One New Year’s Eve, Vonnie and Linda decided to eat dinner together– they had no idea it would become a 30-year (and counting) tradition for them and their families.
Food traditions are often started on a whim or out of convenience, but these little decisions change the flavor of our lives by adding a richness and stability that we look forward to. Linda and Vonnie are close friends for lots of reasons, but one dinner one night created a bond, a ritual, that has lasted for most of their adult lives.
Although they had a hard time picking one recipe, they ultimately choose Steak Diana. This beef tenderloin dish has been cooked more than any other (3 times) and it’s from The Cook Book, published by the National Council of Jewish Women.
Steak Diane
Four 4- to 6-ounce beef tenderloin steaks
2 Tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
4 Tablespoons butter
1 1/2 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 cups sliced mushrooms
2 Tablespoons minced shallots
1/4 cup brandy
1/2 cup beef bouillon
Pound steaks between two pieces of waxed paper. Dredge in flour mixed with salt and pepper. In a large skillet melt 1 Tablespoon butter. Add steaks. Brown one minute on each side. Remove to platter. Spread both sides with mustard and sprinkle Worcestershire sauce & set aside. In same skillet melt rest of butter, sauté minced shallots briefly, add mushrooms and sauté a minute or two. Add brandy and flame. Stir in bouillon and remaining Worcestershire. Cook and stir until hot. Return steaks to skillet, reheat 2 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
My friend Megan and I decided to watch Julie and Julia together, so why not make dinner too. We put on pearls and cooked up The Ghost of Julia Child Menu from one of my favorite cookbooks, The Veganomicon. How would Julia feel about vegan food? I know you may find this hard to believe, but I think she would love it. Why? Because it is fearless, challenging, and Julia loved a good adventure especially when it came to her taste buds.
The Ghost of Julia Child’s Dinner Menu:
Sautéed Seitan with Mushrooms and Spinach
Herb-Scalloped Potatoes
Salad
Homemade old world bread
Heart Shaped Apple Galettes
Herb-Scalloped Potatoes
Ingredients Serves 4
2 lbs. white potatoes (3 average sized) scrubbed & sliced into 1/8″ thick disks
3/4 cup vegetable broth
1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk
1 tbsp. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp. nutritional yeast or flour (I highly recommend nutritional yeast for this)
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. dried rosemary
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. salt
Several pinches of freshly ground black pepper
1. Preheat the oven to 400*. Lightly grease a 9 X 13-inch glass baking dish or ceramic casserole pan
2. Layer the potatoes in the pan, allowing them to slightly overlap. Lay them across the short way first, overlapping a little less than a half of each potato slice. In each subsequent row, overlap the potatoes by about one-quarter of each potato slice. It should look something like this:
3. Pour most of the vegetable broth over the potatoes, reserving about 3 tbsp. (no need to be exact). Pour the soymilk and drizzle the olive oil over potatoes, making sure to coat each one. If you need to use a little more than 1 tbsp., that’s ok.
4. Scatter the minced garlic over everything, then sprinkle 2 tbsp. of the nutritional yeast over all the potatoes. Drizzle the remaining vegetable broth- try not to wash all the nutritional yeast off the potatoes; you just want to get it moist, so drizzle slowly. Then sprinkle with the last tbsp. of nutritional yeast, the herbs, and the salt.
5. Cover loosely with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
“See, gumbo is a tradition in my family. Every New Years Day, my mom would fix gumbo. It was the same every year. Chip and dip to hold us over until the gumbo was done. And around noontime or after, she’d announce it was done and we would come running.”
“If the gumbo could talk, it would chronicle all the laughs and stories my family and friends have shared over the years. It would tell you how many people’s noses ran while eating just one bowl. It would recant the number of times my dad said “don’t pick out the shrimp from the pot! Whatever comes up in the spoon is what goes in your bowl.” And it would marvel at how a simple tradition has kept my family (and friends) connected for so many years.”
