Christmas Coffee Bread

This recipe makes a delicious bread that can be eaten anytime. The name of the recipe might make you save this bread for the Christmas season, but you can enjoy it in any season. Mom's recipe card calls for shaping the bread into a candy cane and a Christmas tree, but you could just make a braided bread or any other shape. The name also implies that it would be a delicious bread served with breakfast or brunch, which is true, but it can be enjoyed all day.

This bread is rich, thick and slightly sweet. Mom's recipe calls for shaping a candy cane out of plain dough and the Christmas tree out of dough with candied fruit added. But you could add candied fruit to all of the dough or leave it out completely. Instead of candied fruit, I used dried cherries. Also, instead of one very large Christmas tree as described in the recipe, I made two smaller trees. Shaping the candy cane was much easier than shaping the tree. A holiday-shaped bread would be a nice treat for a holiday party. Whether you make a candy cane shape or a standard loaf, give this recipe a try.

Christmas Coffee Bread 

• 2 packages dry yeast
• 3/4 cup warm water
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 5 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup candied fruit
• melted butter to brush on bread
• 1-2 cups Confectioner's sugar 
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• food coloring, optional
• decorating sprinkles, optional

In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in water that is about 120 degrees. Add buttermilk, sour cream, 2 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 cup butter, sugar, baking powder and salt. Blend all ingredient, scraping sides and bottom of the bowl. Stir in the remaining flour. Knead for five minutes on a lightly floured surface.

Shape one-third of the dough into a 30-inch rope. Fold the rope in half, twist together and form into a candy cane shape on a greased baking sheet. Brush with melted butter.

To the remaining dough, knead in candied fruit until evenly distributed. Shape into a 60-inch rope. Pinch off a one-inch segment for the trunk. On a greased baking sheet, Shape into a tree starting at the top, and increasing the length for each switchback turn. Brush the top with butter.

Set the bread in a warm place to rise for about an hour or two. Preheat oven to 375. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool. Make the frosting by combining the confectioner's sugar, vanilla, and a little bit of water until it reaches frosting consistency. Add food coloring, if desired. Frost the cooled bread. Add other decorations if desired. Enjoy!

Cornmeal Cookies

I found this recipe among Grandma's recipe cards. I don't recall her making these cookies, but I could see how the use of cornmeal might appeal to Grandma because her mother often made polenta. MDS was skeptical of these cookies because of the inclusion of cornmeal and raisins, but after one bite, he was hooked. The cornmeal in the cookies add a nice crunch to the cookies, and in some ways, the cookies remind me of potato chip cookies.

I made these cookies and took them to Mom's for a typical Saturday night. Like MDS, the kids were skeptical of the cookies, primarily because of the raisins. But the kids who tried the cookies liked them. And Mom, who usually doesn't like to keep cookies around, even kept a few cookies to enjoy later. So give these cookies a try, you might find you really like them.

Cornmeal Cookies 

• 3/4 cup butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 cup raisins

Mix butter and sugar in a large bowl; add egg and beat well. Add in the rest of the ingredients, mixing to combine. Drop dough by the teaspoon onto a greased pan. Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes, or until the edges turn lightly brown. Allow to cool on a wire rack. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Scones

This recipe is not a family recipe, but is a personal favorite recipe of mine. These scones are inspired by pumpkin scones that can be found at Starbucks in the fall. They are easy to make and taste great with coffee or tea, or even on their own. They capture the classic Fall flavors, but are delicious year-round.

However, rather than making the larger size scones, I make these as a mini-sized scone so they are closer to cookie size or about three-bites per scone. I do not put a glaze on them, but you could easily use a powdered sugar glaze. If you make the glaze, consider adding some spice, like cinnamon and nutmeg. The spices that I use are cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamon and ginger. But you can adjust the spices to meet your taste.

Pumpkin Scones 

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 7 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. cardamon
• 1/4 tsp. ginger
• 6 Tbsp. cold butter
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
• 3 Tbsp. buttermilk
• 1 egg

Preheat oven to 425. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and spices in a large bowl. Cut butter into the dry ingredients until mixture is crumbly and no chunks of butter are obvious. In separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin, buttermilk and egg. Fold wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Form one-third of dough into a ball and then roll into a rectangle. cut into small triangles. Repeat with remaining dough. Bake for 14 minutes. Allow to cool. Enjoy!

Apple Crunch Cake

This recipe makes a delicious cake, especially during the fall when apple and cinnamon flavors capture the season. I brought this cake to Mom's house for a regular Saturday night. It was a hit with most there. Although not all the kids like cinnamon, all the adults liked the cake.

