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Santa Claus Costumes and
Customs: Traditional
Christmas Recipes
Eggnog (No
alcohol) |
Wassail
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Hot Buttered Rum
|
Roasted
Chestnuts |
Mince Pie
Filling ("Mincemeat" without meat) |
Stollen
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Marzipan
|
Lebkuchen
Cookies
Eggnog (no alcohol)
2 eggs
Juice of 1 orange
1 can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 TBSP vanilla
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 pint whipping cream (heavy cream)
1 quart milk
In blender or with mixer, mix eggs, orange juice,
Sweetened Condensed milk, vanilla, and spices. Pour
into punch bowl. Whip the cream to soft peaks and
add. Add milk and stir. Makes 1/2 gallon.
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Wassail
"Wassail" originally referred to the caroling that
earned the carolers a cup; later it came to mean the
drink itself, and the wassail bowl was born. The
word "wassail" comes from the Anglo-Saxon "waes hael,"
meaning "be well." The custom is for the host to
raise a glass and cry "waes hael!", to which
everyone responds with the cheer, "drinc hael!"
(drink well!). Wassail has its own carol (click here
to hear). The lyrics of the song, and the recipe for
Wassail follow:
Lets sing the
Wassail song
Wassail Recipe
1 bottle burgundy or claret
6 eggs
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cloves
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon mace
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups sugar
6 baked apples
Heat the bottle of red wine. Meanwhile separate the
eggs. Beat the yokes and whites separately, then
fold both together (egg whites should be stiff). Put
spices in water and heat for afew minutes to release
flavor. Now pour all into a punch bowl (er, wassail
bowl) along with baked apples. Serve warm.
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Hot Buttered Rum Mix
1 lb Brown Sugar
1/2 lb salted Butter
1 tsp ground Nutmeg
1 tsp ground Cinnamon
1 tsp ground Cloves
1 tsp ground Cardamom
1 tsp Vanilla
Blend all ingredients in a food processer or mixer
and store in the refrigerator. To make a drink add a
shot of dark rum along with 1 or 2 TBSP of mix to a
mug of very hot water.
Christmas Hot
Chocolate
6 TBSP. unsweetened cocoa
6 TBSP. sugar
Pinch of salt
2 1/2 cup milk
2 1/2 cup light cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla (or more)
Rumpelminz or other Peppermint Schnapps
Whipped Cream
Mix cocoa, salt, and sugar. Add milk. Heat to
dissolve. Add light cream and vanilla. Heat to just
under boiling. Mix very well and pour into warm mug.
Stir a shot of Rumpelminz into each glass and top
with whipped cream.
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Roasted or
Boiled Chestnuts
First, select chesnuts with firm, brown, shiny
shells, avoiding those that are dull, shrivelled,
cracked, or that have any pinholes in them. With a
very sharp knife, make an X in each shell so they
won't explode during cooking.
To roast over an open fire: put in a popcorn type
popper made for use in the fireplace, and cover.
Roast a few inches away from the heat source,
shaking the pan so they won't char. Cook until skins
are black, but not charred -- about 5 to 10 minutes.
Peel and eat.
To roast on the stove-top: put them in a chestnut
pan (they have holes in the bottom). Sprinkle with
water and shake across the burner for about 5-10
minutes. Peel and eat.
To boil: Simply boil for 10 minutes. Peel and eat.
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Mince Pie Filling ("Mincemeat" without meat)
Mincemeant pies are supposed to be baked in an
oblong shape to recall Jesus' crib. The cinnamon,
cloves, and nutmeg are said to symbolize the gifts
of the Magi. These pies were once made illegal by
Puritan Oliver Cromwell, Lord Chancellor of England,
because it was considered a "popish" dish.
3 1/2 pounds small pippin apples (about 7), peeled,
cored, chopped
1/2 cup chopped pitted prunes
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup dried currants
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup unsulfured (light) molasses
1/4 cup brandy
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 TBSP dark rum
1 TBSP grated orange peel
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Pinch of salt
Combine all ingredients in heavy large saucepan or
Dutch oven. Cook over low heat until apples are very
tender and mixture is thick, stirring occasionally,
about 1 1/2 hours. Cool filling completely. (Can be
prepared up to 1 week ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
Position rack in lowest third of oven and preheat to
400°F. Pour into pie crust and top with a top crust.
Bake until crust is golden brown and mince bubbles,
about 40 minutes. Cool completely and serve with
whipped cream, hard sauce, or ice cream.
