Tag: christmas

Cranberry Cheesecake

From the moment I took my first ever bite of a cheesecake, I was hooked for life. For the longest time, though, I always bought it, never made it from scratch here at home. It took a friend coming over and making one right in my kitchen before I realized how easy it is. Back then I didn’t even have a KitchenAid Mixer . It was all made with elbow grease. (The trick is to make sure the cream cheese is completely soft.)

Now that my dear husband bought me one, it’s even easier. Faster. Well, at least the prep is. So tempt your family with this cheesecake recipe if you want them to get you a KitchenAid Mixer for Christmas. It will be worth it, I promise.

Cranberry Cheesecake

Ingredients for Cheesecake:
(Get certified organic ingredients when possible.)
15 graham crackers, ground
3 tablespoons butter, melted
4 packages cream cheese (8 oz each)
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup almond milk
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius). Grease a 9 inch springform pan. Thrifty Tip: I save the wax paper from sticks of butter in the freezer. I use it to grease any and all baking pans.

In a medium bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs with melted butter and press onto the bottom of the springform pan.

In the KitchenAid Mixer bowl (or a large bowl), mix cream cheese with sugar until smooth. Add almond milk, eggs one at a time, sour cream, vanilla, and flour. Mix until smooth. Pour this cream cheese mix into springform pan, on top of the graham cracker crust.

Bake for 1 hour. Turn the oven down to 300 degrees Fahrenheit for the next 30 minutes, then to 250 for another 30 minutes. Turn the oven off but let the cheesecake stand in the oven. Do not take the cheesecake out. Keep the oven door closed while it cools, approximately 5 hours. Once the oven and the cheesecake is cooled completely, take the cheesecake out of the oven and chill in the refrigerator.

For cranberry topping, use my Maple Cranberry Sauce recipe.

Cheers to you on this holiday season!

December 7, 2017
Date Balls

Last Christmas, while gathered around the dinner table at Aunt Faye’s, we got talking about Mammy Flanders’ Date Balls. My husband said it was one of his favorite snacks Mammy made. Aunt Faye didn’t like it much, so it was always missing from her dessert spread during the holidays. My husband wanted to have a taste of them again.

Aunt Faye brought out (gasp) Mammy Flanders’ recipe box, filled with handwritten recipes from several generations back.

Aunt Faye is lending me the motherlode of #recipes: Mammie Flanders’ #recipebox. It’s a #Christmas miracle!

A photo posted by Hazel (@modernwife) on Dec 25, 2016 at 12:02pm PST

“Here,” she said. “You can take that home and go through it. It’s gotta be in there somewhere.”

The cousins all looked longingly at Mammy Flanders’ recipe box. I myself was astounded at how easily it was to pry that heirloom recipe box from Aunt Faye’s hands, but she must have known it was in good hands. My husband felt a responsibility to give back to the family, so he transcribed Mammy’s recipes and posted it as an ebook for everyone to enjoy.

Since then we’ve been going through the recipes one by one and trying them out. Give this one a try.

Date Balls

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cup ground dates
3 cups rice crispies

Cook all ingredients except rice crispies in frying pan over high heat for 10 minutes, stirring constantly to keep from burning. Remove from heat, then add the rice crispies and mix well. Once cool enough to touch, form into tight balls and roll in shredded coconut.

Enjoy!

February 4, 2017
Peppermint Stick Ice Cream

Sure it’s cold outside, but here in our house we turn our leftover candy cane into…

Peppermint Stick Ice Cream
From The Ciao Bella Book of Gelato and Sorbetto: Bold, Fresh Flavors to Make at Home:

Ingredients:
2 cups raw organic whole milk
1 cup raw organic heavy cream
4 large organic egg yolks
3/4 cup organic sugar, separated
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
candy cane, crushed

Pour milk and cream in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally so a skin doesn’t form until tiny bubbles form around the edge and the mixture reaches 170°F.

In the meantime, whisk egg yolks until smooth. Slowly whisk in 1/2 cup sugar until it becomes a thick pale yellow paste. Slowly pour in the hot milk mixture while whisking continuously. This is important: The milk should not be poured into the egg mixture quickly or you will get scrambled eggs.

Return the custard to the saucepan and cook over low heat. Stir frequently with a wooden spoon until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon. Temperature of the custard should reach 185°F. Do not allow the custard to boil.

