Anna Sultana’s Apple Cider Doughnut Loaf Cake, French Toast Casserole, Crescent Cheese Danishes, Mini Cherry Cheese Danishes and Puff Pastry Palmiers / A Big Kid’s Christmas by Margaret Ullrich

Wishing you all the blessings of the season

and a New Year filled with all the best!

A huge thank you for visiting, 

I hope to see you again in the new year!

~ Margaret

Puff Pastry Palmiers

 
We’re done with 2023!!!

That alone gives us a reason to celebrate.
Before we get too excited, let’s realize that 2024 might have a few surprises.
We’re not totally done with Covid-19, so please stay safe and take precautions.
Maybe a bit of menu planning will give us some more luck as we enter 2024.


To give good luck a bit of a push in the New Year, Southerners say Peas for pennies, greens for dollars, and cornbread for gold.


A list of other foods (along with recipes) that are supposed to bring you good luck, wealth and health are in this post
https://imturning60help.blogspot.com/2022/12/happy-new-year-anna-sultanas-cotechino.html


These are the foods you should avoid on New Year’s Day:

Hollow bread - the air bubbles symbolize coffins and may mean 2024 will be cut short.
                      Avoid an unsliced loaf of bread… you just never know.

Tofu, rice, eggs, any white food - in China the colour white is connected to death.
              An egg salad on white could double your risk of this being your last New Year.

Catfish - as a bottom dweller it may condemn you to a year of living on scraps.

Lobster and Crab - unlucky for both New Year’s Eve and Day.
                 They move backwards or sideways, and may prevent you from moving forward.

Chicken - they scratch backwards and could jinx your progress, just like lobsters and crabs.
              Any poultry’s flying ability means they can fly away with your potential good luck.

Beef - cows stand still when they eat and eating beef may prevent you from progressing.

Broken noodles - in China long noodles represent good health and longevity.
                        Short noodles are their version of hollow bread.
                       But in Japan broken soba noodles symbolize a new beginning.
                       To be safe, reach for the brown rice.

Leave a bit of food on your plate so you’ll be more successful in the new year.



Hints:


About the Apple Cider Doughnut Loaf Cake…

It can be made 4 days ahead. Store tightly wrapped at room temperature.



About the French Toast Casserole…
It can be served topped with maple syrup and whipped cream or with confectioners’ sugar.
It is also good served with fresh fruit, such as strawberries.

It is great reheated if you have any left over.   

About the Mini Cherry Cheese Danishes…
You can use either soft or regular cream cheese and any fruit pie filling.

About the Puff Pastry Palmiers…
If the filled roll falls apart use your fingers to reshape them or squish while you are slicing them.
Stored in a sealed container, they last for a few days, but they will lose some of their crunch.

                        Apple Cider Doughnut Loaf Cake

Place rack in middle of oven.

Lightly grease an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch or 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.
Line with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on both long sides.

Place in a medium pot
1 1/2 Cups apple cider
Bring to a boil over medium high heat.
Reduce heat and simmer 8 to 10 minutes until cider is reduced to 3/4 cup.
Pour 1/4 cup reduced cider into a small bowl and set aside.
Transfer remaining reduced cider to a small bowl and let cool 5 minutes.
Stir in
1/2 Cup sour cream or buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Set aside.

Place in the same medium pot
8 Tablespoons unsalted butter (or 6 Tablespoons oil)
Melt butter over low heat. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
Don’t wash the pot. You'll be using it again.

Place in a medium bowl
1 1/4 Cups plus 2 Tablespoons flour
2 Tablespoons cornstarch or flour
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Stir to combine.

Preheat oven to 325° F  

Place in a large mixer bowl
2 large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 Cup sugar
Beat at medium speed until pale and frothy, about 2 minutes.
Gradually add melted butter (or oil). Continue to beat until fully combined.
Making 3 dry and 2 liquid additions add
the flour mixture and the apple cider / sour cream mixture
Beat just until no lumps remain. Batter will be thin.
Scrape batter into prepared pan.
Rotating halfway through, bake cake 60 to 80 minutes until deep golden brown and a tester inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Place pan on a wire rack and poke top of cake all over with a toothpick.
Spoon 3 Tablespoons of reserved reduced cider over cake. Let cool 10 minutes.

Place in a small bowl
1/4 Cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Place in the same medium pot you used before
1 Tablespoon butter (or 3/4 Tablespoon) oil
Melt butter and mix into remaining tablespoon of reduced cider.

Using parchment paper, remove the cake from the pan and place on rack.
Set rack on rimmed baking sheet and peel away the parchment paper from the sides.
Brush the warm butter mixture over the top and sides of cake.
Sprinkle the sugar mixture to coat every surface.
Remove parchment and let cool completely before slicing.


                        French Toast Casserole

Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan

Slice
day old loaf of French bread
You want 12 slices about an inch to an inch and a half thick.

Place in a large bowl
4 large eggs
1/2 Cup evaporated milk (or regular milk)
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
Whisk together.
Dip each bread slice in the mixture and place in 2 overlapping rows in prepared pan.

Topping
Place in a medium pot
1/2 Cup brown sugar
1/4 Cup butter
1/3 Cup evaporated milk (or regular milk)
2 Tablespoons light corn syrup
Stirring regularly, cook over low heat until hot but not boiling.

Pour topping mixture over the bread in the casserole dish.
Cover casserole dish and refrigerate overnight.
Before baking remove the covering and sprinkle over the top
1 Cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Preheat oven to 400º F

Bake uncovered 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown.


                        Crescent Cheese Danishes

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Filling
Place in a medium mixer bowl
4 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
1/4 Cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla 

1 teaspoon lemon juice
Whip until light and fluffy. Set aside.

Icing (optional)
Place in a small bowl
1 Cup confectioners’ sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoons milk or water
Mix well.

Place in a small bowl
1 Tablespoon butter, melted
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
Mix well.

Open the container but do not unroll the rolls in
1 Pillsbury Crescent Rolls XL Grands
Using a sharp, serrated knife cut the roll to make 8 slices.
Place each slice on prepared baking sheet.
Slightly stretch out each slice and make a depression in the centre for the filling.

Preheat oven to 350° F

Brush each dough circle with the melted butter/sugar mixture.
Place a scoop of the filling in each of the 8 rounds.
Bake for 15 minutes. Crescents will be golden brown, and feel slightly firm to the touch.
Cool for 10 minutes before drizzling icing onto each Danish (optional).


                        Mini Cherry Cheese Danishes

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Filling
Place in a medium mixer bowl

4 ounces cream cheese at room temperature

1/3 Cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla
Blend until smooth.

Open the container but do not unroll the rolls in
1  Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
Using a sharp, serrated knife cut the roll to make 10 slices.
Place the 10 slices on the prepared cookie sheet.
Use a glass to flatten each roll with a small wall edge around it.
Flour your hands and press each round to make it a bit larger.

Place a scoop of the filling in each of the 10 rounds.

Preheat oven to 350º F

Top the centre of the filling with a teaspoonful of
cherry pie filling

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes.