I used two apples to make this cake, but I could have used another apple to add to the apple flavor. The one addition that I made to the recipe was to use one teaspoon of vanilla in the batter. Good vanilla always improves baked goods. The recipe calls for using an 8X8 square pan, but I do not have that size pan, so I used an 8-inch round pan. My cake ended up being taller than the cake likely should be. The recipe could be easily doubled to use a 13X9 pan.

Apple Crumb Cake 

• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 3 Tbsp. butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cup thinly sliced peeled apple

For the crumb mixture:

• 1/4 cup raw or regular sugar
  
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 cup butter

Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, combine the egg, milk, vanilla, and melted butter. Add the wet ingredients to the flour ingredients, mixing only until the dry ingredients are moistened. In a separate bowl, prepare the crumb mixture by mixing the sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in the butter until coarse crumbs form.

Spread half the batter in a greased 8X8 inch square pan. Arrange apple slices on the batter and sprinkle with half the crumb mixture. Spread the rest of the batter over the apples and sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture on the top of the cake. Bake at 400 for 35 minutes or until done. Enjoy!

Reese's Chewy Chocolate Cookies

The first recipe when I started this blog was the standard Saturday night dinner of Spaghetti and Gravy with chocolate chip cookies for dessert. But sometimes for a special treat, Mom would make these delicious chocolate cookies with Reese's peanut butter chips. And, just like Mom's chocolate chip cookies, the recipe for these cookies is found on the back of the bag of chips, in this case, Reese's peanut butter chips. Even though the recipe is on the bag of chips that you need to make them, you will find the recipe below. The chocolate cookies themselves are so delicious, you can even make them without the peanut butter chips. Or use another type of chip, such as mint chips, for a different delicious cookie.

These cookies were a special treat in the Buckley household and would not last long. I am not entirely sure if they were so quickly eaten because they were rare or delicious. Just as when I was a kid, when I make these cookies, they are gone before I have had enough of them. The bag also suggests that cookie bars can be made by baking the dough in a pan for about 20 minutes. Although I have never tried this recipe as cookie bars, I might need to try that next time.

Reese's Chewy Chocolate Cookies 

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup Cocoa
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 1/4 cups butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 10 oz. package Reese's chips

Preheat the oven to 350. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Gradually add flour mixture; beating well. Stir in peanut butter chips. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 9 minutes. (Do not overbake; cookies will be soft. They will puff while baking and flatten while cooling.) Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. Enjoy!

Minty Mashed Peas

This recipe is not a family recipe, but is based upon a side dish at Nando's Peri-Peri, a South African chain that has recently made it to Chicago. When MDS and I ate at Nando's we loved their Macho Peas. Mashed peas is originally a British recipe and is also sometimes called mushy peas. Nando's spiced up the mashed peas to make the Macho peas. I especially liked the chili and mint flavor together. In all, the Macho peas are a unique flavor.

You can use fresh peas, but frozen peas work just fine. Some recipes for mashed peas call for boiling the peas to cook them, but I prefer to saute the peas. You can use fresh or dried herbs, so just adjust the seasoning as needed. This dish comes together as an easy side dish that could go well with just about anything.

Minty Mashed Peas 

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 pound peas
• 1 small onion finely chopped
• 2 Tbsp. dried mint
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. dried parsley
• 2 Tbsp. butter

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the peas, onion, mint, chili powder and parsley. Saute for about 10 minutes. Use a potato masher or a fork to mash the peas. For a more mushy result, use a food processor to blend the peas. Add butter and mix well. Enjoy!

Cherry Cake

I remember this cake because of the maraschino cherries. These cherries are often found on the top of an ice cream sundae. When I was a kid, I loved these cherries, so of course I loved a cake made with maraschino cherries. This cake is a basic yellow cake with some cherry pieces and cherry juice added. I made this cake for a typical Saturday night at Mom's house. Mom and Megan remember this cake and loved it. And the nieces and nephews liked the cake too. MDS even liked this cake, and he usually does not like fruit in cake.

Mom's recipe calls for the inclusion of nuts, but Mom never included nuts in this cake and neither did I. The recipe suggests chocolate frosting or just a dusting of powdered sugar. I am sure that both options are delicious, but Mom usually used a simple vanilla sugar glaze. You could also use the extra cherry juice with powdered sugar to make a cherry glaze.

Cherry Cake 

• 1/2 pound butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs, separated
• 3 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 3 oz. maraschino cherry juice
• 8 or 10 oz. bottle maraschino cherries
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 4-8 Tbsps. water

Drain the cherries, reserving the juice. Cut the cherries into quarters and coat with flour. Cream butter with sugar and egg yolks. Mix well. Stir in milk, 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and cherry juice. Add flour and baking soda. Add the cherries. Fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites. Bake in a greased tube pan for about 50 to 55 minutes at 350. Allow to cool before removing from pan. Make the frosting by combining powdered sugar, vanilla and water. Use more or less water as needed to get the right consistency. Frost the cake. Enjoy!