Icebox Fruit Cake

Icebox Fruit Cake

1 box vanilla wafers, crushed
2 cups chopped pecans
2 cups chopped walnuts
1/2 pound raisins, chopped
1 medium bottles red cherries drained and chopped (reserve 8 halves for
garnishing cake)
3 tbsp. cherry juice
1 can sweetened condensed milk

Combine dry ingredients. Mix cherry juice with milk and pour over dry
ingredients. Mix thoroughly. Form into ring. This can be done easily by pacing a
medium tumbler in the center of a plate and pressing mixture around tumbler.
Cover tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate with tumbler until firm. Remove
tumbler and recover in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 48 hours before serving.
Refrigerate leftovers

Maple Pecan Oatmeal Cookies

Maple Pecan Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup ap flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 egg
1 cup rolled oats (regular or quick cooking)
1/2cup coarsely chopped cinnamon glazed pecans

Preheat oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and
salt. Set aside.

Cream butter and brown sugar together in a large bowl. Beat in maple syrup and
egg. Stir in flour mixture and oats, adding pecans at the last minute. Stir only
until just combined.

Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto parchment lined baking sheet.
Bake at 375 for 9-12 minutes, until set and golden brown around the edges.

Makes about 2 dozen.

Turkey Cranberry Salad in Wreath

Turkey Cranberry Salad in Wreath

2 8-ounce packages refrigerated crescent rolls
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons honey Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
2 cups cooked turkey (or smoked), chopped
1/2 cup celery, sliced
3 tablespoons fresh parsley,snipped
1/2 cup dried cranberries
4 ounces Swiss cheese, shredded (1 cup)
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
1 egg, separated

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Unroll crescent dough; separate into 16 triangles. With wide ends of triangles
toward the center, arrange 8 triangles in a circle on Large Round Stone.
Corners of wide ends will touch and points will extend 1 inch beyond the edge.
Match wide end of each remaining triangle to wide end of each outer triangle;
seal seams with fingertips (points will overlap in center; do not seal).

Measure mayonnaise, mustard and pepper into bowl. Add turkey, celery, parsley
and cranberries to bowl, grate cheese into bowl. Mix filling. Scoop filling
over seams of dough, forming a circle.

Coarsely chop walnuts; sprinkle over filling. Beginning in center, lift one
dough triangle across mixture. Continue alternating with outer strips, slightly
overlapping to form wreath. Tuch last end under first.

Separate egg ov a small bowl. Beat egg white lightly; brush over dough using
pastry brush. Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cut and serve.

Yield: 10 servings.

Yule Log

4 cups Rice Krispies cereal
1/2 cup Peanut Butter
3/4 cup Light Corn Syrup
1/2 cup Butter or Margarine
1 dash Salt
1 teaspoon Vanilla
12 ounces Chocolate Chips -- melted

In a large saucepan, combine butter, corn syrup and peanut butter, and cook over medium heat until butter is melted and ingredients are mixed well. Remove from heat, and add salt and vanilla. Mix well, then add rice krispies cereal to mixture and stir until all cereal is coated with mixture. Pour warm mixture into a wax paper lined 9 x 13 inch pan, and spread, then lightly pack with buttered hands, to form a flattened crust. Spread melted chocolate chips onto top of crust. You will need to work quickly to roll your Yule logs. First, using a sharp knife, cut the crust down the center forming two separate squares of crust. Next, working from the center-out, roll the logs jelly roll style, toward the outer ends of the pan, making two separate Yule logs. Tightly wrap logs for slicing later, or slice immediately, and place slices into a sealed container to retain softness.

Baklava

2 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 pound pecans -- chopped
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 pound filo dough
1 cup butter -- melted

Prepare syrup first: bring to boil 2-1/2 cups sugar and water; add lemon juice. Simmer until it is a pale yellow color. Syrup should be thick and cold when poured over hot Baklava. Mix nuts, 1/4 cup sugar, and spices; set aside. Butter 9" x 13" cake pan thoroughly. Keep filo pastry covered with a damp tea towel while working with individual sheets. Layer sheets in baking pan, one at a time, brushing each layer with melted butter. After layering six or so, begin alternating layers of filo pastry with nut mixture. Brush one layer with butter and sprinkle the next with 1/2 cup nut mixture. Continue to alternate buttered layers and nut-covered layers until all but ten of the sheets have been used. Layer the last ten sheets as you did the bottom six, brushing each with butter. Bake at 325 degrees for 1-1/2 hours. Remove from oven and let cool for five minutes. Score pastry into diamond shapes about 1-1/2" X 2".
Pour cold syrup over hot pastry. Allow to cool to room temperature before cutting and removing from pan.

The Very Best Eggnog Ever

The Very Best Eggnog Ever

1 quart milk
2 cinnamon sticks
1 vanilla bean, split
5 cloves
10 blades of mace
12 egg yolks
1&1/2 cups sugar
1&1/2 cups dark rum or 1 ½ tsp flavoring
1&1/2 cups brandy or 1 tsp flavoring
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 quart of "half-and-half"* or 1 quart of light cream or 1 cup of heavy
cream plus 3 more cups of milk
freshly grated nutmeg to taste

Combine milk and spices including vanilla bean in a heavy saucepan and let them infuse over lowest possible heat for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, combine yolks and sugar in a large bowl and whisk until mixed. Bring milk to a boil and gradually whisk it into the yolk mixture. Return the mixture to the saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring steadily with a wooden spoon, for 2 to 3 minutes, or until foam subsides and mixture thickens to consistency of heavy cream. (Mixture should thickly coat the back of a wooden spoon.) Do not boil, or mixture will curdle. Strain mixture into a large bowl and let cool to room temperature. Stir in rum, brandy, half-and-half, vanilla and nutmeg. Refrigerate eggnog for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight. Just before serving, dust top of eggnog with additional nutmeg.
Yield: 12 servings.

Miniature Fruit cakes

Miniature Fruit cakes (makes 6 dozen)

1/2 cup light molasses
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 box (15 ounce) raisins
1 pound candied fruit (chopped)
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 cup plus 1 Tablespoon flour
1/4 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 cup milk
1 cup chopped nuts

In a sauce pan, combine molasses, water, vanilla, and raisins and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in fruit. Cool. Meanwhile in a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir together the dry ingredients. Add to creamed mixture alternately with milk. Stir in fruit mixture. Mix well. Fold in nuts. Spoon in paper lined miniature muffin tins. Fill to top. Bake at 325 degrees for 22-25 minutes.

Pecan Goody Cups

Pecan Goody Cups

3/4 cup butter, softened
2 pkg. (3 oz each) cream cheese,
softened
2 cups flour

Filling:
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tbsp butter, melted
48 pecan halves

In a large bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Gradually add the flour. Beat until the mixture forms a ball. Cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes. For the filling: In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, eggs, and butter. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls. Press onto the bottoms and up the sides of the greased miniature muffin cups. Spoon the filling into the cups. Top each with a pecan half. Bake at 350 F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 2-3 minutes before removing from the pans to wire racks. Makes 4 dozen

Holiday Spritz

Holiday Spritz

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup conectioners' sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp rum extract
2 1/2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
Colored sugar

In a small bowl, cream the butter and the confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and the extract. Combine the flour and the salt. Gradually add to the creamed mixture. Mix well. Using a cookie press fitted with the disk of your choice. Press the cookies 1 inch apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Sprinkle with colored sugar. Bake at 375 F for 6-9 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool for 2 minutes before removing from the pans to wire racks to cool completely. Makes 7 dozen cookies