While danishes are baking make the icing.
Place in a medium bowl

1/3 Cup confectioners’ sugar

2 teaspoons milk

Mix well.


Allow to the danishes to cool, then add a drizzle of icing.


                        Puff Pastry Palmiers

Line 3 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Place in a small bowl
8 ounces brick cream cheese, softened
4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted
Mix until well blended.

Lightly toast then finely chop enough to make
2/3 Cup finely chopped pecans

Place on lightly floured surface
2 pre-rolled puff pastry sheets, thawed
Unroll 1 pastry sheet
Spread half the cream cheese mixture, then sprinkle half the nuts.
Even the ends of roll.
Roll both short sides of dough to centre; wrap with plastic wrap.
Repeat with second pastry sheet.
Put the wrapped pastry rolls in the freezer for 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425º F

Place in small bowl and beat
1 large egg

Remove rolls from freezer and slice each into 20 1/2 inch thick pieces.
Place pieces, 1 inch apart, on prepared baking sheets.
Brush with egg and sprinkle with
2 teaspoons brown sugar

Bake 18 to 20 minutes, or until cookies are puffed and golden brown.
Cool 1 minute on baking sheets.
Remove to wire racks; cool completely.


                                                            ~~~
In 2004 I wrote a story about when I was 5-years-old and worried if Santa Claus would find me after we moved. I read it on our CKUW radio show '2000 & Counting - Older & Wiser'. For a few years it was an annual tradition for ‘2000 & Counting’ and for ‘Better Than Chocolate’.

After I had first read the story we chatted about when we were children and had realized that our parents were Santa’s main helpers. Here is what I remember of that discussion. Merry Christmas!

So, Santa did find me and my nine-month-old sister.

My fifth Christmas was a time of change for our family. I was becoming American. Thank you, Nonni.

Christmases marked the milestones in my family’s changes. The next Christmas, in addition to a sister, I had a 15-day-old brother. Well, it was the 1950s.

That was a huge Christmas for our family. Santa was in a very generous mood that year. Pop was in his glory. He finally had a son, an heir. Pop's dynasty could begin. He was one up on England’s Prince Philip. We had his family's name. Visions of grandsons were dancing in Pop's head. And there'd be hundreds of descendants to come. He'd be another Abraham. In the 1950s all things were possible.

Another thing that was possible was my learning how to read and write. The next year I was able to write my own letter to Santa. I wanted a bicycle. I asked my parents if they thought Santa would give me a bike. Pop said that I'd been a good girl, helping Ma with the two babies. Ma agreed, saying that I was becoming really good at changing diapers and giving bottles. Yes, they thought Santa would grant me my wish.
 
My siblings were also growing and going after what they wanted. While George had barely been aware of his first Christmas, that year he was a toddler and was fascinated by the Christmas tree. He kept trying to grab the ornaments. Every chance he got, he'd climb onto the sofa and reach out to the branches.

We weren't worried. He just sat on the couch and reached.  

Then George figured out that he'd get closer to the tree if he got on the armrest and then reached for a shiny ball or two. I think he'd have done it, if he hadn't lost his balance and landed on the three kings' camel. That camel wasn't exactly built to carry a toddler. No problem. There were more camels in the 5 & 10.


The big day came.  
I got my bike.
It was blue.
I called it Blue Bird.

I was so glad that I had learned how to write and read. I read anything and everything I could, including the labels on Blue Bird. The seat had been made in one country. The tires in another. The frame in yet a third.  

Suddenly, I had an awful thought.  
The parts of my Blue Bird had been made in different countries.  
Not one label said made in the North Pole.
Nothing had been made in the North Pole.
Nothing had been made by Santa's elves.   

My parents looked at each other, shrugged, and finally admitted that, yes, my bike hadn't been made by Santa's elves. They had bought it. Didn't I like it? Was blue still my favourite colour?
I admitted it was perfect. But what about Santa? Didn’t he like me any more?

They smiled, hugged me and said I was a big girl. I was too big to still believe in Santa. But, since I was a big girl, it was now my job to help the babies believe in Santa for as long as possible.

I was seven… the oldest… not a baby anymore.

In a way I was proud when they called me a big girl.
But I was also scared.
I wasn’t ready to be a big girl.
I felt like I was George reaching for the shiny balls.
I was afraid I would lose my balance and fall on the camel.

Anna Sultana’s Raisin-Filled Cookies, Honey Bun Cake and Sugarplums / Would Santa Ever Find Me? by Margaret Ullrich

Happy Holidays, everyone.
  Wishing you and yours 

a Christmas filled with all you hold dear!

Thank you for visiting ~

Margaret

 

Well, good for us, we’ve made it!
Here we are, at the start of the Christmas weekend!

It's time to relax, set aside the plans we didn’t achieve - there’s always next year - and accept this year’s celebration for what it is.
It will be special in its own way, it will have its good and bad moments - just as every Christmas always has had - and for that we can be grateful.

Even with the problems in the supply chain we’ve managed.
Maybe even learned a new recipe or two that have become family favourites.
Honey, molasses and jam are good for adding sweetness.
No need to miss recipes that depended on sugar.

Another way to avoid the sugar bowl is to use a cake mix.
They’ve already added the sugar, saving you the bother.
And who needs sugar when you have dried fruits in your cupboard?
Don't let dried apricots and prunes, raisins and dates go to waste.
Let the kiddies have their own ‘visions of sugarplums’ dancing in their heads.

Some Christmas trivia… 

The sugar plums mentioned in Clement Clark Moore’s poem Twas the Night Before Christmas and enjoyed in The Nutcracker were coriander seeds coated with sugar, formed into an oval shape and allowed to harden.

Hints:

About the Raisin-Filled Cookies…
For a thicker filling use less water.
if you prefer, or have a bag in your kitchen, use dates or figs.

About the Honey Bun Cake…
If you have pudding in the mix cake mix use 2 large eggs and add 4 Tablespoons water.

Store leftovers in a cool place or refrigerated. It can be microwaved.  

About the Sugarplums…
You can substitute other dried fruits, nuts, and preserves. Use what you have.
Add a teaspoon of cinnamon for sweetness and a pinch of ground cloves for spice. For the adults add a teaspoon of brandy - real or extract.

Stored in an airtight container they last up to a month.
Place waxed paper between the layers so they won’t stick together.

 

   

                        Raisin-Filled Cookies

Makes about 3 dozen

For Filling
Place in a medium sized pot
2 Cups raisins
1/4 to 2/3 Cup sugar
2/3 Cup water
Stirring occasionally, cook over medium heat 10 to 15 minutes, until thick.
Remove from heat and stir in
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 Tablespoon butter
Let cool while preparing the dough.

For Dough
Sift into a medium bowl
3 Cups flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Stir together in a measuring cup
1/3 Cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Place in a large mixer bowl
1 Cup sugar
1 Cup butter
Cream together until fluffy.
Add
1 large egg
Mix well.
Making 3 dry and 2 liquid additions, add the flour mixture and the milk mixture.
Roll out the dough to 1/8 inch thickness and cut into rounds with a biscuit cutter or a glass.