Pour the custard through a fine mesh strainer into a clean bowl and let it cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Prepare ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Stir the peppermint extract into the custard before pouring into the ice cream maker. Churn until thickened. Add crushed candy cane to the churning concoction. When the ice cream has churned into a soft serve consistency and just before it overflows out of the ice cream maker, turn the machine off. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until firm.

Serve with larger chunks of peppermint candy topping.

It’s like Christmas morning all over again.

December 31, 2014
Peppermint Ice Cream

I know it’s cold outside, but when you have leftover peppermint candy cane, something must be done.

Peppermint Ice Cream
From The Ciao Bella Book of Gelato and Sorbetto: Bold, Fresh Flavors to Make at Home

Ingredients:
2 cups raw organic whole milk
1 cup raw organic heavy cream
4 large organic egg yolks
3/4 cup organic sugar, separated
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
candy cane, crushed

Pour milk and cream in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally so a skin doesn’t form until tiny bubbles form around the edge and the mixture reaches 170°F.

In the meantime, whisk egg yolks until smooth. Slowly whisk in 1/2 cup sugar until it becomes a thick pale yellow paste. Slowly pour in the hot milk mixture while whisking continuously. This is important: The milk should not be poured into the egg mixture quickly or you will get scrambled eggs.

Return the custard to the saucepan and cook over low heat. Stir frequently with a wooden spoon until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon. Temperature of the custard should reach 185°F. Do not allow the custard to boil.

Pour the custard through a fine mesh strainer into a clean bowl and let it cool to room temperature. Stir the peppermint extract into the custard, then stir every five minutes until cooled completely. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Prepare ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Churn until thickened into a soft serve consistency. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until firm.

Serve with crushed peppermint candy topping.

It’s like Christmas morning all over again.

January 7, 2014
Duck Tape Gift Ribbon Tutorial

My 9 year old daughter is a duck tape artist! Here she is demonstrating how to make homemade gift ribbons using duck tape. Top off your Christmas presents with one of these babies. Mama loves them!

December 24, 2013
Cranberry Mini Tarts

After many years of cooking a whole Thanksgiving dinner and getting my pace and timing down just right, I am taking a break. Tonight will be the first Thanksgiving dinner I will not be cooking. We are going to spend Thanksgiving with my husband’s side of the family, and Aunt Faye will be making us a fantastic old-fashioned Thanksgiving meal.

Of course, I’m not coming empty-handed. I made these Cranberry Tarts at my daughter’s birthday party recently and they were a hit with everyone. The recipe is gluten-free and nut-free, very important since we have people with gluten and nut sensitivities in the family. I use Namaste Foods Gluten Free Flour Blend.

My daughter helped me make these, and it was all we could do to keep ourselves from eating them all up before it’s time to go to Thanksgiving dinner.

Before beginning, make sure you have the following kitchen tools:
2 mixing bowls, small or medium
measuring cups and measuring spoons
whisk
wooden spoon
mini muffin pan
colander
oven

Here we go…

Cranberry Mini Tarts

Ingredients for Crust:
1 1/2 cups Gluten-Free Flour Blend
3/4 cups organic butter
6 oz. organic cream cheese

Ingredients for Filling:
1/2 cup organic sugar
1 organic egg
1/4 cup organic butter
1 teaspoon organic vanilla extract
8 oz. fresh cranberries

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease the mini muffin pan with butter wrapper.

Beat together gluten-free flour, butter and cream cheese until it forms a ball of dough. I don’t have an electric mixer, so I just use a wooden spoon to combine the ingredients, then knead it by hand until it’s a nice smooth consistency.

Pinch small portions, roll them up in balls, flatten and press evenly into the bottom and sides of mini muffin cups.

Now we’re ready for the filling. Whisk together sugar, egg, butter and vanilla.

Wash the fresh cranberries in a colander. Put about 5 cranberries in each mini muffin cup crust. This was like playing mancala.

Pour a small spoonful of filling over the cranberries in each mini muffin cup crust.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until the tarts are golden. Let it cool completely then remove from pan.

Share these treats with your family and friends!

November 28, 2013
Cranberry Apple Crisp

It’s Christmas Eve, the wee one is asleep and we’re finishing up the last of the presents. Time for a little midnight snack. This Cranberry Apple Crisp makes kissing by the Christmas tree taste so good!

