Christmas Recipes

Old-Fashioned English Trifle I’ve always thought that Trifle was created as a way to use left over/stale cake (and this seems to agree with me). The brandy can be omitted – just add back some of the juice drained from the strawberries/raspberries. Also, I’ve used packaged pudding instead of the custard mix – when I have wanted to make it richer, I have added an egg to the cooked packaged pudding). 1 (18.25 ounce) yellow cake mix 1 cup jam or jelly (any flavor) 1 (10 ounce) package frozen strawberries or 1/2 cup nuts, finely chopped raspberries, thawed and drained 2 to 4 tablespoons brandy 1 cup sherry 2 small boxes custard mix, prepared 1/2 pint heavy cream, whipped Blanched almonds Glace cherries 1-Prepare cake mix several days in advance. Save one-half for another time and use one-half for trifle. Allow cake for trifle to dry out. 2- Thinly slice the cake, lining the bottom and sides of a round bowl with the slices. A glass bowl is best because the colors of the layers are attractive. On this first layer, sprinkle half of brandy and 1/2 cup sherry. Then spread with mixture of jam and nuts, then fruit. Pour custard on top; repeat layers. Spread with heavy cream and decorate with almonds and cherries. 3-Trifle tastes best if made 1 to 2 days in advance. Finnish Cookies / Danish Finsk Broed By: Deantini Oct 27, 2009 125 cookies (according to recipe ;-) These cookies are very delicate and melt in your mouth. The name is a bit odd, it is a Danish cookie but directly translated called 'Finnish Bread'. The dough needs to rest for at least one hour which is not included in the prep time. Note - The dough can be frozen for easy planning Ingredients 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (375 g) 1/2 cup sugar (85 g) 1 cup butter 2 eggs, divided 1/4 cup almonds, skinned 1 tablespoon sugar Directions 1-Mix flour and sugar in a bowl, cut the butter in small pieces and cut it into the flour mixture. 2-Whip one egg and add to the dough, Gather the dough quickly. If you find the dough is too dry you can add a bit of water to help gather the dough. 3-Divide the dough into 4 portions and roll the dough into long ropes about as thick as your finger. Flatten the 'ropes' and cut them into 2 inch long cookies. 4-Place the cookies on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper and let them rest in a cool place for at least one hour. 5-Meanwhile - chop the almonds roughly and mix them with 1 tbsp sugar. 6-Whip one egg. 7-Preheat oven to 400°F. 8-Brush the cookies with egg and dust with almond/sugar mix. 9-Bake the cookies for 12-15 min at 400 F until golden. Danish Christmas Rice Pudding By: Smilyn Jun 24, 2004 3¼ hours | 15 min prep SERVES 6 -8 (change servings and units) [Smilyn’s] mom and grandma use to make this every Christmas or special holiday, but it had to be extra special. This is a great dessert that keeps those great memories close by. This is an old recipe so keep in mind that not everything is exact. Use your own discretion when baking. 1/2 cup of packed rasins can be added to this dish, but I prefer it plain and served warm with whipped cream. I found this recipe because this is part of the Danish Tradition that I had read about while doing this with my children. There was one part that I remembered about the tradition that included hiding a small coin in one of the bowls (in one account this started as a means of prompting the children to quickly finish the entire amount they were given). However, the older siblings became wise to the fact it was always placed in the youngest child’s bowl. I included this as it shows how traditions can be simple and cheap. They also seem best when they evolve to meet the needs of each individual family. Ingredients 6 cups whole milk 1 cup cooked white rice, medium grain 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 whole eggs, lightly beaten cinnamon nutmeg 1 whole almonds 1 tablespoon vanilla (or vanilla bean) 2 cinnamon sticks Directions 1-Preheat oven to 325°F. 2-Put milk, eggs, rice, sugar and salt into baking dish (nice glass cooking bowl or dish) and place in a hot water bath. 3-At the top of custard, add a few dashes of cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla extract. Add vanilla bean (if using) and cinnamon stick. 4-Cover and cook 2 1/2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Remove vanilla bean and cinnamon stick after one hour of cooking. Pudding is done when rice is soft and custard is set (a slight jiggle). 5-Remove lid for the last 10 minutes of cooking to give a light golden color. 6-Put an almond in the rice pudding just before serving: According to the old Danish legend, whoever finds the almond at Christmas will have series of lucky adventures. 7-Serve warm or cold with whipped cream.