CRANBERRY PINEAPPLE SALAD
1 package (6 ounces) raspberry Jello
1- 3/4 cups boiling water
1 can (16 ounces) jellied cranberry sauce
1 can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple, undrained
3/4 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
In a bowl, dissolve the Jello in boiling water. Stir in cranberry sauce. Add pineapple, orange juice and lemon juice. Chill until partially set. Stir in the nuts. Pour into a 11x7x2-inch dish. Chill until firm. Cut into squares to serve.
Yield: 12 servings
CRANBERRY MARBLE CHEESECAKE
Can use raspberries instead of cranberries, just reduce the amount of sugar in the puree.
1 bag (12 oz.) fresh cranberries
3/4 C water
1/3 C sugar
1 1/4 C sugar
2 lbs. cream cheese, at room temperature
2 1/2 tsp. vanilla
4 eggs
1 pint sour cream, at room temp
CRUST
2 cups crushed graham crackers
1/3 cup melted butter
Serves 8-10
Preheat oven to 350° F.
Mix cinnamon and crushed graham crackers together. Add melted butter and mix until well blended. Using fingers, press crust mixture into bottom and 2/3 of the way up the sides of a 9 inch springform pan. Bake crust for about 6 minutes until set. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan, combine cranberries and water. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until the cranberries pop and the mixture reduces to about 1-1/4 cups, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 1/3 cup sugar until dissolved. Pour the mixture through a coarse sieve to strain and let the purée cool completely.
Reduce oven temperature to 300°F.
In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese with the remaining 1 1/4 cups sugar and the vanilla at until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating until just blended. Stir in the sour cream.
Spoon half the batter into the prepared pan. Drop 8-10 rounded teaspoons of the cranberry puree (about 1/3 of the puree) randomly over the batter. Spoon half of the remaining batter evenly over the first layer and dot with half of the remaining puree. Repeat with the remaining batter and puree. Try to space out the puree so one layer is not directly on top of the puree in another. Take a blunt knife and gently swirl it through the batter to distribute the cranberry puree, taking care not to disturb the crust at the bottom.
Place the pan on a baking sheet and bake in the lower part of the oven for 1 hour. Turn the oven off and leave the cheesecake in the oven, without openiing the door, for 1 hour longer. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature. Cover and chill overnight before serving.
ORANGE CRANBERRY SWIRL COOKIES
You can even freeze the dough and bake before Christmas for Christmas cookies.
FILLING
3/4 cup whole berry cranberry sauce (cranberry apricot sauce works really well also)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup orange marmalade
2 tablespoons orange juice or orange liqueur such as Grand Marnier, Cointreau or Triple Sec
DOUGH
1 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons orange zest
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
Makes About 3 Dozen Cookies
Prepare the filling by combining all the filling ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and chill until completely cold -- at least 2 hours.
Meanwhile, prepare the dough. Mix flour, baking powder, zest, cinnamon and nutmeg in a small bowl. Use a large bowl and an electric mixer to beat together butter, brown sugar egg and vanilla until fluffy and creamy -- about 3 minutes. Turn the mixer speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture, beating just until blended -- do not overmix. Cover the bowl and refrigerate the dough for at least an hour.
Remove dough from the refrigerator and roll into a 16 by 8 inch rectangle on a lightly floured surface. Trim the edges of the dough so you have a perfectly symmetrical rectangle. Use a knife or offset spatula to spread the cranberry filling evenly over the cookie dough, leaving about a 1/4 inch margin all the way around. Carefully roll the dough into a cylinder. Cut cylinder in half to make two. Wrap each cylinder in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days (you can also freeze the dough at this point and bake it at a later date.