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Stollen
3 to 4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4-ounce packet dry yeast
1/2 cup warm (105° to 115°F) milk
1/3 cup sugar
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, melted, plus 4
TBSP, melted
2 TBSP cognac
1 cup blanched almonds, chopped
1 1/2 cups raisins, chopped
1/3 cup mixed candied citrus peel
1 TBSP grated zest of lemon
sifted confectioners sugar
Into a large bowl, sift 3 cups of flour with the
salt. In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in half
the milk. Make a well in the center of the flour and
salt mixture; then add the yeast and milk, sugar, 2
sticks of butter, and cognac. Mix well to combine,
adding enough additional flour to form a smooth,
elastic dough.
On a lightly floured surface, turn the dough out and
knead for 3 minutes. Lightly oil a bowl and place
the dough in it, turning to coat well with oil.
Cover with lightly oiled plastic wrap and let stand
in a warm place for about 1 hour.
On a lightly floured surface, turn out the dough.
Knead in the almonds, raisins, citrus peel, and
zest. Allow the dough to rise once more until almost
doubled in bulk.
Remove the dough from the bowl and shape it into a
10-inch round. Fold the round almost in half,
flatten, and shape to form an oval. Place on a
greased baking sheet, cover with lightly oiled
plastic wrap, and let stand in a warm place for 30
minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Brush the stollen with
melted butter. Bake, brushing with butter every 10
minutes, for 45 to 50 minutes or until a tester
comes out clean when inserted.
Remove from the oven and cool on a rack. (When
cooled, may be wrapped in several layers of foil and
store in the refrigerator--the cake will keep for 3
to 4 weeks.) Dust with confectioners sugar and
serve.
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Marzipan
2 cups of confectioners’ sugar
½ pound of very finely ground blanched almonds or
prepared almond paste
2 egg whites
½ teaspoon of salt
½ teaspoon of almond extract
Food colorings (see recipe)
Blend all of the ingredients but food colorings
together until smooth and completely blended
together. Wrap or cover tightly and chill until
firm. Let come to room temperature, then divide
dough as needed, add any liquid coloring, if using,
a very few drops at a time to desired color. Knead
until blended and then form into shapes. Or form
into shapes before coloring, then paint with liquid
food colorings added to water. Or, form into shapes
before coloring, and then use powdered food
coloring, let dry for 6 hours, and then set the
colors by holding the marzipans over steam for a few
seconds (this method is said to make the
best-looking marzipan).
Tips:
Shape into roses and other flowers, Saints' symbols,
liturgical symbols, Christmas symbols (stars,
ornaments, trees, wreaths, poinsettia, Christmas
Roses), Easter symbols (eggs, bells, lilies),
fruits, vegetables, letters, numbers, a pig for the
Danish or Norwegian Christmas pudding, etc.
Alternatively, roll flat and cut using cookie
cutters.
Use toothpicks to make creases, dimples or designs.
Gently roll shapes against graters, mashers, tea
strainers, toothbrushes (reserved for the purpose,
of course), etc., for textural effects.
Cloves can be used for stems top or bottom on fruit
shapes.
Cocoa powder works well for making the color brown.
Marzipan shapes or balls can be dipped in mixture of
16 oz. Hershey's special dark chocolate and 5
squares unsweetened chocolate melted together (in
double boiler or microwave).
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Lebkuchen-German
Honey Cookies
2/3 Cup honey
2/3 Cup brown sugar
1 egg (or egg equivalent)
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. lemon rind
2 2/3 Cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. each: ginger, cinnamon, allspice, anise,
mace, cloves, cardamom
1/2 Cup chopped citron
1/2 Cup chopped almonds
Glaze:
1 Cup sugar
1/4 Cup powdered confectioner's sugar
1/2 Cup water
whole blanched almonds or candied cherries (for
decoration)
Heat honey to boiling, cool. Add brown sugar,
egg, lemon juice and
rind, flour, soda, and spices. Mix well.
Stir in citron and almonds.
Chill several hours. Roll to @ 1/4 inch thick
and cut in diamonds or
circles. Put 1/2 almond or 1/2 cherry on each.
Place on a lightly
oiled a cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for
10-12 minutes. For a
softer cookie, try @ 9 minutes. While cookies are
baking, bring the
sugar and water to boiling in a small saucepan.
Boil 3 minutes; stir
in confectioner's sugar. Brush hot cookies
with hot glaze, cool on
wire racks. Store in a tightly covered
container to mellow. These
cookies get better with age. Makes @ 3 dozen
cookies.
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