My Grandmother has been perfecting her recipes since she was young. Here are some of my favorite of her Christmas-themed recipes.
Pumpkin Pie
Yield: 1 pie
Wet Ingredients
- 2 cups of pumpkin puree (plain pumpkin puree, Libby’s)
- 2 well-beaten eggs
- 1 cup of whole milk
Mix wet ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- ¾ cup of sugar
- ½ teaspoon of ginger
- ½ teaspoon of cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon of salt
- 1 and ½ tablespoons of flour
Mix both wet and dry ingredients
Pour into unbaked pie shell (large crust). Bake at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, bake the pie at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes or until the custard rises slightly in the center. If wet, continue to bake in 5-minute increments. The pie should be firm, not completely dry.
Nut Tarts
Yield: 28 tarts
Crust
- 3 ounces of soft cream cheese
- 1 cup flour
- ¼ a stick of butter
Filling
- 1 tablespoon of butter
- 1 egg
- ¾ cup of brown sugar
- 1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Mix the cream cheese, flour, and butter. Press dough into 2-inch fluted tart shells.
Mix the ingredients for the filling: butter, egg, brown sugar, walnuts, and vanilla. Spoon the filling into the fluted shells.
Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes. Remove the tart pans.
Santa’s Whiskers
Yield: 4 dozen
Ingredients
- 1 cup of butter, softened
- 1 cup of sugar
- 2 tablespoons of milk
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 2 and ½ cups of flour
- ¾ cups of red or green candied cherries, finely chopped
- ½ cup pecans, finely chopped
- ¾ cup flaked coconut
Cream butter and sugar. Add milk and extract. Stir in flour, cherries, and pecans.
Form into 2 logs. Sprinkle coconut on waxed paper and roll logs in coconut to coat. Wrap in wax paper and chill thoroughly. Slice into ¼ inch cookies.
Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit on a greased baking sheet for 12 minutes.