Preheat oven to 350° F

Place a teaspoonful of filling on the centre of a round.

Cover it with another round and press edges together.
Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown.
Remove to rack to cool.


                        Honey Bun Cake

Grease a 9 x 13 baking pan

For Topping
Place in a medium bowl
1 Cup pecan or walnut pieces
1 Cup sugar (white or brown)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
Stir together.

For Cake
Place in a large mixer bowl
1 box yellow cake mix (not pudding in the mix)
3/4 Cup butter, melted (1 1/2 sticks)
4 large eggs
1 Cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon almond extract
Beat at medium speed until just blended.
Pour the cake batter into the prepared baking pan.

Preheat oven to 350° F

Sprinkle topping over cake batter.
Using a knife gently swirl topping into cake batter.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes.
Be sure to let it cool before adding the icing.

For Icing
Place in a medium bowl
1 1/2 Cups confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 to 5 Tablespoons milk, depending on how thick you want it for pouring
Mix together and drizzle over cake.


                        Sugarplums

Place in a food processor or blender
1 Cup pitted dates, chopped
1/2 Cup raisins
1/2 Cup pitted prunes, chopped
1/2 Cup currants or dried cranberries
1 Cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
Grind together for a minute, then pulse the mixture a few times.
Add
2 Tablespoons cherry preserves
Pulse a few more times until the mixture begins to come together.
Keep the fruit a bit coarse. Do not over process it into a paste.
Add
1/2 to 3/4 Cup confectioners' sugar
You want enough to thicken, but leaving the fruit moist enough to form a ball.

Wet your hands to prevent sticking and form mixture into 1 inch balls.
Place balls on a rack to dry for 24 hours.
Before serving roll balls in white sugar. (optional)

                                                            ~~~
In 2004 I wrote this story and read it on our CKUW radio show '2000 & Counting - Older & Wiser'. For a few years it was an annual tradition for ‘2000 & Counting’ and for ‘Better Than Chocolate’. I got a few e mails asking if I could post the original story.
Here it is… Merry Christmas!

Change follows us from the cradle to the grave. When I was five years old I was hit with a megadose of change - I moved to another town, got a baby sister, got to go to kindergarten and got Santa Claus.
    
Five years earlier my parents and I had emigrated from Malta to New York and settled in Corona. We didn't have much choice. Five of Pop's brothers and sisters lived in Corona. So, we had to live in Corona, too. 
    
Corona was a little slice of Italy on Long Island. The store clerks were bilingual: English and Italian. The grocery stores in Corona were stocked with Italian necessities. Almost everything in all the other stores had been imported from Italy. 
Corona was where we learned how to be Americans. 
    
Nonni's children, Betty and Angelo, had married two of Pop's siblings, Joe and Helen. So, Nonni was a double Grandma in my family. Since all my grandparents were in Malta, Nonni treated me as a grandchild, too.     
    
Every Christmas Eve we gathered at Uncle Joe and Aunt Betty's home. A whole corner of their living room was filled with Nonni's manger scene. It was not just a shed with Mary, Joseph, three kings and one shepherd standing around Baby Jesus. Nonni had a complete village with houses, trees, hills, paths, ponds and animals. There were people walking around just minding their own business. Some of the figures were really old and we couldn't play with them. But each year Nonni added something new: a woman carrying a basket of eggs, a farmer carrying a head of cabbage, a man carrying a bundle of wood. Nonni’s manger scene was better than any store window on 5th Avenue in Manhattan.
    
Dinner was a feast. Fish was traditional - eel for the parents, bluefish for the children. There was also soup, pasta and vegetables, followed by ricotta pie, anise biscotti, pizzelle and cuccidati cookies, strufoli, creamy roasted chestnuts and torrone candy. My favourite was the huge golden mound of strufoli: tiny doughnut balls covered with honey and multi-coloured sprinkles. After dinner we played games and our parents talked until it was time to walk to the Midnight Mass at St. Leo's. After Mass we returned to Uncle Joe's for some panettone, a holiday bread made with butter, raisins, almonds and citron.

Then Nonni would tell us to look at the manger scene for the surprise. The blessed Bambino, Baby Jesus, had suddenly appeared!
    
Christmas Eve was a wonderful night. But the big day for us children was January sixth. The night before we had hung our stockings and waited for La Befana to bring us toys. 
    

For those unfamiliar with the story, La Befana was a little old lady who had been sweeping her house when the Wise Men knocked on her door. They were looking for Baby Jesus and asked La Befana for directions. They then invited La Befana to join them. The old woman refused, saying she had work to do.
    
When it was dark, a great light and angels appeared in the sky. La Befana realized that the Wise Men weren't kidding about somebody special being born that night. Broom in hand, La Befana tried to catch up with the Wise Men. She never found them or Baby Jesus. Every year she searches for Baby Jesus and leaves presents for good little boys and girls. 
    

La Befana took care of me for four years. Then we moved to College Point so we could live closer to Lily Tulip where Pop worked. Then it was time for my sister to be born. While Ma was in the hospital I stayed with Aunt Betty, Uncle Joe and their daughters, MaryAnn and Carol Lynn. It was nice living in Corona again. The next day, Nonni diNoto took me to the local 5 and 10 and gave me a quarter.      
"Buy for sister."       
I didn't have any idea what a baby sister would want. I liked westerns, so I grabbed a toy gun.      
"No. Buy a rattle."    
A rattle? That sounded boring, but I bought a pink plastic rattle. 
    
In those days children were not allowed to visit anyone in the hospital. When Aunt Betty visited Ma, she gave the rattle to my new sister. I waited outside the hospital and waved to the window of Ma's room. When Aunt Betty returned she had a gift from my new sister for me: three pieces of chocolate. 
    
Well, wasn't that nice of her. Not as nice as a toy gun, but maybe that was all she could get from where she'd been.   
    

After Rose was born we didn't go to Corona as often. It was easier to walk to the local church instead of driving to St. Leo's. I missed seeing my family. 
    
That September I started kindergarten in St. Fidelis School. Some of the good sisters had wanted to travel and meet exotic heathens in far away places. Well, they almost got their wish. I was the first Maltese child they'd ever seen. College Point had been settled by Irish and German families. It was time for me to learn about America through their eyes. 
    
As Christmas approached, the windows of the German bakeries were filled with the most beautiful cookies I'd ever seen. They were in all kinds of shapes: stars, angels, animals and wreaths. They were decorated with coconut, jam, icing and tiny silver balls. Some of my classmates brought in samples of their mothers' baking. I brought some biscotti. My friends were polite and tasted the dry, double-baked bread. Then we ate the lebkuchen, pfeffernuesse, zimtsterne, and jam filled spitzbuben. The stollen reminded me of panettone. I thought a German Christmas was delicious. I planned to eat German and Italian holiday food every Christmas for the rest of my life.