Monic’s Modified New Year’s Gumbo recipe:
Mom’s Seafood Gumbo
Time: about 3-1/2 hours
2 pounds raw shrimp, in shells
4 large green onions chopped, tops reserved
4 tablespoons bacon fat
3 tablespoons flour
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1-1/2 pounds hot Creole sausage sliced into 1-inch chunks
1 pound canned tomatoes
Tabasco, salt and pepper to taste
4 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/3 teaspoon basil
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1 pound crabmeat
6 cups chicken stock
Dash file powder
Cooked rice
Peel and de-vein shrimp. Cut all vegetables and meat.
Make a roux by melting in a heavy pot 4 tablespoons bacon fat. Blend in 3 tablespoons flour. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until a very dark brown.
Add chopped onions, garlic, bell pepper, and celery. Stir and brown slightly. Add sausage and tomatoes and chicken stock. Add Tabasco and up to 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper, salt and pepper to taste, bay leaf, thyme and basil. Let simmer slowly for 1-1/2 to 2 hours. (Check to add more salt, pepper and cayenne as necessary.) During last half hour of cooking, add green onions, parsley, crab meat and shrimp. (Start cooking rice.) Sprinkle a pinch of file powder over each serving and serve with rice.
Oh, fruitcake! It gets such a bad rap. I was delighted when Anne asked me over for dinner and to talk about her husband’s grandmother’s fruitcake recipe. Even more fun, she made it right in front of me!
Yes, we started the evening with a lovely dinner of wine and chicken ravioli in a walnut sauce. It was very yummy indeed.
Then it was on to the fruitcake. This recipe was passed down to Anne and she is the only person in the family who makes it. It requires some specific ingredients. She traditional buys boxed Nonesuch mincemeat, but this year, the stores in her area stopped stocking it. Anne had to go for a different brand and a jar version.
First, we had to open the jar…
And Anne’s story…
Finally into the pan!
I left before the cake was finished, but it turned out well, jarred mincemeat and all.
So many of our food traditions just find us and sharing them with others keeps us connected to the people who took the time to write the recipe card in the first place. Food is a perishable way of keeping memories alive, which is both wonderful and fleeting at the same time. I was so happy on the day before Christmas Eve, Anne knocked on my front door with a slice for me. It was gone before I could take a picture of it.
Grandma Lewandowski’s Holiday Fruitcake
9-oz. pkg. Nonesuch mincemeat
½ c. water
½ c. sifted flour
t. baking soda
eggs, lightly beaten
14-oz. can condensed milk
c. (1-lb. jar) mixed candied fruit
c. walnuts, coarsely chopped
c. raisins
c. dates
Break mincemeat into pieces in a medium saucepan. Add water. Stir over medium heat until lumps are broken. Boil 1 minute. Cool.
Butter a 10-12″ springform pan, line with waxed paper, and butter again.
Sift flour and baking soda together. Combine eggs, mincemeat, condensed milk, fruit, and nuts. Fold in dry ingredients. Pour into prepared pan. Bake in 300 degree oven for 2 hours or until center springs back when touched.
Cool and turn out. Remove paper.
After interviewing Julie about her family’s Christmas ravioli extravaganza I was inspired. I love dough and pasta, then heck, I should make some ravioli’s too!
So it began.
For 2 weeks I made ravioli’s by myself. I made pumpkin which turned out a little too pumpkin-y and chicken sausage, which was good, but I was wearing out. Yes, as I should have learned from the interview, making lots of ravioli might require more hands. I called SOS and my trusty help came running. Thank you family.
Cheese filling.
Dad picked his own apron fyi.
Ravioli Exhaustion. I owe her yet again.
Party:
This was a BYOB party (Bring your own bowl). I did this partly to save on late night dishwashing and mostly because it was kind of fun to tell people. The party started at 5pm and lasted until 9pm. I wanted people to feel like they could drop by and weren’t committed to midnight.
Menu:
Cheese Ravioli
Pumpkin Ravioli
Chicken Sausage Ravioli
Dad’s Spaghetti Sauce (with a little help from Paul Newman)
Dad’s meatballs
Garlic Butter Sauce
Bread
Garlic Butter
Plain Butter
Wine
Champagne
Beer
Sparkling Cider
Diet Coke
Fresca
Water
Desserts: (another bowl friendly item)
Ice cream: Chocolate Fudge, Vanilla, Cookie Dough, and Peppermint
Toasts and celebrating every hour on the hour!
