Holiday Recipes

Cake, Desserts, Holiday Recipes

Ingredients:
1 package yellow cake mix
1 package (3 and 3/4 oz.) instant vanilla pudding
4 eggs
1/2 cup cold water
1/2 cup dark rum
1/2 cup vegetable oil

rum glaze:
1 stick butter
1/4 cup water
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark rum

chocolate glaze:
4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
1 tsp butter or shortening

Optional: 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 10 inch tube pan. Mix cake mix, pudding, eggs, water rum and oil until smooth. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 1 hour. Cool in pan 25 minutes. Invert onto serving plate. Prick top and sides with toothpicks. Spoon and brush rum glaze evenly over cake. When cake is cooled, drizzle with chocolate glaze.

Rum glaze directions:
Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in water and sugar. Boil 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in rum. drizzle over cake. Top with chopped walnuts.

Chocolate glaze topping:
Melt chocolate and butter over very low heat in heavy saucepan.

Cookies, Desserts, Holiday Recipes

Cookie Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 Tablespoon vanilla
2 and 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Glaze Ingredients:
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon rum extract
1 to 2 Tablespoons hot water

Directions:
Heat oven to 375 degrees. In a large mixer bowl, combine 1 cup butter, sugar, egg and vanilla. Beat at medium speed until creamy. Reduce speed to low, add flour and nutmeg. Beat until well mixed. Press dough through cookie press 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 6-10 minutes until lightly browned.
In a small bowl, stir together glaze ingredients. Stir in enough hot water for desired glazing consistency. While still warm, brush top of each cookie with glaze.

Cookies, Desserts, Holiday Recipes

Ingredients:
Saltine crackers (about a sleeve and a half)
1 cup butter
1 cup dark brown sugar
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup chopped pecans

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line and 11″ x 17″ sheet pan with parchment paper. Place the crackers in a single layer.
In a saucepan, combine butter and brown sugar, boil for 3 minutes.
Immediately pour over saltines and spread to cover crackers completely.
Bake at 400 degrees for 5-6 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over the top. Let sit for 5 minutes. Spread melted chocolate, and top with chopped nuts. Cool completely and break into pieces.

Cookies, Desserts, Holiday Recipes

“Soft gingerbread,” according to my kids, this recipe makes a large quantity, so consider making a half batch.

Ingredients

1 cup sugar
1 cup dark molasses
1 cup lard, melted
1 cup hot water
1 heaping tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp ginger
5 cups flour

Put all ingredients except flour in a bowl. Stir well, then add flour. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours. Roll out on floured surface. Sprinkle with white sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 7-8 minutes. 

Cookies, Holiday Recipes

Ingredients:
2-1/4 cup sugar, divided
2/3 cup butter
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup sour cream
5 cups flour, sifted
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1-1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Gradually blend 2 cups sugar into butter, cream thoroughly. Add eggs to sugar mixture, beat until fluffy. Stir vanilla & sour cream into sugar mixture. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt & nutmeg. Mix the dry ingredients and add gradually to the sugar-butter mixture. Chill dough before rolling. Sprinkle with remaining sugar. Bake at 400 degrees for about 6-8 minutes.

Desserts, Holiday Recipes, Pies and Tarts

Bake small pie pumpkins in the oven at 350 degrees until really soft and pulling away from skin. Remove seeds and skin, puree when cooled.

Ingredients:

1 9 inch deep dish pie crust, preferably home made
2 cups of pureed pumpkin (1- 15 ounce can of pumpkin in a pinch)
3 eggs slightly beaten
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbsp molasses
optional- finely chopped crystallized ginger
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1 cup evaporated milk
Par bake crust 4-5 minutes at 400 degrees. Combine pumpkin and remaining ingredients. Pour in pie shell. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes, reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake an additional 40-45 minutes until knife comes out clean.