.

 

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leesie Avatar
leesie

These cookies. Are. Spectacular. I used to make them around Christmas with my mom, but I’ve made them three times since late September: for my friend’s birthday, for her party, and then another batch for my own birthday. EVERY TIME I eat one I realize I’d forgotten just how amazing they are. What’s more–they’re a hit with everyone. Well, everyone without a peanut allergy.
http://bitsyskitchen.com/cookies42.html
Also, buckeyes. ‘Nuff said.

terrymtz Avatar
terrymtz

Oh, I can totally help here!

Food52.com for fancy-ish food that is tested by pros but submitted by pretty much anyone.

Epicurious.com has a ton of Gourmet and Bon Appetit recipes, plus a few from some other magazines owned by Conde Nast.

SmittenKitchen.com posts all kinds of amazingness. I always trust her recipes.

DavidLebovitz.com is a pastry chef/author/blogger and posts recipes on his site quite often. I am making his Chocolate Pecan Pie with Bourbon for Thanksgiving! 🙂

terrymtz Avatar
terrymtz

Definitely have favorites. I like to bake too, so these are all sweets I’ve made and loved:

Brownie Roll Out cookies (which are great made into ice cream sandwiches)

Peanut Butter Cookies recipe (it has PB chips AND chocolate chips!)

Lemon Yogurt Anything Cake

Raspberry Buttermilk Cake

Ridiculously Easy Butterscotch Sauce (over ice cream and topped with toasted pecans, it’s always a winner)

Chocolate Caramel Crack(ers) (dangerously addictive)

Gina Avatar
Gina

The Pioneer Woman’s cinnamon buns are TO DIE FOR. I made them once about a year ago, and I’m doing it again today. They take some effort (and clean up afterward) but I assure you, they’re so worth it. They didn’t survive 10 minutes out of the oven, because everyone in my family attacked the minute I finished icing them! Also, my sister is coming home from college on Tuesday, and she essentially threatened my life if there weren’t any saved for her when she gets here XD

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/cinammon_rolls_/

Renae Avatar
Renae

I love PW! I have made a ton of her recipes. A great Thanksgiving cranberry dish is her Nantucket pie. It isn’t really a pie but delicious none the less.

Kat Avatar
Kat

My favorite cookie recipe ever, in the whole wide world, is this super ginger-y ginger biscuit that my mom makes – and me now, except I live in gas oven-hell at the moment, and burn everything. It uses more than three times the amount of ginger as most ginger biscuit, cake and cookie recipes. The recipe makes about 50, and I need adult supervision to not just eat these at all meal times with big glasses of milk until they’re gone.
I have just added it here: http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/member-recipes/Ginger%20Biscuits/6366

SO good. I am sending my treacherous gas oven the eye of supreme evil right now.

Kat Avatar
Kat

YES. Gas stoves are great, but the ovens I do not agree with. Also, ours need lighting with a match, which to my untrained-in-the-ways of gas cooking – eye seems slightly insane. A bit more than that, even, maybe.

Joanna Avatar
Joanna

Nanaimo bars are a traditional Canadian dessert, and my family has made them every Christmas since I can remember. These no-bake, three-layer chocolate covered bars are named after the city of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island.

Crust
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 5 Tbsp. cocoa
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 cup flaked coconut
• 1+2/3 cups fine graham wafer crumbs
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Creamy Center:
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 cups sifted icing sugar (confectioner’s sugar)
• 1 egg

Chocolate Topping:
• 4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
• 1 Tbsp. butter

Make the crust: In a sauce pan, combine the butter, sugar, cocoa, egg and vanilla. Cook over low/medium heat stirring constantly, until smooth and slightly thickened. Stir in the remaining crust ingredients and press into greased 9-inch square pan.

Make the creamy center: Cream the butter and gradually beat in icing sugar and egg. Spread over the crumb mixture and then chill in the fridge for about 15 minutes.

Make the chocolate topping: Melt the chocolate and butter together over hot water or in a microwave, being careful not to burn. Spread on top of the chilled creamy center. Chill in the fridge until set. Cut into squares with a sharp knife.

Daisy Avatar
Daisy

Gah! YES. Nanaimo bars are amazing! I dated a Canadian for a number of years and his mother always busted out pans of Nanaimo bars around Christmas time. To this day, I still equate those delicious little things with Christmas and positive memories.

