Recipes

Christmas Goodies 

PUMPKIN CHIFFON PIE
CRANBERRY WOBBLER
CHRISTMAS SOUP
KRIS KRINGLE CAKE
NEW YORK CUPCAKES
GREAT CAKE - FRUIT CAKE
TRADITIONAL YULE LOG
EGGNOG PIE WITH WALNUT CRUST
HONEY SUGARED WALNUTS
CRYSTAL CUT CANDIES
REMARKABLE FUDGE
ICED ALMONDS

PUMPKIN CHIFFON PIE

1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 cup milk
2 egg yolks - beaten
2 egg whites
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup whipping cream - whipped
1 9" graham cracker crust
whipped cream for garnish

Combine gelatin, sugar, salt, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, and nutmeg in a saucepan. Stir in the milk, egg yolks and pumpkin. Place over medium heat until mixture bubbles. Remove from heat and chill until partially set. Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form, gradually add the sugar and beat until stiff. Fold into the pumpkin mixture with the whipped cream. Pour into pie crust and chill for one hour. Cover with whipped cream before serving


CRANBERRY WOBBLER

1 1/2 Cups Ground fresh cranberries
1 1/2 Cups cold Water
1/2 Cup Sugar
1 teaspoon Lemon juice
2 Packages 3-oz each, orange Jello
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup fresh diced, orange sections
2 Cups Boiling Water
1/2 Cups chopped walnuts

Combine cranberries and sugar and set aside. Dissolve Jello and salt in the boiling water, add cold water orange juice, and cinnamon. Chill until thickened. Fold in Cranberries, diced oranges and walnuts. Pour into a 6 cup mold and refrigerate until set. Unmold and garnish



CHRISTMAS SOUP

4 cups cranberries
4 cups apple juice
2 cups applesauce
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 cups light cream
2 Tbsp. cornstarch Wash the cranberries. Simmer the cranberries in the apple juice for 10 minutes. Press the cranberries through a sieve or puree in your blender. Return to the apple juice and bring to a boil stirring constantly. Add the apple sauce, sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon. Mix the cornstarch with a bit of the cream to disolve. Add the cream and cornstarch mix to the cranberries. Simmer very gently for 5 minutes. Serve hot or cold with thinly sliced lemon rings floating on the top.



KRIS KRINGLE CAKE

one 2-layer-size package spice cake mix
1/4 cup shortening
1/2 cup boiling water
2 eggs
1/4 cup sherry
3 1/2 cups mixed chopped candied fruits/peels
2 cups broken California walnuts
1 cup raisins

Combine spice cake mix, shortening, and boiling water in large bowl. Mix till well moistened; let stand 30 minutes. Mix at medium speed on electric mixer 2 minutes, scraping bowl constantly. Add eggs, and sherry; beat 2 more minutes. Combine candied fruits and peels, walnuts, and raisins; stir into cake batter. Pour into greased and paper-lined 10-inch tube pan and bake in slow oven (300°) about 2 hours and 20 minutes or till toothpick inserted in cake comes out clean. Cool; remove from pan. Makes about 3 1/4 pounds.


FLUFFY FROSTING

1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Dash salt
1/3 cup water
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla

Bring sugar, cream of tartar, salt, and water to boiling; cook until sugar dissolves. Add very slowly to unbeaten egg whites, beating constantly with electric mixer till stiff peaks form. Add vanilla. Frosts tops and sides of two 8 or 9-inch cake layers or one 10-inch tube cake.


NEW YORK CUPCAKES

1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup milk
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup white wine

Place butter and milk in small saucepan and heat slowly until butter melts; pour into large bowl. Stir lightly beaten eggs into milk-and-butter mixture. Mix dry ingredients together and blend into liquid mixture. Add wine and mix well. Half fill greased muffin tins and bake at 350° for approximately 25
minutes. Makes about twenty-four 2-inch cakes. Serve with Warm Cream Sauce


WARM CREAM SAUCE

1/4 pound butter
2/3 cup superfine sugar
2 cups heavy cream
juice of 1 orange, strained
1/2 teaspoon nutmed

Melt butter and stir in sugar when butter has melted. Allow to become thick, stirring constantly over low heat. Add cream and whip gently with wire whisk. Add orange juice and whip. Grate nutmeg over sauce and serve.