The party was a smash, at least I think so. The best thing about this experience was that I got to talk to almost everyone! This is usually not the case when I’m hosting. Since I decided to serve each person to order from the stove, I had the chance to chat with my guests. Yes, it was busy night boiling for me, but I wouldn’t want it any other way.
We had so much fun. The pumpkin ravioli’s turned out to be the big hit! Who knew? Certainly not this hearty eater.
And then there were the toasts. Every hour until all the guests left. I thought people might tire of the toasting, but no one did. In fact I think people liked it even more as the night went on.
Each guest took home one or two individually wrapped cinnamon rolls. I made 60 in total! I love the idea of celebrating the sweetness of a new year with something yummy. (I stole this idea from a children’s book author that I like). For the recipe see my blog about my grandmother’s cinnamon rolls.
With one guest left we invited her to participate in our New Year’s ritual.
That night we received a message that one of younger guests was still requesting dad’s meatballs when he was tucked into bed. People did scrape the bowl looking for more.
Here’s the recipe so you can enjoy them too!
Dad’s Meatballs:
1/2 pound of Italian sausage
1/2 pound hamburger
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
garlic salt and pepper to taste
2 eggs
(dad also tossed in some black olives and chopped tomatoes in some of the meatballs)
Butter for frying (2 to 3 tablespoons)
How to:
Mix all ingredients together (except butter) in a large bowl.
Form golf ball sized meatballs and set aside on a plate.
Melt butter in a deep frying pan. Add meatballs.
Fry in pan until cooked through and brown on the outside.
Serves 10
What an excellent way to start the new year. All that work was so worth it!
Thank you Kendra for the use her pictures, Jennifer for helping out at the stove and Roger for answering the front door!
Julie learned her Christmas food tradition not from her own grandmother, but her husband’s grandmother
“My husband’s mother is of Italian heritage. Her parents my husband’s grandparents, lives centered around food and family. They had several customs that are SO much a part of my husband’s childhood. My mother-in-law does not cook at all — so they taught me (and my sister-in-law) many of their traditions before they died.”
This annual chaotic, happy ravioli-making extravaganza isn’t just a group effort but a celebration of the way we become family. I found the idea of making ravioli so exciting, I decided to take it on my self. See the New Years post for more!
Lucille Bivona Piraro’s Ravioli and Meatballs
This recipe makes enough filling for 80-100 large ravioli. Easy to cut recipe in thirds for smaller amounts.
Brown meat, drain excess fat. Mix together with all other ingredients.
Pasta:
3 cups all-purpose flour (or ½ cup semolina, 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour)
1 tsp salt
4 eggs
1 TB olive oil
2 TB water
Mix flour and salt in large bowl or on clean work surface. Make a well in the center and add eggs, olive oil and water. Beat eggs with a fork and begin incorporating flour mixture until a firm dough forms. Need the dough for 10 minutes until pliable and smooth. Cover it with damp cloth and let it rest for a few minutes. Take handful of dough and work with through a pasta machine, starting with highest setting and repeat running it through three or four times. Gradually work down to lowest setting (or desired thickness). Use ravioli molds as directed to assemble.
-OR-
On floured work surface, lay the long strip of pasta flat. Place rounded tablespoonful of filling (or use small ice cream scoop) on the strip approx 3-4 inches apart. Brush water around filling and add another flat strip of pasta on top (or fold the bottom one over). Gently press two strips together, while pressing the air out around the filling. Evenly cut the ravioli to desired size using a rolling pastry cutter. (I make approx 3 ½ – 4 inch squares). Use the ends of a fork to crimp the edges of each one, being careful not to poke holes in the dough. Cook immediately or freeze on cookie sheets until no longer sticky. Transfer to plastic bags for longer storage in freezer. Cook in boiling water (without thawing).
Serve with pasta sauce and meatballs!
Meatballs
This recipe makes 12-15 meatballs. I triple it to go with the full recipe above.
½ lb ground beef
½ lb ground pork
2 slices white bread with crusts cut off, soaked in milk
½ cup Italian bread crumbs
½ cup romano or parmesan cheese (or combo)
1 beaten egg
¼ cup parsley, chopped
1 garlic clove, pressed
2 tsp dried oregano (or 1 TB fresh)
1 tsp dried basil (or 1 ½ tsp fresh)
dash of red pepper flakes
salt and pepper
Mix all ingredients together, gently. Lightly form meatballs, approx 2” in diameter.