Christina Avatar
Christina

Is there a alternative to the Graham wafer crumbs as Im not sure we have those in the UK but I really want to make them as they sound really yum, x

Simone Avatar
Simone

Maybe crushed shortbread cookies with cinnamon added or gingerbread cookies? You might be able to find a pre-made graham cracker crust in the baking aisle, though. Good luck!

Barbara Rowe Avatar
Barbara Rowe

I notice I use several recipes from Food.com. Some of my favorite baking recipes from them are orange cranberry muffins, the most wonderful gingerbread cookies, and pesto pastry stars. And I have to say I actually like the newsletter they email, always gives me some great ideas.

Mariella Avatar
Mariella

I’m a Foods teacher and, believe me, I taste a lot of cookies (our hospitality classes do Christmas baking to sell every year – we just did a tasting for staff this morning) so I “know from cookies”. This recipe for SKOR Shortbreads, from a Canadian magazine, is one I make every year in large numbers. I double the recipe and make it in 9 by 13 inch lasagna pans. They freeze really well too. They aren’t the prettiest cookies in the world (though cutting them into diamond shapes does make them look nicer and leaves lots of trimmings for the cook and her helpers) but the are the MOST delicious. I’m not as fussy as the recipe dictates – I just chop all the SKOR bars the same and put half in the batter and half on top.
http://food.chatelaine.com/Recipes/View/Skor_shortbread

leesie Avatar
leesie

I AM CAPSLOCK!EXCITED OVER THIS. One of my best friends loves Irish Car Bombs and used to make us take them with her all the time at the bar…we’ve since turned her on to Vegas Bombs, and now we take those instead, but I have a feeling she would LOVE these. I am absolutely going to have to make them for her.
You don’t even know how genuinely excited I am over these. Seriously, THANK YOU.

Gina Avatar
Gina

The recipes over at smittenkitchen.com look TO DIE FOR! They’re different and look absolutely delicious! I’ll be relying on this website come Thanksgiving 😉

natalie Avatar
natalie

ah, my favourite has to be my moms eggplant parmesaen lasagna with cheesy garlic bread
my mom has the lasagna recipe but heres the recipe for the cheesy garlic bread, it taste exactly like the one thats served at Black Angus! ^^
1 loaf of french bread
1 bunch of green onions
1/2 cup of butter softened
1 cup of shredded jack cheese
1 cup of shredded parmesean cheese
and about 1-2 (or more depending on your taste) piece(s) of pureed garlic

1. cut the french bread into halves horizontly
2. chop the green onions
3. mix together the cheeses, butter, garlic, and green onions
4. put the sprea on each french bread halve evenly
5. put into the oven at 350 degrees for 7 minutes
6. after you remove the bread from the oven put it in a broiler for about 3 minutes afters words (and time it well because it can burn easily)

and voila, soso yummy ^-^

Jenny Avatar
Jenny

I have a recipe for chocolate chip cookies from Paula Deen, that has become a holiday staple for me. They are called Three Chocolate Cookies. Three kinds of chocolate PLUS toffee pieces. Well it calls for almond brickle, but I use Heath toffee chips since I can’t find almond brickle or even know what it is. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/three-chocolate-cookies-recipe/index.html. They are always a hit.

For as long as I can remember my mom has made sugar cookes for Christmas. My mom makes so many sugar cookise that using cookie cutters would be too time consuming so she rolls up the dough in rolls about about an inch and a half around and refigerates them. Then she just slices them up.She makes tons of these little round pieces of heavan. We ice them of course, but since it takes an eternity to ice all those cookies we just slap the icing on them and dip them in sprinkles. They are sloppy and messy and completely wonderful. Over the years as there have been fewer kids around to feed she’s reduced the size of the batches. But she used to fill up this enormous yellow straight from the 70’s tupperware bowl we had. It doesn’t matter how many she makes they ALWAYS get eaten.

Dame Elizabeth Avatar
Dame Elizabeth

Festive rice is a great dish for left-over meat: turkey/goose/chicken/capon whatever plus stuffing, fry it a bit with some oil and cooked rice (indian or chinese or japanese as opposed to that American rice) and add spices to taste – just experiment, five spice, cinnamon, all those lovely Christmassy smells work well obviously. Mix it all up in the pan and that’s it, you can also add left-over vegetables chopped up small. Another way of doing it is cooking the rice in a stock made from Turkey/chicken bones) and adding the spices to that so you get an amazing smelling kitchen then to the cooked rice, adding seasoning of choice and the pre-cooked meat/veg.
Just a good way to use up all that extra food I find!

