Thread: Thanksgiving and Christmas Season - Holiday Treats and Assorted Stuff

The Whitmore Café

KIFLES (Polish nut rolls)

DOUGH:
4 cups flour
2 (1/4 ounce) envelopes yeast...
1 cup butter
4 egg yolks, save whites
1 cup sour cream
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar

FILLING:
2 cups ground nuts
1 cup sugar
4 egg whites, stiffly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Directions:

1
Combine nuts, sugar and vanilla.
2
Fold in egg whites; set aside.
3
Put flour into a large bowl.
4
Add the yeast to the egg yolks in a small bowl and let soften.
5
Cut butter into the flour until crumbly.
6
Add egg yolks and yeast and sour cream.
7
Mix well until it forms a smooth ball.
8
Form into 10 balls and chill.
9
Mix 1 cup granulated and 1 cup powdered sugar.
10
On counter top, sprinkle a spoonful of sugar mixture, place 1 ball on the sugar, add more sugar on top, roll out ball Roll until dough is 1/8-inch thick, forming a circle.
11
Cut the circle into 8 pie-shaped wedges.
12
Fill the wide end of each wedge with 1 level teaspoon of filling.
13
Roll from wide end to the point.
14
Continue with all the balls.
15
Place on greased cookie sheets.
16
Bake at 325°F for 15 minutes.

The Whitmore Café

JENNY RANKER'S CANNOLI CUPS (YUM!!!!)

Ingredients:
CRUST:
2 Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts...
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Flour for dusting surface

FILLING:
1 15oz. container of whole milk ricotta cheese
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 425.
Prepare filling by combining all ingredients except chocolate chips in a bowl with an electric mixer.
Place in a one-gallon freezer bag and refrigerate.
Roll out pie crusts and sprinkle each all over one side with sugar and cinnamon.
Roll over dough with rolling pin gently to push cinnamon and sugar into the pie crust.
Using a biscuit cutter, cut out circles in the dough.
Lightly press the circles into un-greased mini cupcake pans to form a pastry cup.
Gently prick the bottoms on the cups with a fork so that they don’t rise too much in the oven!
Bake for 8-10 minutes.
Remove from oven and once cool, fill with cream.
Cut off a small part of the corner of the plastic bag to fill cups.
Sprinkle chocolate chips on top and dust with powdered sugar!

Filling can be kept in the fridge up to 3 days before filling. Fill about 1 hour before serving.

The Whitmore Café

SLOW COOKER MAPLE BROWN SUGAR HAM

7-8 lb. spiral-cut ham (bone-in or boneless)
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. maple syrup...
2 c. pineapple juice

Place ham inside crock, with flat side down.
Rub the brown sugar all over ham, getting all sides.
Next, whisk pineapple juice and maple syrup together in medium bowl; pour over the entire ham.
Cover and crock on LOW for 4-5 hours.
About 1 hour before serving, begin to baste the ham with the liquid every 15 minutes. Let ham rest for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

The Whitmore Café

ALISON'S CROCK POT PECAN PIE COBBLER

1 uncooked pie crust
3 eggs
1 c. sugar...
2/3 c. Karo syrup, dark
1 c. pecan pieces
1/2 c. margarine, melted
1 tsp. vanilla

1. In a 3.5 – 4 quart slow cooker, spray with nonstick cooking spray, or use a slow cooker liner.
Place an uncooked pie crust in the slow cooker and press up the sides about 1/2 inch.
Combine the remaining ingredients in a mixing bowl until well blended.
Transfer to the slow cooker, pouring over the pie crust.
Cover. Cook on High for 2 to 3 hours.

NOTE: Check for done-ness at 2 hours as one of my slow cookers only took 2 hours to make this while the other one took 3. Since all slow cookers crock differently, keep an eye on yours.

The Whitmore Café

STEPHANIE'S BELLY BUTTONS

WHAT YOU'LL NEED.....