Preheat oven to 375° F. Lightly grease baking sheets. Use a long sharp knife to cut each cylinder into 1/2 inch slices. Arrange the slices on a baking sheet, a couple of inches apart and bake until lightly browned -- about 10-12 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
SQUASH PIE ~ MOM ~ makes 2 pies
One large can of squash
1 cup sugar
3 Tbls. four
1 egg to a pie or a little more flour
1 1/4 cup canned milk
2 3/4 cup water
salt
nutmeg
clove (just a little)
Bet you love the guess work on that one. This was from her
recipe book.
SHRIMP CHRISTMAS TREE
Serving Size: 1 tree
3 lb Fresh or frozen shrimp
1/2 c Salt
2 qt -water
4 lg Bunches curly endive
2 1/2 Foot high Styrofoam cone
1 - 12 x 12 x 1-inch Styrofoam Square
1 sm Box round toothpicks
Cocktail Sauce
Thaw frozen shrimp.
Place shrimp in boiling salted water. Cover; simmer for about 15 minutes or until shrimp are pink and tender.
Drain.
Peel shrimp, leaving last section of shell. Remove sand veins; wash. Chill.
Separate and wash endive. Chill.
Place cone in center of Styrofoam square.
Cover base and cone with overlapping leaves of endive. Fasten endive to Styrofoam with toothpick halves. Start at the outside edge of base and work up. Cover fully with greens to resemble Christmas tree.
Attach shrimp to tree with toothpicks.
Provide Cocktail Sauce for dunking.
FRUIT CASSEROLE CAKE ~ (Sugar Free)
2 eggs, separated
2 tablespoons Mashed bananas
1/4 cup any fruit juice (unsweetened)
3/4 cup white flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 package sweet' n Low (optional)
2 cups chopped fresh fruit
(bananas, pineapple, peaches, pears, apples, blueberries,etc.)
splash of Almond Extract (optional)
Beat the two egg whites until stiff, set aside. In another bowl,
beat together egg yolks, mashed banana and fruit juice. Add
flour and baking powder and mix. Now, add the fruit, egg whites
and packet of sweetener. Fold gently until blended. Grease
a 8 inch square baking pan or casserole. Spoon mixture into
casserole. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until lightly browned or a knife inserted comes out clean.
Serve warm. Top with ice cream or whipped cream.
5-MINUTE FUDGE WREATHS
CHUNKY CHOCO W/WALNUTS & CURRANTS
Makes 2 pounds
12 ounce package semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips
14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk (SAVE the can)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
8 ounce can walnuts, plus more for topping
1/2 cup raisins or dried currants
candied red and green cherries to decorate top (like holly)
softened butter to grease an 8 inch round cake pan
Grease an 8-inch round cake pan with softened butter. Pour the chocolate and butterscotch chips, condensed milk and vanilla into a medium saucepan. Put the pan on the stove and turn the heat to low.
Cover the empty condensed milk can with plastic wrap and put it in the center of the round cake pan.
Stir the chips and milk until they melt together, about 3 minutes. Stir in nuts and raisins. Scoop the fudge into the cake pan all around the plastic-covered can in the center to form a wreath or ring shape. Let it be all bumpy on top. Keep pushing the can back to the center if the fudge moves it away from there. Cut the red cherries in half with scissors and the green cherries into quarters. Use the green pieces to make leaves and the red to make holly berries. Decorate the fudge with several groups of holly berry sprigs made from the cherries and garnish with walnuts between the sprigs.
Put the fudge in the fridge and chill until firm. Remove the can from the center, then loosen the sides and bottom of the fudge with a spatula. Cut the fudge into thin slices to serve.
To give the wreath as a gift-wrap in cellophane and secure with a bow or ornament.
VARIATIONS;
WHITE CHOCOLATE W/PISTACHIO & CRANBERRY
Substitute the chocolate chips with white chocolate chips, 1 1/2 ounce bag plus 1 cup.
Substitute 1 to 1 1/2 cups of shelled natural pistachio nuts for walnuts.
Substitute 1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries for currants.