Geek Faerie Avatar
Geek Faerie

My cooking style is so fluid I normally modify recipes as I’m cooking. Meals are always evolving and changing based on what I have on hand and what I could find in the store. I do have a few chefs that are my go-tos. Anything by Alton Brown (Author and Host of Good Eats) does is amazing and is always broken down to it’s simple most basic form, think Julia Child meets Mr Wizard. RachaelRay.com and RachaelRayMag.com are also tops on my list when I need quick ideas, her 30 min meals and 5 ingredients recipes are perfect! Also anything done by Paula Dean, Sandra Dee (Host of Semi-Homemade, use store bought and fresh ingredients for quick simple meals), Tyler Florence, or Anthony Bourdain is tops!

Just remember to keep it simple, don’t over think it, and above all else do not feel over whelmed. Let your instincts and tastes guide you and you’ll do amazing things! 😀

Julie D Avatar
Julie D

I can’t wait to try out some of these recipes! My collection is little, but my fam loves the old “tolhouse” chocolate chip cookie recipie. I do it only somewhat differently. Organic butter (no margarine here folks) in fact, go as organic/natural as you can (real vanilla versus extract too is muy importante)Stir the ingriedents, don’t use an electric mixer, and if you have a stoneware baking sheet, they bake cookies to absolute perfection. =D

Cami Avatar
Cami

Christine,

Every year I make Friendsgiving dinner, and this is the hit. I usually make it with a gluten free crust due to some group dietary issues, but it works just the same with a regular crust.

Sweet Potato Pie
Ingredients:
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter
2 large eggs, beaten
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325. Place the potatoes in a saucepan and cover them with water. Bring to a boil and cook 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender and soft. Drain and discard the water. While the potatoes are still hot, mash them with the butter and sugar. Let this mixture cool slightly, then add the beaten eggs along with the buttermilk and vanilla and combine well. Pour into the pie crust and bake for about 1 hour.

Charito Avatar
Charito

I’d love to see your recipe for a gluten free crust! My friend who is throwing our friendsgiving dinner has a gluten allergy. I’d love to make the apple pie I was going to make gluten free!

Trudie Carter Avatar
Trudie Carter

My friend is over here from US and we want to make him a thanksgiving dinner, so Ive been looking for a sweet potato recipe. You don’t say how much sugar is needed, and I’m a complete novice so please help! Id also be interested in the gluten free crust, my friend also can’t eat wheat. Can’t wait to try this 🙂

Charito Avatar
Charito

cooksillustrated.com

I love using Cook’s Illustrated. There is a monthly fee in order to access their recipes but I feel that it’s worth it. All their recipes are tried out numerous times in their test kitchens in order to find the perfect recipe.

http://www.lottieanddoof.com/recipes/

Lottie and Doof – pretty pictures and simple recipes!

epicurious.com
Another great resource as someone else previously stated.

MizLottie Avatar
MizLottie

The easiest dip ever. Thoroughly mix an 8 oz. block of softened cream cheese with the hottest bottled salsa you can stand, to taste. Put out with tortilla chips and watch it disappear.

Dusty Avatar
Dusty

OMG What a great post idea! I’m having so much fun reading through these!! 🙂 Here’s a holiday favorite of mine. Actually this is great for any family get-together (birthdays, thanksgiving, secretary’s day, etc.):

The juice from one lime, sweetened to taste
2oz of your best dry gin
Shake, shake, shake in a cocktail shaker with ice… pour and enjoy!

Yum! 🙂

Angelina Avatar
Angelina

I love to make “Oreo Balls” around the holidays. They’re a hit with my family and friends. Plus they’re easy to make.
Ingredients
-a package of Oreo cookies
-package of cream cheese
-2 bars of baking chocolate
-wax paper
Directions
1. Smash the box of Oreos in a clear, closed plastic bag. The cookies should be in tiny pieces.
2. Mix the mashed cookies with the cream cheese in a bowl. Form little balls and place them on the wax paper (so they won’t stick).
3. Microwave the baking chocolate bars until they melt (don’t put in the microwave too long or they’ll burn-Maybe 2 minutes).
4. Take a spoon and dip each Oreo ball in the melted chocolate until its completely covered and place the balls back on the wax paper.
5. Wait until the Oreo balls cool and place the Oreo balls in a tight closed container in the fridge for about an hour or more.
You can make these in a variety of ways. My friend makes these, but with the Mint Oreos. You can also add some saved crushed Oreos to the chocolate when it warm or toppings (crushed nutes, crushed Rieces Pieces, etc.)

