Holiday Recipes

In the past, The Courier has compiled an insert in late November to early December of holiday recipes from its readers. If they'd sent out such a request this year, I missed seeing it. [The paper did not]. And not having yet seen any sign of such an insert and gardening being at a standstill, I'm offering up some of my favorite Christmas/holiday recipes.

Caramel Popcorn

• 3 qts popped corn

• 1 1/2 C unsalted peanuts

• 1 C brown sugar

• 1/2 C butter

• 1/4 C light corn syrup

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/2 tsp baking soda

Sort through popcorn, removing any unpopped kernels, then place in a large paper bag, along with the nuts. Set aside. Combine the rest except the soda in a 2-qt glass bowl or casserole. Microwave 3-4 minutes, stirring after each minute until mixture boils. Microwave 2 minutes longer without stirring. Stir in the soda, mixing well. Pour over popped corn in the bag. Close the top of the bag and shake well. Microwave 1 minute, shake again. Repeat the microwaving and shaking twice more (3 times in all). Pour into a large roaster. Stir with a wooden spoon while it's cooling to keep pieces separate.

This recipe came to me by way of my lovely mother-in-law, now sadly no longer with us. She, too, was skeptical that using a grocery bag in the microwave for sticky caramel corn would work, but we've used this recipe for years and I can attest it does, indeed, make very fine caramel corn. I'll add 1/2 to 1 tsp almond extract with the baking soda. Sometimes I'll use pistachios or pecans in place of the peanuts. Sometimes I'll skip the nuts altogether (adding 1-2 cups more popcorn) because our youngest (she is her father's daughter) doesn't want nuts in hers, and skipping them keeps her from complaining while picking the nuts out. The other thing I do, since newer microwaves are more powerful, is to only zap the mix for 45 seconds at each repeat, rather than the full minute. Burnt popcorn is one of the worst stinks when you're salivating for caramel corn.

Candy Cane Cookies

• 1 C shortening (half butter or margarine)

• 1 C confectioners sugar

• 1 egg

• 1 1/2 tsp almond extract

• 1 tsp vanilla

• 2 1/2 C flour

• 1 tsp salt

• 1/2 tsp red food coloring

• 1/2 C crushed peppermint candy

• 1/2 C granulated sugar

Oven at 375. Mix together the first five ingredients throughly. Mix flour with salt, then stir into butter mix. Divide in half, blending food coloring into one half.

Roll 4" strips on a lightly floured board, using a teaspoon of dough each of each color. Place strips together, twisting together, then bending top over for candy cane shape. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 9 minutes. Remove cookies to a wire rack and sprinkle with the crushed candy/sugar mix while still warm. Cool.

These cookies are a bit of work, but our middle daughter loves them, so I continue making the effort to produce them. Do only make one at a time so the dough doesn't dry out too much to be pliable. Sometimes mine remain sticks, and don't get bent into the proper J shape. Sometimes the crushed candy gets skipped, and they're only sprinkled with sugar.I highly recommend using real butter, although since margarine isn't allowed in my home, I really don't know how using that fake substance works in this (or any) recipe.

My favorite, although messy to eat because they crumble so easily and shower you with powdered sugar, are meltaways. I'll make two batches: one with peppermint extract and green food coloring, the other with cherry extract and red coloring. These other extract flavors are used in place of the vanilla, not in addition to it. To keep the crumbling to a minimum, I've learned to only roll 3-4 at a time in a shallow bowl of powdered sugar, dipping them out gently using the tines of a fork. Do this while they're still warm so they absorb a lot of sugar. Quite often I'll roll them a second time so the melted sugar coating isn't so sticky/gooey. (The leftover sugar full of the 'oops' cookies that crumbled despite my best efforts is eaten by the spoonful, usually sneakily, by me. Now one of my guilty secrets is out!)

Meltaway Cookies

• 1 C butter (or margarine)

• 1/2 C confectioners sugar

• 1 tsp vanilla (or other flavoring)

• 2 1/4 C cake flour

• 1/4 tsp salt

Oven at 400. Mix first three ingredients thoroughly. Stir flour and salt together, then blend into butter mix. Drop by small teaspoonsful on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 8 minutes, until set but not browned. While warm, dip in confectioners sugar. Cool.

Full disclosure: the cookie recipes I've adapted are originally from Betty Crocker's Cooky Book, published in 1963. My copy is well used.

Recently, you may have seen memes of Facebook, making fun of cranberry sauces. Many people turn up their noses at the canned jelly-like type, while others gag at the kind with full berries in it. I happen to like both, but I really like the following recipe, given to me by a friend many years ago when we both worked at Granrud's Lefse, before the business moved to Scobey. These berries are easy to make, and keep, refrigerated, for a long time. My notes also state: "good with turkey, pork chops, or pork roast, or all by itself!".

Brandied Cranberries

• 2 bags (4C or so, total) fresh OR frozen cranberries

• 3 C sugar

• 2/3 to 1 C brandy

• 3 Tbl finely grated orange peel

Oven at 325. Sort through berries, discarding soft or decayed ones. Rinse and drain. In ungreased 9x13" glass baking pan, mix all ingredients. Tightly cover pan with foil. Bake 20 minutes, then uncover and continue baking 30-40 minutes longer, or until berries "pop" and mixture is slightly thickened. Serve warm or cold. Refrigerate leftovers.