My MIL once subbed zucchini for apples in an "apple" pie because that's what she had on hand. Since she wasn't using apples, she added extra clove (why, I have no idea). I don't think she put in extra sugar or anything, though. It was probably the worst pie I've ever tasted. Bless her heart, she was sweet, but so not a great cook!
My MIL once subbed zucchini for apples in an "apple" pie because that's what she had on hand. Since she wasn't using apples, she added extra clove (why, I have no idea). I don't think she put in extra sugar or anything, though. It was probably the worst pie I've ever tasted. Bless her heart, she was sweet, but so not a great cook!
Key Lime Pies. It’s actually our traditional Christmas pie. Although I will say that I cheat a little bit now and using bottled juice. When I used to make these with my grandmother, we had to juice the key limes ourselves.
Whew! I did it all in one shot today. Decent variety but very small quantities because very little of it actually gets eaten with so many other seasonal delicacies on offer. I've often wondered why I even do it, but it just wouldn't be proper Christmas without it, would it?
Butter tarts, Nanaimo bars, soft(ish) ginger cookies, brown sugar cookies cut into stars and decorated with rum glaze and blue and gold sugar, raspberry and apricot jam thumbprints (my favorite!!) and whipped shortbread piped into roses. I've got a loaf of @CdnCarrie 's eggnog bread in the oven (can't wait to try it!!) and when DS gets home we'll make fudge, which he gifts to his friends. Very satisfying.
I decorated these guys this morning. They're Oreo truffle melting snowmen. I made the truffle part the other day. I'm bringing them to an extended family Christmas party this afternoon with a lot of kids.
Not a complicated recipe, but a bit fussy to roll and fill the cookies. What I'm posting is a 1/2 quantity because I only wanted a few; I got a dozen out of it. It's easy enough to double or triple for a bigger batch:
1/2 soft butter
1/4 c packed brown sugar
1 egg, separated
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Scant 1 c flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 c finely chopped walnuts
Use an electric mixer to beat butter, sugar, egg yolk and vanilla until very creamy (make sure your butter is very soft, but not melted). Sift flour and salt together and stir into the wet ingredients. Since there is no liquid in this recipe, the dough is quite dry and crumby, you may need to work to get it to come together. Add 1 tbsp of water if absolutely necessary. Roll a good sized tbsp. of dough into a ball and dip into the egg white, which has been beaten with a fork to loosen. Roll ball into chopped walnuts to cover well. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet about 2" apart and use your thumb to make a little depression on the top (hence the name "thumbprint"). Fill the depression with about a 1/4 tsp. jam of choice - both raspberry and apricot look beautiful and are delicious with the walnuts. Bake at 325 F for about 10 minutes, a little longer if they seem too pale, but take care not to scorch the nuts. You will LOVE these. Merry Christmas!
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