Litenoumjuq Avatar
Litenoumjuq

Oh i have far too many to write. But the swedish candy “knäck” is wonderful.
http://www.recepten.se/recept/knaeck.html

Heat 2 dl full fat cream, 2 dl sugar and 2 dl syrup until it reaches 122-130 degrees _Celsius_. Pour in 1 dl chopped almonds. Pour the batter in a can and then pour it into small (and then I mean really small) paper cups like the ones in the picture above. And then just let it cool.

These ones are also a must for the holidays for me:
http://www.sweden.se/eng/Home/Lifestyle/Food-drink/Swedish-culinary-classics/Saffransbullar-and-pepparkakor/

Visagist Vanity Avatar
Visagist Vanity

Every Christmas Eve my grandpa would bring these things called Hanky Pankies, and when I moved out of state, I started making them here on Christmas Eve, and they’ve become a tradition here too! =)

Ingredients
1 pound Ground Hamburger
1 pound Pork Sausage
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon Oregano
1 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper
½ packages Of A 2-pound Box Of Velveeta
2 packages (16 Oz. Package) Cocktail Pumpernickel Bread

Brown the hamburger and sausage together in a skillet over medium heat. Once it’s fully browned, drain the grease but keep the meat in the skillet. Add the garlic powder, oregano, and crushed red pepper. Cut the Velveeta into cubes, and add it to the sausage and hamburger mixture. Stir over medium heat until melted.
Place cocktail bread onto cookie sheets, and spoon the mixture onto your cocktail bread, as much or as little as you want. You can wait for the mixture to set, and then place them in freezer bags and freeze, or cook them right away.
Bake at 375 degrees (F) for 20 minutes.

Ashley Avatar
Ashley

Food.com is a great place for recipes! It’s one of the only websites I use. I made these cookies, and they were so so good – I did alter the recipe slightly:
http://www.food.com/recipe/quinoa-tahini-cookies-159837

AND they are gluten-free, can be made to be egg-free, can be nut-free… basically great for allergies or intolerances. I made my own walnut butter instead of using tahini butter, added in some carob and sprinkle with cinnamon (or add into the batter), and I used 1/4 cup of brown sugar instead of the 1/3 cup they ask for, as I didn’t want them too sweet. I want to try it with raisins or cranberries next time.

LH Avatar
LH

One of our favs
Scandinavian Almond bars
Ingredients

1/2 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sliced almonds
2 tablespoons milk

1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 cup milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
In a medium bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add egg and almond extract; mix until fluffy. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt; mix well.
Divide dough into 4 pieces, and roll each one into a log about 12 inches long. Place 2 logs per cookie sheet 4 to 5 inches apart. Flatten each roll by hand until it is about 3 inches wide. Brush flattened roll with milk and sprinkle with sliced almonds.
Bake in preheated oven 12 to 15 minutes or until edges are slightly browned. While the cookies are still warm, cut them crosswise at a diagonal, into slices about 1 inch wide. When cool, drizzle with almond icing.
Almond icing: In a small bowl, stir together powdered sugar, almond extract, and milk until smooth. Drizzle over the cookies.

As for treats for Mellan check out dogtreatkitchen.com

Roxanne Avatar
Roxanne

Better Homes and Gardens’ Jam Thumbprints recipe. It’s KILLER. http://www.passthepocky.com/2009/07/jam-thumbprint-cookies.html (I omit the walnuts because my dad hates them XD) My copy of the recipe comes from a publication from the ’60s. It is a very worn, and very well loved cookbook!

As for dog treats, I don’t have a dog so I can’t judge, but Darla from Bakingdom (http://bakingdom.com/) has recently posted a recipe for a dog treat! Her blog is amazing if you’re interested in baking/decorating/anything cute.

Tina Avatar
Tina

http://reciplex.com/chipa-guazu-paraguayan-corn-casserole

My parents are from Paraguay in South America, and one of the recipes that my mother makes around holidays and when she feels like putting the effort into it is chipaguazu. It’s a corn-based, baked casserole that is loaded with onions and cheese, that is ridiculously addictive. We just use sweet frozen corn because fresh corn is just way too much of a hassle when it’s only 2 of us cooking as opposed to having 5 female heads of families cooking for the whole extended family, haha. But, SO GOOD! Colby jack, mozzarella, and cheddar are our absolute favorites to use for it!