Put meatballs in 9×13 baking dish and add beef broth to ½ inch to 1 inch in-depth. Bake in 425 degree oven for 25 minutes. Add to simmering tomato sauce to continue cooking.
Basic Tomato Sauce
This is enough sauce to go with 12-15 meatballs. I usually triple it as well, if needed.
½ onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, pressed or minced
2-3 small cans tomato paste
8 cans water
1 14.5 oz can diced or crushed tomatoes
salt
pepper
1 TB sugar
dash cinnamon
basil, parsley (fresh or dried) as desired
1 bay leaf
Brown onion in olive oil until soft. Add garlic and stir for a minute. Add tomato paste and water, stirring until paste is dissolved. Add all other ingredients, stirring. Bring to a boil and simmer for an hour or more, stirring occasionally. Add meatballs and continue simmering until meatballs are cooked through
Liz truly cherishes her friends and their Girl’s Night Out dinners.
For three years her and her friends have fun getting together, sharing stories, laughing, dining, and supporting each other.
GNO’s can also turn into GNI (Girl’s Night In) when Liz and her friends cook together in the kitchen.
“We filled the kitchen, each working on our own tasks — someone might chop vegetables, someone might pour the drinks, someone might set the table, someone might gather all of the ingredients — everyone contributed.“
Liz and her friends prove once again that food brings us and keeps us together.
Liz’s Recipe and a Girl’s Night Out Favorite….
Layered Greek Dip
Ingredients:
1 8 oz pkg. cream cheese softened
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. dried italian seasoning
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups prepared hummus
1 cup chopped cucumber
1 cup chopped tomato
1/2 cup chopped pitted Kalamata olives
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/3 cup sliced green onions
Pita chips and/or multi-grain tortilla chips
How-to:
1) In a medium mixing bowl beat cream cheese, lemon juice, Italian seasonings, and garlic with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and combined.
2) Spread cream cheese mixture into a deep 9-inch pie plate or shallow serving dish. Evenly spread hummus on cream cheese layer. Top with cucumber, tomato, olives, feta cheese, and green onions. Cover and refrigerate 2 to 24 hours. Serve with pita chips and or multi-grain chips.
As a child there was one food I was afraid of, The Lep Cookie. This Boonville Missouri and Farris family favorite sat in jars all around town “ripening” for months before being consumed at Christmas. The idea that a cookie got better the longer it aged did not tempt my refrigerator /expiration date trained taste buds (plus it was filled with raisins, walnuts and no chocolate). The Lep cookie isn’t just a legend in our family, but a Christmas cookie tray staple and a topic of discussion every holiday for many families in mid-Missouri.
Where do these flat dark brown cookies come from?
According to a 1974 article in the Boonville newspaper, the “Lebukuchen” became a popular cookie in mid-Missouri due to the scarcity of sugar. Brought to Boonville by german immigrants in the 1800’s, the Lebukuchen, was soon americanized to the German Honey Bar, The Lepp or Lep cookie. This cookie was traditionally exchanged by neighbors and served when anyone dropped by. Though there are many different local recipes all involve the same basic ingredients: flour, nuts, fruits, and sorghum molasses. The nuts are key. There are a lot of nut trees in area, so essentially they were a free ingredient for baking. These cookies were prepared around nut harvesting time, November, and eaten at Christmas.
The Lep cookie is so ingrained in the town’s culture that at the local hospital huge quantities were often baked and decorated like greeting cards for the patients and in 1928 each new Christmas infant took one home.
Now the question is, when did my family start making them?
One fall afternoon, Linda and I found my great grandmother’s recipe for Lep cookies. It was buried under magazine recipes and several different newspaper versions of Lep cookies. My grandmother was about to toss it out!
I have groaned about the Lep cookie for years, but to be totally honest, I ended up loving the that cookie after I baked it myself. I learned that, yes, it’s true you must let them chill before handling the dough or it will turn into a sticky tar mess. But it’s really tasty, kind of like a granola bar or fruit cake without the candied fruit. I ate them with tea like my mother’s side of the family. And frankly, I am forcing myself to wait until frosty afternoon in February to eat the rest. This is one cookie that is more a part of my DNA then I ever thought possible.