We helped Sister decorate the Christmas tree with sugar cookies which had been twisted into figure eights. Then Sister told us to gather around her. She was going to read us a story. Sister showed us the picture of Santa Claus and his eight reindeer. My friends were delighted.
    
I was confused. 
    
I had never heard any of this before. Santa was supposed to slide down a chimney and land in a fireplace. We didn't have a fireplace. We had a huge, oil-burning furnace in the basement. Ma hung our stockings, along with all the other wet laundry, on a clothesline near the furnace. It made awful noises and had fire in it. If Santa landed in it he'd fry like a strufoli. That would end Christmas forever. I didn't think Santa would take such a risk for a total stranger. The lovely cookies felt like lead in my stomach.
    
Sister talked about Santa checking his list of good little girls and boys. Santa had a list? I knew we were on the Registered Aliens list. Every January the TV reminded Ma to fill out green cards so we wouldn't go to jail or Malta. How could I get on Santa's list? Could Santa get my name from the Aliens list? Did I need to fill out another card? 
    
The afternoon went from bad to worse. Sister told us we could put our letters to Santa in the special mailbox in the classroom. A letter? What language did Santa speak? He'd never heard from me. I wasn't on his list. What could I say? 
    
"Hi, you don't know me, but I'd like some toys." I'd never written a letter to La Befana. She just gave me toys. Would Santa shoot La Befana if she came to College Point? Oh, boy… I was in big trouble.    
    
In kindergarten we learned about God the Father, about how we should pray to Him and tell Him what we needed. I didn't need another Father. I figured if my Pop was always busy working, this guy who took care of everything in the whole wide world would really never have time for me.
    
I needed a Grandma.
    
The next time we went to Corona I told Nonni about Santa Claus and that he was in charge of Christmas in College Point. Nonni listened patiently as I explained the rules.
    
She repeated the main points, "Santa Claus. A letter."     
I nodded.    
"I fix. I write letter to Befana. She give to Santa. No hard feelings. Christmas come."
    
I had my doubts. Nonni had never been to College Point. Maybe nobody ever had to change from La Befana to Santa Claus. Maybe Christmas was lost forever, like some of the packages we never got from Malta.
    
On Christmas Eve we all gathered at Uncle Joe and Aunt Betty's home in Corona. We had the Christmas Eve dinner. Then we went to St. Leo's for the Midnight Mass. Everything was familiar. Latin and Italian. Why couldn't we have stayed there? 
    
When we were leaving the church I saw a pale cloud in the sky. It looked long and thin, with a sort of lump on one end. For a moment I thought it looked like Santa and his sleigh with eight tiny reindeer. I kept looking at that cloud. It followed us from the church to Uncle Joe's house, where we had panettone. When we left, the cloud was still there. I watched from the car. The cloud followed us from Corona to College Point. 
    
I never noticed clouds before. Did clouds always follow people from one town to another? Was it really a cloud? Sister had told us that Santa had millions of helpers, tiny people called elves. Could it have been an elf picking up the letter from La Befana?
    
Christmas morning, Pop was eating breakfast while Ma was cleaning Rose. Ma sent me to the basement to get some dry diapers that were hanging by the furnace. Being a big sister wasn't much fun. I pulled down two diapers. Then I noticed some lumps by the furnace. I thought some clothes had fallen off the line. I walked toward the furnace. 
    
But the lumps weren't clothes. 
They were boxes. 
They were wrapped. 
They were presents! 
They were for me!!

Santa had found me.

Jam Recipes: Anna Sultana’s Little Twists, Hand Pies, Raspberry Honey Cake with Raspberry Sauce and Raspberry Shortbread / Muriel’s Family Christmas by Margaret Ullrich

We’re two weeks away from Christmas Eve.
Thanks to the sugar strike the sugar shelves bare.
But that doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate Christmas with a few sweet notes. 

The last two posts had a few honey and molasses recipes, as well as links for more recipes.
Some items, such as the gingerbread, Pfeffernüsse and Gingersnaps, are actually traditional for Christmas.
And on this post, below the recipe for Raspberry Shortbread, I posted links for brunches, desserts and cookies that use jam. Please take a look.

If someone asks for sugar cookies, just give him THE LOOK.
No matter how old a person is, THE LOOK usually makes him pause and think twice.


Along with honey and molasses, jams can add lots of sweetness to the holidays.
And, thank goodness, jams are still in the stores.
Don’t ask where jam makers get their sugar.
You’ll just get THE LOOK.


Hints:
About the Little Twists…
Feel free to experiment with the filling.
You can use strawberry or blackberry jam, or whatever is on your shelves.
Don’t roll up the dough too tightly or the filling will ooze out.

About the Raspberry Honey Cake with Raspberry Sauce…
If you use a Bundt pan, bake at a lower temperature and for a longer time.
You could strain the sauce through a sieve or cheesecloth to remove the seeds. Or not.


                        Little Twists

For filling

Place in a skillet
1 Cup chopped pecans or walnuts
Stirring constantly, toast over medium heat until fragrant.

Place in a blender
the toasted nuts
1 Cup raisins or semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 Cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pulse a few times, until everything is coarsely chopped and a thick paste forms.
Add
1 Tablespoon cold butter, cut into pieces
Pulse until the mixture is combined.
Place in a bowl, cover and refrigerate.

For cookies

Place in a large mixer bowl
1 Cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
Cream until smooth.
Add and beat in
1/2 Cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt

Using low speed on the mixer, add 1/2 cup at a time
2 1/2 Cups flour
Blend well, but do not over mix. It should be crumbly.

Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and divide into three pieces.
Shape each piece into a rectangle about 1/2 inch thick.
Wrap each portion in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours, or until firm.

Lightly flour a counter surface and a rolling pin.
Take one portion of the dough out of the refrigerator.
Roll the dough to a 12 x 7 inch rectangle, 1/8 inch thick.
Smooth the edges as well you can so that it looks like a real rectangle.

Stir to smooth
3/4 Cup raspberry jam

Leaving a 1/2 inch border on all sides, spread 1/3 of the jam evenly over the dough.
Spread 1/3 of the nut filling on the dough and press the nuts into the dough.
Starting at one of the long sides, roll up the dough and pinch the ends to seal.
Wrap the filled dough log in plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Repeat for the remaining two pieces of dough.
Refrigerate logs for 2 to 3 hours.

For Egg Wash

Place in small bowl
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 Tablespoon milk
Beat well to combine.

Combine in a pan with a rim
3/4 Cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Place the oven rack in the centre of the oven.
Line 3 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Preheat the oven to 350° F

Unwrap one log and brush lightly with the egg wash.
Roll the log in the cinnamon sugar

Using a serrated knife, slice the log into 3/4 inch thick pieces.
Leaving 2 inches in between, place the cookies on the baking sheet spiral side up.
Bake one sheet at a time for 25 minutes.
Remove and cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.


                        Hand Pies

Yield: 5-6 mini pies

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Have on hand
1/3 Cup jam

Combine in a small bowl
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon sugar

Roll out
pie dough for a single crust
Cut an even number of circles using a round cookie cutter.
Place half of the dough rounds on the prepared baking sheet.
Place about a tablespoon of jam in the centre of each round.