Pretzel snaps...
Hershey Kisses
M&Ms (plain)

1. Place the pretzel squares on a baking sheet, and top each one with a Hershey Kiss.

2. Cook for 3 minutes in a 200 degree oven.

3. Press an M&M into the center of each Hershey Kiss. Refrigerate for approximately 15-20 minutes or until cool

The Whitmore Cafe

AUNT HARRIET'S OLD FASHIONED HARD TACK CANDY

Here’s what you’ll need:

3 3/4 sugar cups...
1 1/2 cups light corn syrup
1 cup water
1 teaspoon food coloring

Don’t forget: There are *oils* and there are *flavorings*. We have found that you’ll need 2 bottles if you’re using the flavorings and 1 bottle if you’re using the oils in each batch.

Here’s what you’ll do:

In a 3 quart non-stick sauce pan, pour in sugar, light corn syrup and water. Continuously stir liquid over medium heat until sugar has completely dissolved. Let mixture come to a boil, without stirring, and when candy thermometer reaches 260° add food coloring. Once again don’t stir let food coloring mix itself into the liquid by the boiling motion. Watch the candy thermometer, once it reaches 300° immediately remove from heat and allow the boiling to come to a stop.

Take pan outside and add your choice of flavorings (or oil) to the mixture. Stir without inhaling the potent vapors. Quickly pour into 2 greased cake pans, divide liquid equally into the pans. Let cool completely to the touch.

Once candy is cooled, take outside and insert a clean phillips head screw driver into the center of the pan and give a good whack. Continue until all of the candy is broken to your liking.

Next, grab a gallon plastic bag that zips closed. Pour a heaping (no more) tablespoon of powdered sugar into the bag. Pour both cake pans of broken candy into bag and zip closed. Make sure to leave the tiny pieces out. Gently turn and flip the bag until the candy is covered with powdered sugar. Candy will stay nice and crunchy when stored in a container that is airtight.

Helpful hint: For clean-up ease, soak your pots and pans in hot soapy water to dissolve the candy because we have found that scrubbing doesn’t work.

The Whitmore Cafe

BAKED APPLE PUDDING

2 cups peeled and chopped apples

1 cup chopped walnuts...

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg, beaten

3 tablespoons butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla

DIRECTIONS: Combine apples and nuts in a bowl. Sift flour, sugar baking soda and salt together and blend with first mixture. Combine egg, butter and vanilla and mix well. Then add to the rest and still till moistened. Bake at 350 degrees until set.

The Whitmore Cafe

STEFFY'S WARM BELLY HOT CHOCOLATE

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup white sugar
1 pinch salt...
1/3 cup boiling water
3 1/2 cups milk
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup half-and-half cream

Directions:

Combine the cocoa, sugar and pinch of salt in a saucepan. Blend in the boiling water. Bring this mixture to an easy boil while you stir. Simmer and stir for about 2 minutes. Watch that it doesn't scorch. Stir in 3 1/2 cups of milk and heat until very hot, but do not boil! Remove from heat and add vanilla. Divide between 4 mugs. Add the cream to the mugs of cocoa to cool it to drinking temperature.

Old Fashioned Hard Candy

Read Reviews (43)
593

Recipe by Tami L. Smith

"This is an old recipe from my childhood. Many people have memories of cutting this candy with their mother's and grandmothers. I have passed it on and am now posting here for all to share in this classic Christmas tradition!"

Original recipe makes 1 1/4 pounds Change Servings
Makes servings US Metric Adjust Recipe (Help)

• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 cup water
• 3/4 cup light corn syrup

• 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 1 drop red food coloring (optional)
• 1/8 cup confectioners' sugar

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Directions

1. In a heavy 2 quart saucepan, combine the sugar, water and corn syrup. Cook, stirring constantly until the sugar is dissolved; then cook without stirring, lowering the heat and cooking more slowly during the last few minutes, to the hard crack stage (300 degrees F), If sugar crystals form on sides of pan, wipe them off with a damp brush.
2. Remove from heat, add oil flavoring and enough food coloring to color; stir only to mix. Pour into 2 well buttered 9 inch pans. Set one pan of candy over a sauce pan containing hot water (unless you have a helper to help cut the candy). As soon as the other pan of candy is cool enough to handle, cut it with scissors into 1-inch strips. Then snip the strips into pieces. Work fast. Drop the pieces onto a buttered baking sheet. If the candy cools too quickly, set it on a saucepan over hot water to soften it, but if it gets sticky, return at once to the work counter.
3. Toss in a small amount of powdered sugar to keep from sticking together. Repeat with the second pan of candy.

