My father's family has been in the U.S. since 1714, so they are totally Americanized, with nary a trace of ethnicity. However, they were from Kentucky and Tennessee, so there were regional Christmas treats on that side. My beloved paternal grandmother, for instance, always made divinity candy and peanut butter fudge.
My mother's side was both German and French, and her grandparents arrived in the U.S. about 1860. They moved to a German enclave in Northern Indiana, near Chicago. My Mom was born in 1926, so she was raised in those traditions. Her mother made fancy Christmas cookies. Mom also made fruitcake, but I think that was a 1950's housewife thing. Dad made chocolate fudge. We always made rolled cut-out cookies which we then frosted with many garish colors and loaded down with sprinkles. Yum.
I already made my usual fruitcake, which I've wrapped in bourbon soaked cheesecloth this year instead of brandy.
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| Fruitcake |
and I'm also making Hungarian kieflis. They are insanely thin rolled dough wrapped around walnut/confectioner's sugar/egg white mix. Then shaped into a crescent. When done and cool, they are dusted with more confectioner's sugar. Although I am not Hungarian, I grew up in a Hungarian parish, and everyone made them, my mother got her recipe from a neighbor.
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| Heavenly Kieflis |
Okay, make me say it, I'm going to make fudge, too. Even though it will push me right over the damn edge. I hope you are satisfied, Chilly Hollow, your fudge recipe is my downfall once again. Don't tell me to eat less. I can't.
For those of you who also celebrate a winter holiday, what are you baking or making? Not just Christmas, I'm interested in any winter holiday. Are they part of your family traditions?
I am blown-away by all your baking. It sounds delicious, and I love how you are carrying on your family traditions. We didn't celebrate Christmas (or Hanukkah), so the big baking holidays for us were Rosh Hashanah and Passover. Also traditional recipes from eastern Europe. Yum!
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of traditional recipes from eastern Europe? I am intrigued.
DeleteWe would have Hamantash (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamantash) and Plum Kuchen (https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/plum-kuchen-4666). My grandmother loved to bake.
DeleteYum. I have had Hamantash before. Big fan. Thanks for including the links.
DeleteMy mum always made fruitcake, which I don't like. But when she was alive I made fruitcake for her when she was unable, wrapped it in rum soaked cheesecloth. She loved her fruitcake.
ReplyDeleteMum always had some standard cookie recipes but I became a better baker than her and have tried many recipes. I always make shortbread and my favorite is ginger shortbread.https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/ginger-shortbread-cookies-3197
I can't make fudge anymore because I will eat the entire batch.
Have a wonderful Christmas.
I am definitely going to check out that ginger shortbread recipe. It sounds great. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas, too, Lily. You are on my mind.
DeleteI do not do much baking for Christmas any more. The only family near me is my son who is diabetic so his intake of sweets is extremely limited. I used to have a cookie day when I would have all the children at my house and we would spend the day making cookies and candy. I miss that. I too love Hungarian pastries even though I am not Hungarian. Where I grew up there were a lot of German and Slavic people. Your kieflis look delicious and make me hungry for kolaches. My mother loved divinity so we always made that. My granddaughter makes rock candy. My grandson makes the best snickerdoodles ever. Actually each grandchild has a specialty. Now I'm starving. I need to stop this.
ReplyDeleteNice that each had their own specialty. I have made kolaches before, too. I think I like them better than kiflies.
DeleteMy work here is done. Share the recipe! Learned this week that fat people don't get osteoporosis. I think we all need to eat ourselves silly for Christmas to keep our bones safe.
ReplyDeletehahahaha. Keep believin' that, girlfriend. I posted the recipe for your fudge (aka, Satan) last year in my post at http://agingfemalebabyboomer.blogspot.com/2016/12/holiday-glitz.html
DeleteI suppose I should miss all that baking, but I don't. That's it; end of confession.
ReplyDeleteI used to love it. This year I'm just barely working through it. It is a LOT of work. Say an Our Father and two Hail Mary's and I'm quite sure your sins will be forgiven.