Because they keep forever, all Lep cookie recipes bake a ton.
Here is a condensed recipe:
Lep Cookies
Ingredients:
8 oz or 1 cup sorghum molasses or dark molasses
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup lard or Crisco
1 pint or 2 cups of flour
1/2 cup of buttermilk
2 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda
1/2 Tablespoon of each: clove, ginger, nutmeg, all spice
1 Tablespoon of cinnamon
1 cup of chopped mixed nuts ( I used pecans and walnuts)
1 cup of mixed fruit (I used raisins and dried cranberries)
Pinch of salt
Wax paper
How-To:
Heat molasses, lard and sugar and let cool.
Add baking soda to milk, then add all ingredients together in a mixing bowl.
Mix together until a wet dough forms.
Pour ingredients onto a sheet of wax paper. Use your hands to shape the dough into rolls. You won’t use your hands too long, the dough is very sticky. Once you have a log shape going, wrap the wax paper around the sides of the dough and use it to roll the dough into shape. I cut my dough into two rolls.
Wrap the wax paper around the dough and chill. Chilling can be over night or you can freeze it and bake it much later.
Slice and bake at 350 for 12 to 15 minutes.
To ripen them: Store in an air tight container (like a stone jar or plastic container) at room temperature for a month or freeze them (icing and all) and eat them until next year.
Lep cookies are served frosted and unfrosted. I choose to make a Browned Butter Frosting for mine. Here’s that recipe, but feel free to use any frosting you like!
Browned Butter Frosting (from Better Homes and Gardens)
In a small saucepan heat 1/2 cup butter over low heat till melted. Continue heating till butter turns a delicate brown. Remove from heat; pour into small bowl. Add 4 cups of sifted powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons milk, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on low-speed till combined. Beat on medium high-speed, adding additional milk if needed to reach spreading consistency.
Christmas and cookies just go together. In fact, I think a jolly cookie fever sweeps through this time of year leaving everyone feeling sugared and stuffed. People love to make and eat cookies they don’t want regularly because of tradition and family. Cookies just taste different during the holiday season. Personally, I’ve never been a big cookie baker. Chocolate chip cookies tend to be my standard along with a favorite holiday cookie/candy, the chocolate peanut butter ball.
Since I had the time, I spent the days before Christmas making different kinds of cookies each week (most were new recipes for me) and then gave them away to friends, neighbors, and the seniors at the community center. I liked playing Santa. It was fun to catch neighbors backing out of their driveways and scout out friend’s homes I haven’t visited in years all for the sake of a little sweet cheer.
Supplies.
Did I sample all of these treats more than once, yes. Did I buy three jars of marshmallow Fluff, yes. Did I even get close to the number of cookies my Aunt Bec made, NO. I heard she made twenty different kinds. She is a baking saint.
Week One: Vanilla Caramels and Fudge.
*There’s no visual record of the my first attempts at candy making. Although the first few bites of caramel tasted good, they quickly turned rock hard in under 30 minutes. The old-time fudge solidified in the pan and I could lift the whole thing up with the cemented candy thermometer. It was not a good day in the kitchen, I was lucky to salvage the pot and the thermometer. I laughed and learned, what else can you do.
Round Two of fudge went much easier. I turned to the time-tested and trustworthy Fluff.
Mamie Eisenhower’s recipe was so good, I ended up making it twice. I did add smashed candy canes to the top (mostly to make it more Christmas-y, but it actually tasted really good).
Eisenhower Fudge
Ingredients:
4 1/2 cups of sugar
pinch of salt
2 Tablespoons butter
1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
12 ounces (2 cups) semisweet chocolate chips
12 ounces of German Chocolate (in baking section of store)
2 cups marshmallow creme
5 candy canes (crushed into bits) – optional
How-To:
In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, salt, butter and milk. Boil for 6 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine the chocolate chips, German chocolate, and marshmallow creme.