GREAT CAKE

1 pound golden raisins
1 1/2 cups currants
1 cup candied orange peel
3/4 cup candied lemon peel
1 cup candied pineapple
1/3 cup candied ginger
1/3 cup candied red cherries
1/3 cup candied green cherries
1/2 cup brandy
4 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon mace
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 pound softened butter
2 cups sugar
10 eggs, separated
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/3 cup rum

Soak raisins and currants in water overnight. Chop orange and lemon peel quite fine; do the same with the citron, angelica, and both kinds of cherries. Pour brandy over fruit, cover, and allow to stand overnight.

The following day, sift together flour, mace, and nutmeg. Set aside. Work butter until creamy, then add 1 cup sugar, a little at a time, beating until smooth. Beat egg yolks until thick and light, then beat in remaining cup of sugar, a little at a time, and the lemon juice. Combine with butter/sugar mixture. Add flour and rum alternately. Stir in all the fruit and, last of all, fold in stiffly beaten egg whites.

Pour the batter into a well-greased and floured 10-inch tube pan, or 2 large loaf pans. Place pan of hot water in the bottom of a preheated 350° oven. Place cake pans in oven and bake 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 325° and continue baking 1 hour and 40 minutes for large cake; 40 minutes for loaf cakes.

Cakes are done when a toothpick, inserted at the center, comes out dry. Turn out on rack to cool, then wrap in cheesecloth soaked in rum (or brandy), and store in an airtight crock or tin for a month or more. If, during this mellowing period, the cheesecloth dries out, soak it again with the same spirits and rewrap the cake. Recipe makes about eleven pounds of Great Cake.


YULE LOG

4 eggs, separated
1 cup superfine sugar
5 tablespoons warm water
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
pinch salt
pinch cream of tartar
1 cup sifted cake flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons butter, softened
confectioners' sugar

Beat the egg yolks until lemon-colored. Beating constantly, slowly add 3/4 cup of the sugar. Continue to beat for several more minutes, then slowly beat in the water, a tablespoonful at a time, and finally beat in the vanilla.
Place the egg whites and salt in another bowl. Beat for a few seconds, then add the cream of tartar. Continue beating until the whites form soft peaks. Slowly beat in the remaining 1/4 cup sugar.
Resift the flour with the baking powder, and gradually add to the egg-yolk mixture, alternately folding in the beaten egg whites.
Butter an 11x17-inch jelly-roll pan and line with buttered and floured waxed paper. Pour cake batter into pan, smoothing it out evenly, and bake in a 350 oven for 15 minutes, or until cake is golden brown. Remove from oven, let sit for a minute, and then carefully turn cake upside down onto a dish towel that has been dusted with confectioners' sugar. Immediately peel off the waxed paper, taking care not to tear the cake. Trim off the crisp edges with a sharp knife, since they may cause the cake to crack when it is rolled. Sprinkle cake with a light sifting of confectioners' sugar, cover with a fresh sheet of waxed paper, and, starting with the short end, roll it up in the towel. While cake is cooling, prepare the butter cream (Recipe below).


BUTTER CREAM

1 cup sweet butter, softened
2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
3 egg yolks
3 tablespoons instant coffee, dissolved in 2tablespoons hot water and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped pistachio nuts

Beat the butter until fluffy, then gradually beat in the confectioners' sugar. Then beat in the egg yolks, one at a time; the cooled coffee solution, one tablespoon at a time; and the vanilla.
Carefully unroll the cooled cake, remove waxed paper, and spread it with about 1/2 inch of the butter cream. Roll it up again and place it on a serving dish. Add 3 tablespoons of the powdered cocoa to the remaining butter cream and beat it in thoroughly. Ice the surface of the roll, except for the ends, with this. With a fork, score the icing neatly from end to end so that it resembles the bark of a log. Sprinkle icing with the remaining tablespoon of cocoa and the pistachio nuts. Makes eight to ten servings.