Lightly moisten the edges of the rounds with
milk
Top with another dough round and lightly press to seal.
Curl up the edges of the sealed rounds, then press down with a fork to crimp closed.
Using a pastry brush, brush the tops of the crimped dough rounds with milk.
Sprinkle the cinnamon / sugar mixture on top.

Preheat the oven to 400° F

Poke a few holes in the rounds’ tops to let the steam escape.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
Transfer pies to a wire rack to cool.


                        Raspberry Honey Cake with Raspberry Sauce

Grease well and flour a 10 inch tube pan

Sift together in a medium bowl
3 Cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Stir together in a measuring cup
1/2 Cup plain yogurt
1/2 Cup sour cream

Blanch and chop
1/4 Cup almonds
Place almonds in a medium bowl and add
2 Cups raspberries
Stir together to coat the raspberries.

Preheat the oven to 350° F

Place in a large mixer bowl
2 Cups honey
1 Cup unsalted butter, softened
Cream together until light.
Add, beating well after each addition
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 large eggs
1 Tablespoon grated lemon zest or 1 teaspoon lemon extract
Making 3 dry and 2 liquid additions, add the flour mixture and the yogurt mixture, beating well after each addition.
Fold in the raspberries / almonds mixture.
Pour into prepared pan.
Bake 45 to 55 minutes, or until cake pulls away from the sides of the pan.
Cool in pan on a rack for 10 minutes, then invert onto a serving plate.

For sauce:
Place in a saucepan
2 Cups raspberries
1/3 Cup sugar
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1/3 Cup water
Bring to a boil and stir until sauce is smooth and thickened.

Serve cake with the raspberry sauce drizzled on each serving.


                        Raspberry Shortbread

Combine in a medium bowl
2 Cups flour
1 Cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt

Place in a large mixer bowl
1 Cup unsalted butter at room temperature
On medium speed, cream until soft and fluffy.
Add
2 egg yolks
Mix well.
Add the flour mixture and, scraping down the side, mix just enough to blend.

Divide the dough in half and flatten each piece.
Wrap each portion in plastic wrap and freeze for at least two hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350° F

Remove one piece of dough from the freezer.
Coarsely grate the dough onto the bottom of an ungreased 9 inch square baking pan.
Gently pat down the dough so it forms a smooth surface.
Leaving a 1/2 inch border on all sides, spread
1/2 Cup raspberry jam

Remove the second piece from the freezer and coarsely grate it over the surface.
Bake 30 to 40 minutes, until a light golden brown.
Remove from oven, place on wire rack, cool 15 minutes, then dust with
1/4 Cup confectioners’ sugar (optional)
Return to wire rack.
When completely cooled, cut the shortbread lengthwise into four strips, then crosswise into nine strips, forming cookies.


                                                       ~~~
Jams can also be sweeten your holiday brunches.
And I’m not just talking about smearing it on toast.

The German Oven Pancake can be served as a brunch or as a dessert with a jam filling.

The Pönnukökur can be filled with jam, folded into quarters and served with whipped cream.

The Coronation Chicken uses apricot jam and can be used as a filling in Cream Puffs or served over cold rice as a buffet dish.
It can be prepared the day before. Perfect for the holidays!

A platter of Almond Thimble Cookies and Three Colour Bar Cookies looks very festive.
Happy Holidays!


Anna Sultana's German Oven Pancake & Yorkshire Pudding
https://imturning60help.blogspot.com/2018/09/anna-sultanas-german-oven-pancake.html

Pancake: Pönnukökur - Traditional Icelandic and Manitoba Style
https://imturning60help.blogspot.com/2019/10/pancake-ponnukokur-traditional.html

Anna Sultana’s Coronation Chicken
https://imturning60help.blogspot.com/2015/05/anna-sultanas-coronation-chicken.html

                                                        ~
Anna Sultana's Spongecake with Lemon Cream Filling, Maltese Style
https://imturning60help.blogspot.com/2016/02/anna-sultanas-spongecake-with-lemon.html

Carmela Soprano's Almond Torte with Raspberry Jam and Chocolate Glaze
https://imturning60help.blogspot.com/2013/06/carmela-sopranos-almond-torte.html

Anna Sultana’s Jam Pie, Maltese Style
https://imturning60help.blogspot.com/2014/03/anna-sultanas-jam-pie-maltese-style.html

Anna Sultana's Qassata, Christmas Cheese Dessert, Maltese Style
https://imturning60help.blogspot.com/2010/12/anna-sultanas-qassata.html

                                                        ~
Bakewell Tart and Scottish Shortbread
https://imturning60help.blogspot.com/2019/06/folklorama-then-and-now-bakewell-tart.html

Safeway Almond Thimble Cookies
https://imturning60help.blogspot.com/2016/10/safeway-almond-thimble-cookies-and.html

Carmela Soprano's Venetians (Rainbow Cookies)
https://imturning60help.blogspot.com/2010/12/carmela-sopranos-venetians.html

Anna Sultana’s Three Colour Bar Cookies with Ganache, Maltese Style
https://imturning60help.blogspot.com/2014/12/anna-sultanas-three-colour-bar-cookies.html

Anna Sultana’s Three Colour Bar Cookies with Apricot Preserves, Maltese Style
https://imturning60help.blogspot.com/2014/12/anna-sultanas-three-colour-bar-cookies_30.html


                                                       ~~~
This was a holiday piece I wrote a few years ago for the CKUW radio show ‘2000 & Counting’ when we decided to chat about family holiday dinners. 
Being politically correct - and politically sensitive - was just starting around the turn of the century. It was and is still a part of menu planning.
The family that eats a holiday dinner together… can still be in for a whole lot of trouble.


My friend Muriel still hasn't recovered from last Christmas.

The poor dear had tried to please everybody. Solomon couldn't have pulled that off. Muriel was willing to go with the flow, but she was caught in a tsunami. Her husband Tom is a simple man with simple tastes. He just wanted a roasted bird with stuffing and cranberry sauce.

He should never have had children.

Their eldest daughter, Donna, keeps up with trends. Muriel had asked Donna to bring the appetizers. Muriel expected their traditional celery sticks with cream cheese, crackers and cheese cubes. Donna waltzed in with an oriental party pack and assorted seafood and chicken wing platters. Something for everyone. Uh, huh.
Tom backed off when he saw the egg rolls. I don't like Chinese.
Donna said, I got you BBQ chicken wings.
Ignoring her, Tom said, They don't serve bread. He went to the kitchen for bread.


Then Betty arrived. Betty lives in a commune and supports the rights of everything and everybody… except those of the hostess. Betty always carried tofu because she never ate dairy products or anything with eyes or eggs. Muriel had prepared a nice salad for Betty.
Not good enough.
Were the pickers paid a decent wage?
The lettuce had a union label.
I only eat organically grown food. Did they use manure.
We had to scrub the carrots with bleach to get the E coli off.
Oh... okay.
Tom heard E coli and reached for another slice of bread.