DeleteWell,I don't have to bake anything now. You have sated me with all of your beautiful treats.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I always do apple pie, to be eaten that day and my grandmothers butter walnut cookies rolled in powered sugar, oh yes, and individual apricot turnovers. It's so interesting what traditions we each turn to at the holidays.
Is there anything better than apple pie?
DeleteXmas baking, where to begin??? It is probably the biggest and toughest family tradition for me, so much so that I have given it up to retain sanity. But for many years ever since I had access to a decent oven, the basics included at least ten different xmas cookies (50 each), Stollen, Springerle using my grandmother's rolling pins and Lebkuchen. I can't remember when I stopped baking myself but the stuff keeps appearing anyway - friends mostly.
ReplyDeleteAhhhh, proving my point about the German Christmas cookie tradition...
DeleteJust putting the last bit of brandy on fruitcake number three, getting it ready to mail. My mom always made fruitcake but over the last three years she has been teaching my husband her craft and he has taken over. She is 89 and it is a big job. We mail them to her sisters - 94, 85 and 80 year olds. Mom is full blood Swiss and her mom made lots of wonderful treats, some that the daughters still make - the favorite being Swiss pear bread.
ReplyDeleteI have not gotten to bake the things I had planned - took a flying leap off the porch and pulled hamstrings in my leg - just grateful for no broken bones!
Oh dear! You are very lucky you didn't break anything. A year off to heal won't be the end of the world. Swiss pear bread sounds divine!
DeleteMolly Bon! You commented on the older post asking for the recipe. Here it is: Chilly Hollow's own fudge recipe from 1988:
ReplyDelete"In medium saucepan combine 1 jar (5 to 10 oz) marshmallow creme, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 2/3 c. evaporated milk (a small 5 oz. can), 1/4 c. butter (1/2 stick) and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Bring to a full boil, stirring constantly over moderate heat. Boil 5 minutes exactly, still stirring all the time. Remove from heat and add 2 cups (one 12 oz package) chocolate chips. Stir until melted, then add 1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional) and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and stir until smooth. Pour into greased 8' square pan and let cool. Do not refrigerate to cool or to keep later. Refrigerators are bad for the best fudge."
I love to bake and have done some, but I don’t feel motivated this year. That may be a good thing for mine and The Retired Man’s waistline.
ReplyDeleteChristmas is such a time of excess. Probably best to slow it down and consider the waistline.
DeleteI have, finally, started baking for Christmas. I have this thing about doing it too early - they'll all (cookies) either get wolfed down before Christmas or go stale! I know, ridiculous! I have my annual fruitcake in the oven as I write. It's much lighter than my mother's which could have seen service as a very effective doorstop. Everyone else thought mother's was wonderful and I'm not being unkind, it's only because I don't like heavy fruitcake, I prefer heavenly which is what mine is! It's from the McCall's Cooking School which I subscribed to back in the seventies when I hardly knew how to boil an egg.
ReplyDeleteI also make a Yule Log each Christmas - a rectangular sponge cake that gets rolled around a mocha flavored whipped cream filling and decorated with more of same to look like a log. There's more but talk is cheap, if I actually make everything then I'll blog (brag) about it!
I hope you post some pictures of that Yule Log! It sounds wonderful. I would also like to know more about your light fruitcake.
DeleteOur traditions and preparations never included baking. My maternal grandmother had an epic sweet tooth, she couldn't bake. That followed right through the line.
ReplyDeleteEverything looks and sounds delish! Enjoy.
Thanks. Are there some foods (not necessarily baked goods) that you always try to have around the holidays?
DeleteWhen my mom was alive it was more routine, more tradition; some kind of bird (turkey or cornish hens) mac and cheese, greens. A long time ago, chit'lins.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter and I now move around those basics a bit while at the same time exploring recipes that could become a new kind of tradition.
Sounds wonderful!
Deletemmmmmm mac and cheese. Now I'm going to have to make some.
DeleteNothing soothes the soul like mac and cheese. :-)
Delete