Ingredients:
3 organic granny smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced into 1/2 inch strips
6 oz fresh cranberries
1/4 cup organic sugar
3/4 cups organic brown sugar
1/2 cup organic all-purpose flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup organic butter, softened

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Rub a pie pan with butter wax paper covers (I save them in the freezer for greasing baking sheets and pie pans and such). Add apples and cranberries to the pie pan. Sprinkle with sugar and toss until coated.

Combine brown sugar, flour, rolled oats, nutmeg, cinnamon and butter in a medium bowl until well incorporated. Sprinkle on top of the fruit.

Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

You can serve it hot with ice cream. I like it warm by itself on a cold winter night.

December 25, 2012
Gingerbread Cookies

It’s the afternoon before Christmas Eve, and my 8-year-old daughter is itching for something to do. Presents are wrapped. Too early for a movie. We turn into Cookie Monsters and bake up a batch of Gingerbread Cookies!

Ingredients:
3/4 cup (or 1 1/2 sticks) organic butter
3/4 cups organic brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg, organic and from free range chicken
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups organic all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Beat butter and sugar together in a medium bowl until smooth. Add molasses, egg and vanilla. Whisk very well. It will take quite a bit of elbow grease to make it smooth, but carry on. It will be worth it.

Add flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg and salt. Beat with spatula until well incorporated.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough a little bit at a time to 1/4 inch thickness. Use cookie cutters to cut shapes. Lay an inch apart on baking sheet. (Since I don’t use non-stick cookware, I save the wax paper covers of butter in the freezer and rub my baking sheet with it when I’m baking.)

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until cookies begin to brown. Cool on wire racks, then decorate.

Here are some fun ideas for decorating your Gingerbread Creatures.

Happy Holidays!

December 24, 2012
How to Make an Evergreen Wreath the Hard Way

Our Christmas tree is up! With the move we were a little worried we wouldn’t get our Christmas tree up in time, but we made it.

We had to cut off the lowest branches to make our tree fit our stand, so I had a lot of extra branches to make a wreath with. Only I wasn’t planning on making a wreath. I’ve never made a wreath before, and I have no idea where to begin.

I looked at websites about making a wreath, and of course Martha Stewart had something to say about it too. But I didn’t have any of the fancy wreath forms and I didn’t feel like going out to buy any. (It’s cold out!)

So here’s my take: How to Make an Evergreen Wreath the Hard Way.

Get those tree loppers, needlenose pliers and some wire. All I had at home was my husband’s sculpting wire. It’s thick and hard to bend, but with leather gloves on I muscled it. First I lopped the branches into smaller twigs. I connected those twigs using the wire, and made a long garland, then turned the garland into a circle and wired it up. I was going to trim it so that it didn’t look so bushy, but then I decided I could only mess it up at this point, so whatevs. I made a loop with the wire, for hanging. And hung up more toys on it, to complement our toy-laden Christmas tree.

There was still more extra branches so I made a little carpet underneath the fireplace. Our house may still need a lot of work, but it’s warm and it smells like pine. We’re home!

December 9, 2012
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe was passed on to me from my husband’s grandmother, who sent us care packages of her special Pumpkin Cookies every Halloween. Mammie used Crisco Oil and it made her cookies very moist and last for weeks. I used organic canola oil as a healthier alternative, and this makes the pumpkin cookies moist, light and fluffy. If you like your cookies crispy on the surface, use organic butter instead.

This was previously posted at Pumpkin Cookies, but the way I had written it was confusing. I’ve revised the recipe to make it easier to follow. These Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies have become such a family favorite that I have a feeling I’ll be making several batches of it throughout the holiday season.

Mammie’s Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:
2 cups organic sugar
1 cup organic canola oil (or softened organic butter – 2 sticks)
2 organic eggs
2 teaspoons organic vanilla
2 tablespoons raw organic milk
1 can organic pumpkin
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder, aluminum-free
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
4 cups organic all-purpose flour
1 large bag semi-sweet organic chocolate chips

Preheat oven 375 degrees F. Whisk sugar, canola oil, eggs, vanilla, milk and pumpkin together until well incorporated.

Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon and stir slowly with a spatula or a wooden spoon until smooth. Add chocolate chips and mix.

Spoon rounds onto buttered cookie sheet (use wax paper covers to grease the baking sheet) and bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Take the cookies out as soon as they are showing a bit of brown around the outer edges.

October 23, 2012