Finally their son Bill arrived with his wife Carol and their children, Krystal and Jason. Bill and Carol had every allergy in the book. Bill also had high cholesterol and Carol had her waistline. They avoided the platters of appetizers and drank the water that they had brought.

Krystal, a tender-hearted child, burst into tears when she saw the chicken wings.
Oh, those poor birdies. Do you know how they treat chickens, Grandma?

Muriel figured the birds were better off than she was. They never had to make a holiday dinner for the family. But this was her granddaughter.
Krystal, dear, these birdies lived in a happy place where they laughed and played and sang songs for a long, long time. Then one day they just went to sleep and, just like butterflies, they turned into chicken wings.
Oh... okay.
Who says the next generation knows it all?
Tom heard Muriel's tale of the laughing, singing chickens, figured she'd finally lost it, and ate more bread.

Ignored by his elders, Jason gobbled a fistful of seafood appetizers and started wheezing. Muriel packed away the appetizers before her children could start a food fight and led them to the main event.


The table looked like a sailboat regatta that had been designed by Martha Stewart. Every dish had a tiny flag listing all of the ingredients. Muriel did not want to have to call the paramedics again. Krystal cried when she saw the turkey.

When Betty reached for the potatoes, Bill said, But they have eyes. Betty meant to kick her brother, but got her sister-in-law, Carol, who screamed and kicked back. Muriel yelled at her kids. The holiday dinner was just like always. Damn.

After everyone had eaten what they could, Muriel brought out a carafe of hot cranberry apple cider. This was her gift to herself. Seeing all the different coffees at the supermarket had made her go all whoozie. Whatever happened to plain old coffee, black or with cream? Muriel’s children didn't say a word while visions of cappuccinos, espressos and lattes danced in their heads.

Betty was in charge of the dessert. She had created something that was just what the doctor ordered. No eggs, no cream, no butter, and no taste.
Tom just saw a pumpkin pie and it looked fine. He helped himself to a slice, smiled and thought that Betty was returning to the food of her mother.

But, something tasted... off. Maybe a new spice?
Betty, what's in this pie? he asked.
Tofu.
Geez. Tom reached for the bread.

Jason had wheezed throughout the whole meal.
All in all, it had been just another family holiday get together.

God help Muriel. The holidays are back.

Anna Sultana’s Soft Molasses Cookies, Iced Soft Molasses Cookies and Newfoundland Molasses Raisin Bread / Tossing Christmas Cookies by Margaret Ullrich

Went grocery shopping yesterday.
They don’t have any sugar, neither white nor brown.
I saw another shopper crying.


Honey and molasses are sweet, traditional and still on the shelves.
A cook’s gotta do what a cook’s gotta do, especially during the holidays.
Okay… a few days ago I posted honey recipes.
Today we’ll take a look at molasses recipes.

Here are a few molasses recipes I’ve posted over the years.
Some are even traditional for Christmas.
The Newfoundland Molasses Raisin Bread is served for morning toast with butter during the Holidays.
Tell the family to think of the new recipes as a cultural experience…
or whatever excuse you think they’ll swallow.


Anna Sultana's Panettone and Gingerbread
https://imturning60help.blogspot.com/2021/12/anna-sultanas-panettone-and-gingerbread.html

Gingerbread and Seven Minute Frosting / Buttermilk Substitute for Baking - Margaret Ullrich
https://imturning60help.blogspot.com/2011/12/gingerbread-seven-minute-frosting.html

Anna Sultana’s German-Style Chocolate Cake, Kuchen and Gingerbread for Father's Day
https://imturning60help.blogspot.com/2023/06/anna-sultanas-german-style-chocolate.html

Anna Sultana's Qaghaq ta' l-Ghasel (Honey or treacle rings, Maltese Style)
https://imturning60help.blogspot.com/2010/12/anna-sultanas-qaghaq-ta-l-ghasel.html

Anna Sultana's Qaghaq tal-ghasel #2 - Treacle Rings, Maltese Style
https://imturning60help.blogspot.com/2013/08/anna-sultanas-qagaq-tal-gasel-2-maltese.html

Anna Sultana’s Pfeffernüsse (German Christmas Cookies)
https://imturning60help.blogspot.com/2015/12/anna-sultanas-pfeffernusse-german.html

Anna Sultana’s Gingersnap Cookies
https://imturning60help.blogspot.com/2015/12/anna-sultanas-gingersnap-cookies.html

Gingerbread Cookies (Christmas Cookies) and Royal Frosting - Margaret Ullrich
https://imturning60help.blogspot.com/2011/12/gingerbread-cookies-margaret-ullrich.html


Hints:

About the Soft Molasses Cookies…
Combine 1/2 Cup raisins with 1/2 Cup of the flour mixture before you add them to the molasses mixture.
These cookies will stay fresh, covered at room temperature, for one week.

About the Newfoundland Molasses Raisin Bread…
You may need to add a little more flour so that your dough will not be sticky.

Molasses bread generally takes a bit longer to rise than white bread does.
Make sure the dough rises at least a couple of inches above the bread pan’s rim before baking.


                        Soft Molasses Cookies

Have on hand 3 ungreased baking sheets.

Sift together into a medium bowl
2 Cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
Set aside.

Place in a large mixer bowl
3/4 Cup shortening or oil
1 Cup sugar (brown will be fine)
Beat on high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Add
1/4 Cup dark molasses
Beat until combined.
Add
1 large egg
Scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed, beat until well combined.
Gradually add the dry ingredients, about 1/2 cup at a time, to the creamed mixture.

Place in a rimmed pan
1/2 Cup sugar (add more if needed while making the cookies)

Preheat the oven to 350º F

Form dough into balls about 1 1/2 inches, and roll them in the sugar in the pan.
Place on a baking sheet, about 3 inches apart.
Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until browned and edges appear set.
Let cool for five minutes on baking sheet before transferring to cooling racks.
Repeat with remaining dough.


                        Iced Soft Molasses Cookies

Yield 36 cookies
Line 4 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Sift into a large bowl
3 1/2 Cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 Tablespoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cloves
Set aside.

Place in a 2 cup measuring cup or medium bowl
3/4 Cup molasses
3/4 Cup buttermilk, room temperature
Stir well with a fork to thoroughly mix.

Place in a large mixer bowl
3/4 Cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 Cup packed brown sugar
Cream together until fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Add
1 large egg, room temperature
Add the molasses / buttermilk mixture.
Scraping the bowl often, stir mixture on low. It will look curdled.
Gradually add the dry ingredients and stir just until blended.
Turn off the mixer and stir a few times with a spatula, scraping the sides and bottom.

Preheat oven to 350° F

Drop measuring tablespoon size balls of batter onto the cookie sheet, two inches apart.
Bake for 12 minutes or until the cookies are done.
To test poke a cookie with a finger. If the indent bounces back then they’re done.
Let the cookies cool on the sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
Repeat with remaining dough.
When the cookies have cooled, make the icing.