Kitchen-Friendly View


http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Old-Fashioned-Hard-Candy/

Ribbon Candy

By Elizabeth LaBau

(c) 2007 Elizabeth LaBau, licensed to About.com, Inc.

Ribbon candy is an old-fashioned favorite. This hard candy recipe is a traditional pulled candy that can be colored and flavored in any way you like. Be warned that pulling candies can be tricky the first time, so be prepared to have some “special” ribbons on your first attempt. If you have never pulled candy before, check out the step-by-step photo instructions showing how to pull candy.

Prep Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
• A few drops of green and red food coloring
• Plastic gloves

Preparation:

1. Prepare four cookie sheets by spraying them with nonstick cooking spray or covering them with a light layer of oil. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees.
2. Combine sugar, corn syrup, and water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring continuously, until the sugar dissolves. Insert a candy thermometer and continue cooking without stirring until the candy reaches 285 (soft-crack stage).
3. Once the proper temperature is reached, remove the candy from the heat immediately and stir in the mint extract. Pour one-third of the mixture onto a prepared cookie sheet and place it in the preheated oven to stay warm. Pour another third onto a second sheet and sprinkle the green food coloring on top. Place this sheet in the oven as well.
4. Add red food coloring to the remaining candy. Pour the candy out onto a marble slab or heat-safe cutting board. Allow it to sit briefly until it forms a “skin.”
5. Spray a bench scraper or heat-safe spatula with nonstick cooking spray, and use the tool to begin spreading the candy out and pushing it back together, working it across the board and allowing it to cool. Don’t forget to check out the instructions showing how to pull candy if you get confused about the process.
6. As soon as the candy is cool enough to handle (but still quite hot), begin to pull it. If you have plastic gloves, put them on and spray the gloves with nonstick cooking spray—this will help prevent overheated or burned hands. Take the candy in both hands and pull the hands in opposite directions, stretching the candy into a long rope. Bring the ends of the strands together and twist the candy into a rope, then pull the rope out into a long strand. Continue to twist and pull the candy until it has a satin-like finish and is an opaque red color. Once the candy is still pliable but barely warm, pull it into a strand about 2” thick, and place it on the remaining prepared baking sheet. Put this sheet back into the oven, and remove the baking sheet with the uncolored candy syrup. The pulled candy will remaining pliable in the warm oven while you work the second portion.
7. Repeat the pulling procedure with the second, clear portion of candy. At the end, the candy should be a pearly white color. Form it into a log 2” in diameter, just like the red candy.

8. Repeat the pulling procedure with the last, green portion of candy. At the end, the candy should be an opaque and satiny green color. Form it into a log 2” in diameter. 8. Remove the candies from the oven. Cut a 5-inch segment from the green, white and red log, and place them next to each other on the fourth greased cookie sheet, with the white in the middle. Begin to pull the candies together, gently molding them together as the candy gets thinner. Try to end up with a very thin piece of tri-colored candy 1” in height. Once the twisted candy is the shape you want, use oiled kitchen shears to cut them to approximately 6-8” lengths. Immediately push them into a ribbon shape and place them on a baking sheet to set at room temperature.
9. Repeat the pulling and cutting with the remaining candy. If the candy gets too hard to pull, place it in the warm oven for a few minutes to soften, but don’t let it sit too long and melt. The ribbons will get very hard at room temperature, but if left out for long periods of time they will get soft and sticky, so be sure to wrap them in cellophane once they are set.

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Elizabeth LaBau
About.com

http://candy.about.com/od/hardcandyr...bbon_candy.htm