The holidays are a time when you choose a variety of ways to celebrate your family and what you have been given in life. One small way you might choose to do that is by preparing a hearty meal with treats to match. You probably also decorate your home with festive ornaments. Well, why not meld the two together and make your treats decorative too? The easiest foods to make festive are desserts, though you can implement the idea in other ways too.
A simple and tasty chocolate snowman shaped cake is easy to make and highly festive. Best with Dutch cocoa, you can use coconut flakes to create the coating. You can use black licorice sticks for the arms, black licorice drops for the eyes and peppermints for buttons with gum drops on top. For the mouth, you can use a piece of red shoestring style licorice. Fruit leather makes a great decorative scarf.
Alternatively, or in addition to, you can create a Christmas tree cake with equal festivity. By creating individual cake squares, you can stack these to create a tree-like shape with green frosting and other colored frostings to your liking. You can use candies for ornaments and smaller cake squares decorated with colored frosting to make presents under the tree.
Gingerbread houses are a classic way of creating decorative treats. However, there are more creative ways to make artistic gingerbread treats. One less known design is the gingerbread lantern, created by four rectangular pieces of gingerbread connected by frosting. You can cut holes in the pieces to let the light out, such as stars or hearts. Once settled, you can place candles inside these and use them as actual lanterns.
Another creative design is the gingerbread train. You have a great amount of creative license with this, in that there is room to decide how intricate you want to get with the design. However, there is a minimum amount of intricacy involved. The frosting is used for piping and a combination of circular and rectangular gingerbread cookies create the body. You can use candies, licorice and frosting to decorate it anyway you like. Gum drops work well to top the train while licorice works well for the pistons. You can also decide how long you want to make the train.
If you are looking to go more gourmet than flashy, you can make chocolate espresso snowballs with fair trade coffee. Using cocoa, pecans and sugar you can have a treat both decedent and decorative. There are plenty of ways to brighten up holiday cheer just with culinary creativity.
Submitted by Kitty Ritenour
Serves 6-8
Ingredients
| 3- 12 oz. pkgs biscuit dough, refrigerated |
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1 c. granulated sugar |
| 2 tsp cinnamon, ground |
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½ c. margarine |
| 1 c. brown sugar, tightly packed |
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½ c. walnuts, chopped (optional) |
| ½ c. raisins |
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Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a bunt or tube pan.
- Mix sugar & cinnamon in a large resealable plastic bag. Cut biscuits into quarters. Shake 6-8 biscuit pieces in the mixture. Arrange the pieces in the bottom of the pan.
- Sprinkle each layer with raisins & optional nuts. Continue the process until all biscuit pieces are coated & placed in the pan.
- In a small pot, over medium heat, melt the margarine with the brown sugar. Boil for 1 minute. Pour over biscuits.
- Bake for 35 minutes. Remove from oven & let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Turn out onto serving dish/platter.
Chef’s Note: Do not cut the bread! It’ll pull apart easily!
Submitted by Gary Floyd
Serves 8
Ingredients
| 13 oz. clams, minced (2 cans; reserve juice) |
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1 c. yellow onions, chopped |
| 1 c. celery, diced |
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2½ c. potatoes, diced |
| ¾ c. all-purpose flour |
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¾ c. butter |
| 1 qt. half & half |
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½ tsp granulated sugar |
| 1½ tsp salt |
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Dash black pepper |
Directions
In a medium to large saucepan combine onions, celery & potatoes. Pour clam juice over vegetables. Add enough water to barely cover vegetables. Bring to boil then reduce heat to medium & simmer until potatoes are tender (approximately 20 minutes). - Meanwhile, in a small sauce pan, melt butter. When melted, add flour, blend & cook for 2 minutes. Add half & half & cook, stirring until smooth & creamy. Drain vegetables, reserving liquid. Return vegetables to saucepan. Add clams & sauce mixture. Heat thoroughly (add reserved cooking liquid to make consistency to your taste.
Submitted by Gary Floyd
Makes 12
Ingredients
| 1½ c. cake flour |
|
t tbsp cake flour, reserved |
| ¼ tsp salt |
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1 tbsp baking powder |
| 3 tbsp sugar |
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1½ c. evaporated milk |
| 1 lemon |
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1 large egg |
| 1½ vanilla extract |
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butter |
| maple syrup |
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Directions
- Heat griddle or skillet over medium to low heat. In a large bowl combine flour, salt, baking powder, & sugar.
- In another bowl, combine evaporated milk, lemon juice, & lemon zest. Let rest for 4-5 minutes. Add egg, vanilla, & melted butter. Lightly stir to blend.
- Gently combine wet & dry ingredients (wet into dry). Stir to blend ingredients. Add more milk if batter seems too thick. Do not make too thin of a batter.
- Melt a dab of butter on heated skillet/griddle. Drop batter by ¼ cups & cook until golden (approximately 1-2 minutes per side). Serve with softened butter & syrup of choice.
Chef’s Note: You can substitute buttermilk for the evaporated milk & lemon juice & zest.
Submitted by Debbie Kruse
Ingredients
| 2 cans creamed corn |
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4 eggs, slightly beaten |
| 2/3 c. sugar |
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6 tbsp flour |
| 2 tsp salt |
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½ tsp nutmeg, ground |
| ½ tsp black pepper |
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1 c. milk |
| 2 tbsp butter |
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Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter or spray 9″x9″ baking dish (or other appropriate sized casserole dish).
- In a large bowl, mix together creamed corn, eggs, sugar, flour, salt, nutmeg, black pepper, & milk. Pour mixture into the prepared baking dish.
- Slice the butter in half & place the slices on top, separated. Bake for 1 hour or until golden brown on top. The center of the pudding may still appear to be loose due to the butter, but the edges should appear done.
- Server warm.
Chef’s Note: May also be prepared ahead of time and re-heated before service.