Icing

Place in a medium bowl
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 Cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 Cup cream or milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Stir together until well combined and smooth.
Either dip the tops of the cookies into the icing bowl or spoon the icing over the cookies, allowing the excess icing to run off.
Sprinkle with cinnamon if desired.
Allow the icing to set before serving.


                        Newfoundland Molasses Raisin Bread

Makes 2  1 1/2 pound loaves

Grease well 2 9x5x3 inch loaf pans

Place in a small bowl
1/2 Cup lukewarm water
1 Tablespoon sugar
Stir together and add
2 teaspoons dry yeast
Let stand without stirring for 10 minutes.

Stir together in a large mixing bowl
2 Cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
When the yeast is ready, stir it and add to the flour.
Stir in
1/3 Cup melted butter
1/2 Cup molasses
3/4 Cup lukewarm milk
1 large egg, beaten
Mix slowly for 5 minutes, or until the mixture is smooth with no lumps.
Gradually add
2 Cups flour
You might need to add more flour for a soft dough that leaves the sides of the bowl.
Add
2 Cups raisins
Knead until the raisins are evenly distributed in the dough.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface to knead for 10 minutes.
Place the dough in a large bowl, then cover the bowl with a damp tea towel.
Leave it to rest and rise for two hours.

Punch the dough down and knead it for a few minutes, then let it rest for 10 minutes.
Divide the dough into 6 equal portions and form each portion into a ball.
Place 3 balls of dough in each prepared loaf pan.
Cover with a tea towel and allow to rise until it is about 2 inches above the rim, about 2-3 hours.

Preheat oven to 350° F

Bake for 45 minutes. The top and bottom crust should have good colour.
Turn the loaves out onto a wire rack to cool.
Brush the tops with melted butter to soften the top crust, if desired.


                                                       ~~~
I also wrote the following essay about Christmas traditions for our CKUW radio show ‘2000 & Counting’. Over the years our listeners asked for some seasonal stories to be repeated.
They seemed to like being reminded that we were all in the same holiday boat, a communal ship which made us feel like we were all sinking fast.

Ah… Christmas shopping, holiday baking and holiday customs…
Why do we do it?

I don't know about you, but as far as I'm concerned, there are two questions no one should ever ask a woman.

The first is How old are you?
The second is Have you done your holiday baking yet?

Why is it that, when the thermometer falls, we're supposed to bake? 
Does the Queen whip up a fruitcake before writing her speech?
I don't think so.  

Holiday baking has been with us an awfully long time.
Did you know that ginger was popular in Greece over 5,000 years ago? The Egyptians were eating gingerbread when the great pyramid of Cheops was just a brick and a prayer. I wonder what their gingerbread men looked like.

A few years after Egypt's building boom, an English King and his hunting party got lost in a blizzard on Christmas Eve. Well, they were clever lads full of English pluck, so they threw everything they had - meat, flour, sugar, apples, ale and brandy - into a bag and cooked it. Wallah!!  Plum pudding. The Iron Chef would've been proud.  

On Christmas Day in 1666, Samuel Pepys wrote in his diary that he had risen earlier than his wife Who was desirous to sleep having sat up till four this morning seeing her maids make mince pies. 
I really admire Mrs. P. She just sat and watched her maids do the work, yet her husband felt guilty about her workload. How did she get him to suffer like that?   

Some Christmas carols seem a little too focused on food.  For example:
     Now bring us some figgy pudding and a cup of good cheer!
     We won't go until we get some, so bring it out here.
Those were somebody's friends?  Somebody should've called the cops.


Holiday baking has followed us into modern times. The 1970s was the decade of old time family television shows like The Waltons and memoir books.
Have you ever browsed through a memoir book? It could make you weep. They reminded us of times like this...
Evenings when a cold blustery wind howled outside were perfect for sorting through recipes. They were cozy times. The children were sitting at the oak table helping Mama chop fruit and raisins. Papa was cracking and shelling nuts and crushing fresh spices in the grinder.

Isn't that sweet? Sentences like that convinced me that if we did things just like people did before television was invented, the world would be a kinder, gentler place.

We'll never know. Paul told me, in no uncertain terms, that he was too busy to grind nuts for a cake he didn't even want.
Alright. Scratch Paul grinding his nuts. I bought ground nuts.

Step two... the batter had to be mixed. Back to that memoir...
When all the fruits were in, Grandmother called, 'Come, stir the batter!'
We all took turns giving it a stir - clockwise for good luck - and made a wish.

I made a batter, threw in the fruits and called out Come, stir the batter!

Carl pointed to the electric mixer sitting on the counter and said that he was staying on the eighth level of his computer game, The Temple of Ra. He also told me, in no uncertain terms, that he was too busy to stir batter for a cake he didn't even want.

I stirred the batter, clockwise.
Don't ask what I wished.


It's been downhill ever since. Do you know about the charming Swedish custom of hiding a whole almond in a serving bowl of rice pudding? The lucky person who finds the almond has to get married or do the dishes. Either my husband or my son - the fink never confessed - managed to swallow the almond every time.

I tried the German version: whoever finds the almond receives a marzipan pig. By then Paul and Carl had their own tradition: swallowing the almond. I felt so guilty looking at that poor rejected pig.
I started my own tradition and ate him... along with the cake.

There's a Christmas carol that goes: Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat...

Well, the goose isn't the only one.

Anna Sultana’s Orange Honey Cookies, Honey Cookies and Honey Cake / A Christmas Bargain by Margaret Ullrich

Honey Cake

This has been quite year for cooking in Canada.

Starting in February 2023, the Windsor Salt workers in the salt mines in Pugwash, Nova Scotia and Windsor, Ontario went on a 192 day long strike.
Since Windsor is the salt supplier in Canada that meant that the there was a gaping hole on the shelves where we normally could pick up some salt.
Yes, just like toilet paper at the start of COVID-19, salt was nowhere to be found until September.

Then, on September 28, 138 workers at Rogers Sugar refinery in Vancouver went on strike.
For a while there was enough sugar on the supermarket shelves.
Well, now it’s holiday baking time and the shelves are bare.
The clerk told me that people are showing up at 7 a.m. hoping that a bag or two will make an appearance.
Professional Canadian bakeries and chocolate makers are also having problems due to the lack of white sugar.
The sugar strike has been going for two months and there’s no end in sight.

In Canada salt is supplied by Windsor and sugar is supplied by Rogers.
That's it. Nobody else.
So, if they aren’t producing there’s nothing on the store shelves.
Okay… first world problems, but we’ve just gotten through the COVID-19 restrictions, we’re tired and we just want to do a traditional thing, like cooking up family favourite recipes.

Alright, on to plan B.
Sugar is out, so honey and molasses are the sweeteners for the duration.
They may not be what the family is expecting, but home baked items are less of a a shock than ending a holiday meal with Oreos and a McCain cake.


Hints:

About the Cookies…
Don’t like orange? Use lemon extract and lemon juice.

These cookies are very soft and lose detail when they bake.
Just use really simple cookie cutters. Non-detailed, simple round cutters work best.