Pour hot milk mixture over the chocolate mixture and stir with wooden spoon for at least 5 minutes, until the chocolate has melted and the fudge has begun to thicken.
Line a 9 by 13 inch pan with lightly buttered wax paper. Pour the fudge into the pan and let sit.
If you’re adding crushed candy canes, feel free to add them after the fudge has cooled a little (maybe 15-20 minutes).
Cover fudge and let it sit on the counter overnight until it’s firm enough to cut into squares.
Week Two: Rocky Road Cookies
*These were so yummy, we pretty much ate them all in one night. Luckily the recipient of them joined us for dinner, so she got her share too.
Pre-heat oven to 350′, grease baking sheets. Beat together butter, sugar & vanilla until creamy. In another bowl mix dry ingredients together – flour & finely chopped pecans. Slowly stir into creamy mixture.
Use a 1″ cookie scoop, scoop dough and place on baking sheet. Gently flatten until about 1/2″ thick, with smooth-ish edges. Bake 16 minutes or until lightly browned on the edges.
Just before cookies come out of oven, melt chocolate chips. I use the microwave – high for about 1 minute, then stir until completely melted. Watch out, microwaves vary and it is easy to scorch your chocolate.
Remove cookies from oven, spread with approximately 1 tsp. chocolate/cookie, then top with coarsely chopped pecans and marshmallows. Return to oven for 2 more minutes for the marshmallows to soften.
Remove from oven and place on racks to cool.
Week Three: Peppermint Whoopie Cookies and Lep Cookies with Browned Butter Frosting (separate blog to come on this Farris classics).
*I was a little nervous about the Whoopie Cookie, which is basically like a moon pie. I didn’t think it would travel well, but it just looked so cute, I gave it a go. I’m glad I did. It was fun to make and ended up holding together great after being in the fridge for about an hour! Yes, I added candy canes to this recipe too, (I heart peppermint).
Peppermint Whoopie Cookies
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1-oz. bottle red food coloring (2 Tbsp.)
1 recipe Whoopie Pie Filling, recipe below
1/4 cup of crushed candy cane
How-To
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment; set aside. In medium bowl combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
2. In large mixing bowl beat butter on medium to high 30 seconds. Beat in brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk, beating after each addition just until combined. Stir in food coloring.
3. Spoon batter in 1 or 2-inch diameter rounds, about 1/2-inch high on prepared baking sheets, allowing 1 inch between each round.
4. Bake 7 to 9 minutes for 1-inch cookies or 9 to 11 minutes for 2-inch cookies, or until tops are set. Cool completely on baking sheets on rack. Remove cooled cookies from baking sheets.
5. To fill, dollop Whoopie Pie Filling on flat sides of half the cookies. Sprinkle candy cane on top of the filling. Top with remaining cookies, flat sides down. Makes 60 one-inch or 42 two-inch cookies.
6. Whoopie Pie Filling: In medium mixing bowl beat 1/4 cup softened butter and half an 8-ounce package softened cream cheese until smooth. Fold in one 7-ounce jar marshmallow creme. I did add candy cane to the filling, maybe 1 1/2 table spoons.
7. To store: Refrigerate in airtight container up to 4 days. Let stand at room temperature 15 minutes before serving.
Week Three/ Part One: Butter Pecan Cookies, Swedish Tea Cookies and more Fudge.
* There are three treats that mean Christmas to me and Butter Cookies and Swedish Tea Cookies (some people call them wedding cookies or mexican wedding cookies) are two of them. In my mind, they taste like our family holidays. Mom came over to teach me the recipes and bake all day.
Butter Cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups flour
whole pecans
How-to:
Cream butter and sugar together. Add flour. Mix well.
Chill for 2 hours.
Roll into small balls.
Flatten each with your thumb.
Decorate with a single pecan placed in thumbprint.
Bake 12 minutes at 375.
Makes 3 dozen.
Swedish Tea Cookies
Ingredients:
1/2 cup of powdered sugar
1 cup margarine or butter softened
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
1 cup finely chopped pecans and almonds
1/4 tsp salt
Extra powdered sugar
How-to:
Beat 1/2 cup powdered sugar, butter and vanilla until fluffy.
Add flour, nuts, and salt. Mix until dough holds together.