GOOBER & RAISINETTE
Swap butterscotch for peanut butter chips
Swap large whole peanuts for walnuts used in original recipe
Swap 1/2 cup large raisins for currants in original recipe
SEAFOAM CANDY
1/2 cup light corn syrup
2 1/2 cups light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup coarsely chopped nuts
In saucepan mix corn syrup, sugar, salt, and water. Cook, stirring, until sugar is dissolved. Continue cooking, without stirring, until 248 degrees registers on candy thermometer or a small amount of mixture dropped into very cold water forms a firm ball (this means it is firm when in the water but flattens when removed from water).
Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Pour about half of the syrup over the egg whites slowly, beating constantly. Cook remainder unti 272 degrees (F) registers on candy thermometer, or until a small amount of the mixture when dropped in very cold water forms hard but not brittle threads. Add slowly to the first mixture and beat until mixture holds its shape. Add vanilla and nuts and drop by spoonfuls onto wax paper to form small candies. Makes 1 & 1/2 pounds of candy.
(This recipe is similar to the Divinity recipe (below), only brown sugar is substituted for plain sugar.)
DIVINITY
1/2 cup light corn syrup
2 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup coarsely chopped nuts
In saucepan mix corn syrup, sugar, salt, and water. Cook, stirring, until sugar is dissolved. Continue cooking, without stirring, until 248 degrees registers on candy thermometer or a small amount of mixture dropped into very cold water forms a firm ball (this means it is firm when in the water but flattens when removed from water).
Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Pour about half of the syrup over the egg whites slowly, beating constantly. Cook remainder unti 272 degrees (F) registers on candy thermometer, or until a small amount of the mixture when dropped in very cold water forms hard but not brittle threads. Add slowly to the first mixture and beat until mixture holds its shape. Add vanilla and nuts and drop by spoonfuls onto wax paper to form small candies. Makes 1 & 1/2 pounds of candy.
SEAFOAM CANDY ~ Gramma Mac's
makes 3 doz
2 2/3 c brown sugar
2/3 c lite corn syrup
1/2 c water
combine & stir, bringing it to a rolling boil and stir constantly, turn
down from
medium heat to low heat and cook and stir until candy
thermometer
reaches 260, once it reaches 260, cook and stir for a few minutes more.
2 egg whites (beaten stiff)
1 tsp vanilla
1 c chopped walnuts
Slowly pour 1st mixture SLOWLY over egg whites, beating CONSTANTLY. Beat until it cools & holds shape. Add vanilla & walnuts, drop by teaspoon on wax paper or pour in greased pan & cool. Cut in squares.
CHERRY BISCOTTI ~ Denise
twice-baked Italian cookies
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 Tbs orange juice
2 tsp grated orange peel
1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup chopped dried tart cherries
1 egg white
1 Tbs water
Granulated sugar
Combine 3/4 cup sugar and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Beat
with an
electric mixer at medium speed, scraping bowl often, 2 to 3
minutes, or
until thick and pale yellow in color. Add oil, orange juice,
orange peel
and vanilla; beat 1 to 2 minutes, or until well mixed. Combine
flour,
walnuts, baking powder and salt; gradually add to egg mixture.
Mix on
low speed 1 to 2 minutes, or until well mixed. Stir in cherries
by hand.
Turn dough onto lightly floured surface (dough will be soft
and
sticky). Lightly sprinkle with additional flour; knead flour
into dough.
With floured hands, shape into 2 (8x2-inch) logs. Place 3 to 4
inches
apart on a greased baking sheet; flatten tops slightly. Combine
egg
white and water; brush on logs. Sprinkle with granulated sugar.
Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven 25 to 30 minutes, or until
light
brown and firm to the touch. Let cool on baking sheet 15
minutes.
Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees. Cut logs diagonally
into
1/2-inch slices with a serrated knife; arrange slices, cut-side
down, on
baking sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes; turn slices. Bake 8 to 10
minutes,
or until golden brown. Remove to wire rack; let cool
completely.
Servings: 30
Yield: 2 1/2 dozen