                        Orange Honey Cookies

36 cookies

Grease well or line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper

Sift into a medium bowl
2 Cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Place in a large mixer bowl
3/4 Cup butter
1/3 Cup brown sugar
1/2 Cup honey
Beat at medium speed until well blended.
Add
1 large egg
1 Tablespoon grated orange rind or 1 teaspoon orange extract
Stir in the flour mixture, about 1 cup at a time.
Cover and chill 1 1/2 hours.

Place half of the dough on a lightly floured surface and roll out 1/4 inch thick.

Preheat oven to 350º F

Cut dough into desired shapes and place on prepared sheets.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until they are a light golden brown.
Remove cookies to a wire rack to cool.

For the Orange Butter Frosting

Combine in small bowl
1 teaspoon grated orange rind or 1/4 teaspoon orange extract
1 1/2 Tablespoons orange juice

Place in a small bowl
1/4 Cup butter
Beat until soft, then blend in
2 Cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
alternately with combined juice and rind.

Ice the tops of the cookies using a baster brush or a knife.


                        Honey Cookies

36 cookies

Grease well or line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper

Place in medium bowl
2 Tablespoons butter
1/2 Cup light brown sugar

Place in small pot
1 Cup honey
Over low heat, heat until boiling, then add to the butter and sugar.
Stir until sugar is dissolved then cool 10 minutes.

While honey is cooling, sift into a large bowl
2 1/2 Cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Add to the butter and sugar
1 large egg, beaten
Stir to combine, then add to large bowl.
Stir well then add
1/4 Cup buttermilk
Stir to combine.
Cover and chill overnight.

Place half of the dough on a lightly floured surface.
If it feels sticky gently knead in 1/4 Cup flour.
Roll out 1/4 inch thick.

Preheat oven to 350º F

Cut dough into desired shapes and place on prepared sheets.
Bake 12 minutes, or until they are a light golden brown.
Remove cookies to a wire rack to cool.


                        Honey Cake

Heavily grease an 8 inch square pan

Sift together in a medium bowl
1 1/2 Cups flour
3/4 Cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon cloves

Place in a large bowl
1/2 Cup shortening or oil
1 Cup oatmeal
Stir in
1 Cup boiling water
Let stand 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 325º F

Add
2 large eggs
1 Cup honey
Beat to combine well.
Stir in the sifted dry ingredients.
Bake 60 minutes, or until cake tester inserted into centre comes out clean.

While the cake is baking place in medium bowl
1/4 Cup butter or margarine
3/4 Cup chopped nuts
1/3 Cup honey
1/4 Cup coconut, flaked or shredded
Combine to make a topping.

Remove cake from oven and spread topping on cake.
Broil until bubbly, then remove from oven.


                                                       ~~~
Back in November, 2002, I wrote an essay for the CKUW radio show ‘2000 & Counting' about getting Christmas gifts.  
It was a meant as a light piece, filled with hints.
Many of our listeners were seniors or college students, folks known for having to stretch their dollars.
Now, in addition to Covid-19 and its variants making us nervous about going to crowded places, we’re facing problems in the supply chain.
Christmas shopping never gets any easier.  Darn!!


Okay… listen up! There are five weeks left until Christmas. That means gifts. I know, I know, it's more blessed to give than to receive. But, unless you have ways of shopping that you'd like to keep secret, giving gifts means money.  

It's a little late to start a Christmas gift account at your bank and the utility companies really lose that Ho Ho Ho spirit if you try to skip paying their bills. 
 
If the charge cards are already maxed out - or you just want to keep your nearest and dearest on a cash and carry basis - gift getting is going to take a little effort.  

Desperate times call for desperate measures. As we're all stuck with holidays - oh, lucky us - I'll tell you some of my desperate measures.

Live off your hump. You know what I mean. Things like the 18 cans of tuna you have left from the time you bought 20 cans so you could get 50 bonus airmiles. Now's the time to crack those babies open. I know the family hates tuna. That's why there are 18 little cans of fishies swimming around your pantry.
Well, the family would hate a Giftless Christmas even more.

Think about it. Lousy dinners happen to everybody. But the family Grinch who comes up giftless at Christmas gets blabbed about throughout the neighbourhood and the generations.
You don't want to be remembered by your great-great-grandchildren as Granny Grinchie.

Try creative cooking. Pretend you're on the TV show Iron Chef. You've just been given a tube of ground beef, a bag of marshmallows, a jar of salsa, a bottle of raspberry vinegar, a carton of frozen spinach, a jar of maraschino cherries and a box of rice-a-roni. Think only a nut throws odd things together? How do you think raspberry vinegar was invented?
If the family gets snarky, tell them you found the recipe in a magazine. Drop names. Martha is always good, and if they can't appreciate all the effort you put into making dinner interesting… Well!
You know the speech.
Remember, guilt, when the other person has it, is a good thing.

Go ethnic. Granny's recipes don't have to be saved for Folklorama. God bless family. Go to an Italian restaurant and get a load of the prices they charge for a plate of Pasta Fagioli. That's two cheapies: noodles and beans! Grandma would die laughing if she saw those prices. Starch and beans got millions of people through tough times. Go thou and eat likewise.
  
Beans aren't good enough? Go past the recognizable cuts and shop the mystery meats. Put enough spices on them and the family won't know what hit them. I once made spaghetti and meatballs using animal organs only a mother could love. Guess what? Hubby had invited a friend. Well, the buddy was getting a free meal, so I followed the Cook’s Golden Rule: Don't apologize and don't explain.
The buddy said it was delicious, like the meatballs they serve at the Bay.
Hmmm… I notice the Bay is still in business. There's more than one way to skin a cat.   
  
Shop your house. No kidding. Grab a bag and stroll through your house. Look for things somebody foisted… uh… gave to you. Well, why should you be stuck with it until you're six feet under? Unless it was made by your preschooler - don't even think it, they DO remember - you're free to pass it on to someone else.
Just don't give it to the person who gave it to you.
   
Pack your own. Ever notice the little overpriced goodies the stores stuff into baskets and bowls? One current gift item is a box of pasta, a tin of sauce, some cheese and some wooden spoons nestled within a large bowl.
Are you too stupid to do the same thing? I didn’t think so. It's one way to get rid of some of those extra airmiles purchases. Let somebody else eat the tuna.


Still thinking about the folks in the flyers looking wildly happy over a toaster? 
Toss the flyers. Those models were paid big bucks. Stores want you to buy. A stress-free family holiday is not their goal. If they had their way you'd replace everything and pay 50% interest.
     

Remember how the best presents were things that showed that someone cared?
Maybe somebody hunted down an out-of-print book by your favourite author.
The gadgets that looked amazing seem strange on December 26.  
    
While you're shopping, get yourself some treats. 
I have a friend who picks up a bag of  pfeffernusse cookies every year. When she feels like all she's doing is giving, giving, giving, she pops a pfeffernusse into her mouth and gives herself an old time Christmas. It doesn't take much.   

God bless us, everyone.