Amber Avatar
Amber

All these recipes really make we want to start learning how to bake, especially those homemade cinnamon rolls!!! but i have no counter space to do anything that big right now 🙁 but i am saving up for an island so i can 🙂

ok, so this is a really delicious, simple, quick dessert dish to make anytime,especially during peak of strawberry season here in FL (feb-mar) when the stawberries are the sweetest! I dont like the cold, but here’s hoping to another colder winter to make for sweeter strawberries and oranges!

I do omit the liqueur, and change it up a bit sometimes by using angle food cake instead. you can use just cream cheese for a cheaper route, but using the mascarpone cheese yields a better result. And everytime i bring this into work, i always have a bunch of people asking for the recipe.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/lemon-scented-mascarpone-trifle-recipe/index.html

Enjoy!

Erica Avatar
Erica

One of my favorite recipes is for sweet potatoes. I don’t have a “hard and fast” recipe, per se. I typically do about 2 lbs of sweet potatoes, though. This is a simple recipe (especially for people who aren’t comfortable in the kitchen or don’t like a lot of ingredients) and everyone loves it!

Get 2 lbs of sweet potatoes from the grocery store (not yams, actual sweet potatoes).
Peel the skins from the potatoes and cut them into large chunks (no larger than 2 inches)
Place them in a pot of cold water. Enough water to cover the potatoes. Turn heat to high and bring the potatoes to a boil. Boil 20-30 mins, until the potatoes are easy to pierce with a fork.
Drain potatoes and put into a large mixing bowl.
Add one stick of unsalted butter, either softened, melted, or cut into small pieces (the hot potatoes will help the butter melt and combine).
Add about 1 cup of brown sugar. You can use dark or light, depending on your personal taste (I prefer dark brown sugar for this recipe).
Mix potatoes, butter, and brown sugar well with a hand mixer or using whisk attachment on standing mixer. Potatoes should be smooth (but some lumps are ok).
Use a spoon to taste the potatoes and see if you prefer them sweeter. If so, add a little more brown sugar, mix, repeat.
When you are happy with the taste, transfer them to an oven proof dish. Can be a glass pan or any ceramic oven dish. Size isn’t especially important, just make sure you have a little room between the top of the potatoes and the top of the dish (1/2 to 1 inch, I would say).
Bake at 350-375 degrees for about 1/2 hour.
Remove from oven, top with marshmallows (I love the small sizes ones, but any will work).
Return to oven and bake until marshmallows brown slightly.
Remove, let sit for about ten minutes, then spoon and serve! Delicious!

Phyrra Avatar
Phyrra

I make this almost every year for Thanksgiving and Christmas 🙂

Whipped Sweet Potatoes with Pears

Ingredients:
2 large cans of yams
4 anjou or bosc pears
1 cup evaporated milk
4 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 stick of butter
1 tsp cinnamon
1 pinch nutmeg
2 tbsp orange juice no pulp
1 cup chopped pecans
1 bottle of wine or cider

1. Peel & core the pears.
2. Poach the pears on the stovetop in the wine until soft.
3. Put them into a blender and puree.
4. Mix the evaporated milk, brown sugar, and butter on the stovetop and scald the mixture.
5. Mash the yams in a large bowl.
6. Pour the stovetop mixture in with the yams.
7. Add the orange juice, cinnamon, nutmeg and pecans to the yams and stir.
8. Add in the pear puree to the yams and mix thoroughly.
9. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes

If you like marshmallows with your sweet potatoes you can add marshmallows to the top before you bake the mixture.

Heidi Avatar
Heidi

Two of my favorite sites for recipes are:

http://simplyrecipes.com/

and

http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/main.aspx

The first one is a blog and I love her quesadilla recipe. The Kraft site is easy to navigate and I like that there are many options to search by. It’s also great to get ideas on all sorts of holiday dishes….they always have something really cute and while being surprisingly easy to make! My mom loves to make the 4th of July Flag cake (In July of course!). 🙂

Dorna Avatar
Dorna

I think you guys will really like tastespotting.com, if you haven’t already checked it out. It’s heavily based on food photography and gives so much inspiration-kinda like a food based temptalia!

They led me to the New York Times chocolate chip cookie recipe-this SLAMS all other chocolate chip cookie recipes-just google the title and you’ll see and the raving reviews from food bloggers everywhere. You have to chill the dough for at least 24 hours before baking, and it has a few other random twists but it’s totally worth it! If you’re into baking, you must must MUST try them.

NEW YORK TIMES CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Ingredients:
2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (8 1/2 ounces) cake flour
1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 pounds bittersweet disks or fèves, at least 60 percent cacao content
*Sea salt

Directions:
1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

4. Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day.

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