EGGNOG PIE WITH WALNUT CRUST

CRUST
2 1/4 cup coarsely ground walnuts
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

FILLING
2 ½ cups heavy cream
1 cup sugar
½ cup brandy
1/4 cup rum
1 envelope plus 2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
4 large egg yolks
1 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

To make the crust, preheat the oven to 375°F. and set aside a 9-inch pie plate. In a food processor, grind the walnuts with the sugar. Add the melted butter and nutmeg. Mix well and turn into the pie plate. With the back of a spoon or a spatula, press the nut mixture evenly over the bottom and side of the plate, forming a ½-inch raised edge. Chill for 30 minutes. Bake for 10 minutes or until the edges become brown. Cool to room temperature.

To make the filling, whip 1 ½ cups heavy cream and 2/3 cup sugar into firm peaks. Set aside in the refrigerator until ready to use. In a small bowl, pour the brandy and rum together and sprinkle the gelatin over them. Stir and let sit while preparing the custard. Whisk together the egg yolks and the remaining 1/3 cup sugar. Combine the milk and 1 cup of the heavy cream in a saucepan, stirring frequently and heating until small bubbles form around the edge. Add this mixture gradually to the yolks until completely combined, whisking continuously. Pour back into the saucepan and over medium-low heat continuously stir until the mixture coats the back of a spoon (temperature of 172° to 175° F.). Remove from heat and stir in the rum mixture. Pour into a medium bowl and place in a slightly larger bowl, filled with ice. Stir frequently. When the custard mixture starts to set, quickly stir in the refrigerated whipped cream mixture. Pour into the pie shell, smooth the top, and sprinkle with freshly grated nutmeg. Chill 4 to 6 hours. Garnish with Whipped cream if desired. Serves 8.



HONEY SUGARED WALNUTS

2 1/2 cups California walnut halves
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Toast walnuts in 375° F. oven 10 minutes, stirring once.
Butter sides of heavy 2-quart saucepan. In it combine sugar, water, honey, salt, and cinnamon. Heat and stir until sugar dissolves and mixture boils. Cook to soft-ball stage (236°) without stirring.
Remove from heat; beat until mixture begins to get creamy. Add vanilla and warm nuts; stir gently until nuts are well coated and mixture becomes thick. Turn out on buttered baking sheet; with 2 forks, separate nuts at once.


CRYSTAL-CUT CANDIES

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup water
Dash salt
Few drops green food coloring
4 to 6 drops oil of wintergreen

Combine sugar, corn syrup, water, and salt. Bring to boiling. Cook to soft-crack stage (296° F.). Add coloring and flavoring; gently swirl mixture to blend. Pour into 8x8x2-inch metal pan.

Let stand a few minutes until film forms over top. Mark candy in little puffs, each about 3/4-inch square. Because candy is cooler at edges, start marking from outside and work toward the center. Using a broad spatula or pancake turner, press a line across pan 3/4 inch from edge, being careful not to break through the film on surface. Repeat around other 3 sides of pan, intersecting lines at corners to form squares. (If lines do not hold shape, candy is not cool enough.) Continue marking to center.
While waiting for center to cool enough, retrace previous lines, pressing the spatula deeper but not breaking film. When spatula may be pressed to bottom of pan in all lines, candy will be shaped in square puffs. Cool, then turn out and break into pieces. Makes 100.


REMARKABLE FUDGE

4 cups sugar
1 14 1/2-ounce can (I 2/3 cups) evaporated milk
1 cup butter or margarine
1 12-ounce package semisweet chocolate pieces
1 pint marshmallow creme
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped California walnuts

Butter sides of heavy 3-quart saucepan. In it combine first 3 ingredients. Cook over medium heat till soft-ball stage (236°), stirring frequently. Remove from heat; add chocolate pieces, marshmallow creme, vanilla, and chopped nuts. Beat until chocolate is melted and blended. Pour into buttered 9x9x2-inch pan. Score in squares while warm and top each with a walnut half. Cut when firm. Makes 3 dozen 1 ½-inch pieces.


ICED ALMONDS

1/4 cup butter
2-1/2 cup whole unblanched almonds
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

In a heavy saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add almonds and sugar. Cook and stir constantly for 7-8 minutes till syrup is golden brown. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Immediately drop by clusters on a greased baking sheet Cool. Store in airtight container . Not actually a cookie but oh so very good. Make lots. They go quickly.