RECIPES: MY MOM'S TOTALLY ADDICTIVE HOLIDAY FRUITCAKE COOKIES

One of my favorite holiday traditions with my mom was starting our holiday baking the day after Thanksgiving. We always made spiced fruit cake cookies but we'd have to buy the ingredients over a few weeks so we could afford them. I remember the anticipation of watching the shelf fill up with the candied fruit: pineapple, cherries (yes, even the green ones) and how excited I was when we finally got the last ingredient. I still love those cookies... and they hold so many memories for me. 

I know. You hate fruitcake. I'm pretty sure I don't like most of them but I promise you these gorgeous little fruitcake gems are so addictive and delicious, you will not want to wait a whole year to make them again. These are the same mugs we used for Christmas Eve cocoa way back then.

MOM'S HOLIDAY FRUITCAKE COOKIES

Makes about 6 dozen depending on how large you make them.

INGREDIENTS

1 pound candied red cherries

1 pound candied pineapple

1 pound candied green cherries

6 cups pecans, roughly chopped

1 pound dates, chopped

2 tablespoons dark run (optional- but you need to up the orange juice if you omit)

3 cups plus 1 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup Crisco shortening

1 cup granulated sugar

slight pinch kosher salt

3 teaspoons baking soda

3 tablespoons milk

4 eggs (room temperature)

1 tablespoon orange juice

1 teaspoon nutmeg

INSTRUCTIONS

The day before: chop the dates into small pieces and put them in a glass bowl. Add rum. Cover with plastic wrap. Let sit overnight to absorb the rum. You can leave this step out if you want but I find it makes the dates more delicious and the cookies have more flavor.  

Preheat oven to 375. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper. Get out 2-3 cooling racks.

Dice the candied fruit into small pieces and place in a very large bowl; I use the top of my cake carrier. Roughly chop the pecans and add to the fruit. Add the dates. Add one cup of the flour. Toss well to coat all of the pieces and break them up so they are not sticking together.

Next, whisk the baking soda into the milk and let it dissolve.

Mix the Crisco into the fruit. Add the remaining ingredients: sugar, remaining flour, salt, nutmeg, eggs, orange juice and milk with baking soda into the mixture.  Mix together with your hands but just until you no longer see the flour. Try not to over mix. The batter will be very dense. Use a small ice cream scoop or two teaspoons to drop the cookies onto the prepared pans, about 1 inch apart. 

Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on the wire cooling racks.

RECIPE: HAM DELIGHTS, THE PERFECT LITTLE PARTY SANDWICHES

I first had ham delights back in the 80′s when my in-laws, Sam & Carolyn, made them for a Christmas party. These were always at their get-togethers and while I’m not 100% sure where the recipe originally came from, I am 100% sure I stole it from them. Or it was given to me but regardless, I will never forget the first time I had them. I’ve made my own adjustment to the spread and sometimes change up the cheese to make it more interesting. These little sandwiches make an appearance for many of my get-togethers… even all these years later. They are so simple and perfect for a party because you can make them in advance and they freeze well so you can make a big batch and have them anytime. I always double the recipe and put a few trays in the freezer for later. Keep this recipe handy for tailgating season, too. Add some spicy chili or tomato soup and your friends will be happy no matter what happens with the game.

HAM DELIGHTS

Difficulty: Easy    Category: Party Food

Prep Time: 35 minutes     Cook Time: 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS

3 trays Pepperidge Farms Party Rolls or any mini party rolls (in the bread aisle of the store)

1 pound ham, shredded (use leftover ham or deli ham of any kind)

1/2 pound Swiss cheese, finely grated

1/2 pound butter, softened

3 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard

1 small white or yellow onion

1 1/2 tablespoons poppy seeds

1 teaspoon Worcestershire

Salt and pepper

Dash cayenne pepper

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Prep the rolls by removing them from the tray. Using a serrated knife, slice through the middle so you have a top and a bottom half. Do not separate the individual rolls. Put the bottom back in the tray. Cover until later.

Next, grate the Swiss cheese if you did not buy the already grated kind.

Prep the ham by putting it into the food processor to shred it. Remove to a bowl.

Put the onion the food processor and finely chop. Add the butter, mustard, Worcestershire, S&P, cayenne, and the poppy seeds; whir until it is a spreadable consistency.

Leaving the bottom half of the rolls in the tray, spread the top and the bottom of the rolls with the mixture. Add a layer of ham and a layer of cheese. Put the top on. Dab a little butter here and there on top. Cover the entire tray with foil and wrap tightly. Bake until toasty and cheese melts…. about 20 minutes.

Slice the rolls with a serrated knife and serve warm.

If you want a decadent variation on this classic, try my ham and cheese in puff pastry. Flaky, buttery, divine! Get the recipe...

RECIPE: SOUTHERN SUMMER SQUASH WITH SWEET ONIONS

Where I live in Alabama, we are able to grow an abundance of yellow (summer) squash in the garden and it is always on the table in the summer. This is the way my mom cooked yellow squash and it is still my favorite way. Although I used black pepper for this batch, my mom only used white pepper for her squash.

For summer squash from the garden, you can cook it with or without onions. We prefer sweet onions but yellow (Spanish) onions are equally delicious. There's also the white pepper vs black pepper debate. Purists will say you must only use white pepper. You can see I opted for black pepper here.

SUMMER SQUASH AND SWEET ONIONS

Skill Level: Easy    Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 35-40 minutes

INGREDIENTS

6-8 medium yellow squash, sliced

1-2 Vidalia onions, sliced thin

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup cold water

1 teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper (the old school way is with white pepper so use that if you have it)

INSTRUCTIONS

Use a large skillet with a lid. Put the butter in the skillet and let it melt over low heat. Once it is melted, add the onions and increase the heat to medium. Stir and cook the onion until it is softened and turns yellow, about 15 minutes. Be careful not to brown the onion, you want to cook them slowly. Add the squash and salt. Stir once. Put the lid on and let it cook for 5 minutes without opening the lid. Stir. Add the water. Bring to a boil and cook without the lid for 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low. Continue to cook with the lid on, stirring occasionally for about 20 minutes or until the squash is tender. Check seasoning; add more salt and pepper if you need to.