Shape into 1 inch balls. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake at 325 for 15 to 20 minutes (until set, but not brown).
Remove from pans, cool slightly, roll in powdered sugar. Cool and roll again.
Makes 5 dozen.
The Fudge, revisited.
Week Three/ Part Two: Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls, Peanut Butter Cookies with Hershey Kisses and Chocolate Chip Cookies.
*Christmas Eve morning I got up and baked to Perry Como and falling snow. Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls (or Buckeye’s) are my other favorite Christmas treat. I can’t get the recipe out of my Grandma, she has to ask her sister and well, that’s family for you. I found a recipe online that pretty much tastes the same. Mine are messy, not smooth like Gladys’. I’m considering calling them Lumps of Coal from now on.
My Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Balls or Lumps of Coal:
Ingredients:
1 Cup chunky peanut butter
1 cup Rice Krispies Cereal
1 cup powdered sugar
I package of Almond chocolate bark
wax paper
How-to:
Mix peanut butter, powdered sugar and Rice Krispies together in a large bowl.
Spread wax paper on a tray or multiple plates.
Roll mixture into walnut sized balls and place on covered trays. Chill for 1 hour.
Melt the package of chocolate bark in a medium to small-sized saucepan.
Dip balls into the chocolate with tongs and put them on wax paper covered trays/plates (could be ones from earlier or new trays).
Cool until firm by leaving them on the table or in the fridge!
*Our favorite restaurant in town is Cascones in Overland Park. We had our wedding reception there and love being regulars. Christmas Eve is one of their busiest nights of the year. The staff stays late filling take out orders and making families full and happy. It’s become a tradition for John and I to take them treats and hopefully make working Christmas Eve a little easier. This year the staff got Peanut Butter cookies with Hershey Kisses. Classic and easy to eat on the go!
* When John and I got married I made a point of asking him what cookies meant Christmas to him. He remembered always having Chocolate Chip, not a traditional holiday cookie for the Farris family. Each year I make a batch on Christmas Eve just for my honey. This year I insisted he eat the batter on the beater for breakfast. There wasn’t any pushback, but I wasn’t allowed to take a picture.
My wife and I got married 3 years ago. We both love food and grew up in awesome food families. My wife’s family is from Italian and I’m learning all about the magic of sauces and the perfection of Gnocci. But I grew up in a house where we (as a family) always cooked together. My dad would cook, my mom, my sister and I would do all the prep clean up. We always were in the kitchen together. And like any food family we have a number of recipes that are true family secrets. They are the recipes that my grandparents, my aunts and uncles, my cousins… we all know these recipes. It’s the food that makes us family.
So four years ago I was searching for the ultimate mother’s day gift. Because I’m a designer and my parents are artists I knew if I wanted to impress, I needed to make my mother a gift. So I silk screened set of recipe cards for my mom. She is always giving out her recipes to coworkers and friends so I thought she needed some cards that people would know were from Susie Brantman.
Mom seemed to like the gift but then…
A whole year went by and I never saw any of the recipe cards. (Did she hate the gift?)
Then my fiance and I had a couples wedding shower. My parents were there and I clearly remember unwrapping the gift from my mom. She had taken all the recipe cards I gave her and copied down EVERY family recipe on them. But not just the recipes; she wrote where they were from, why we loved them, the stories of our family with the recipes, illustrations of some dishes.
AMAZING! The amount of time that I know my mom spent writing all these down is incredible. I still can’t believe that she took all that time to pass on those recipes to me.
The best part of the gift to me is now that I have my son, I pull them out and start cooking dinner with him in the kitchen and I just smile at the idea that it feels like my mom, my whole family is in the room when we are cooking. These recipe cards are the one thing that I hope get to pass on to my kids.
Susie and Tom’s son James
Susie Brantman’s famous CRACKER JACK COOKIES
Ingredients:
2 sticks butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 ½ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon soda
2 cups oatmeal (old fashioned)
2 cups rice krispies
1 cup coconut
Instructions:
Set oven to 350.
Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder and soda. Combine flour and egg mixture. Add remaining ingredients. Mix well. Drop heaping tablespoons, about 2” apart on greased baking sheet. 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove immediately from pan to cool.
the pies that bind 
